Five minutes past eight, Matteo still had not replied.
I called him. He answered on the seventh ring. Low organ music and hushed voices sounded in the background.
“Isa?”
“It’s eight.”
A brief silence followed.
“I know,” Matteo said. “Bianca is rehearsing in the chapel. She nearly fainted when she stood up. The priest and the family elders are here. I can’t leave yet.”
I tightened my grip on the cold coffee.
“You promised you’d come.”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“Then when will you be here?”
Fabric rustled on the other end before Bianca spoke softly.
“Matteo, is the comb pulling my hair?”
“Don’t move. I’ll fix it.”
His voice softened at once. A moment later, he returned to me.
“It’s the De Luca family’s heirloom wedding veil. We need to finish the full rehearsal tonight. I’ll come as soon as it’s over.”
“How long?”
“Half an hour. An hour at most.”
【Time remaining: 07:55:00.】
“Do you remember why I’m waiting?”
“You want me to confess my love again.”
“Not casually.”
“I understand.” His patience was fading. “But Bianca just woke from a coma. This is her first time entering the chapel as a De Luca bride. I can’t abandon her in front of the entire family.”
Someone announced that the rehearsal was continuing.
“Matteo,” Bianca called. “The priest is waiting.”
“Coming.”
When he spoke again, he was already ending the call.
“Isa, go home. I’ll pick you up when we’re done.”
“I’m staying.”
“It’s snowing. Don’t be stubborn.”
“Will you come?”
He paused.
“Yes.”
The call ended.
I sat beneath the clock tower and watched my screen go dark.
By nine, only campus security remained in the square. After ten, the nearby café switched off its lights.
Matteo never appeared.
At eleven, the De Luca family’s official account posted a rehearsal photo.
Bianca stood inside the private chapel in an ivory dress, an antique lace veil covering her hair. Its edge carried the family’s embroidered lily crest. Matteo stood behind her, arranging the veil across her shoulders.
Light from the stained-glass windows fell over them like a wedding portrait.
The caption read:
The family has saved a place for her.
My mother called as soon as I closed the post.
“Isabella, are you still at the university?”
“Yes.”
“Matteo isn’t coming. I told him tonight’s rehearsal matters more than repeating a confession from five years ago.”
I said nothing.
“Bianca and Matteo are getting married next week. Both families have agreed. If you keep delaying him, you’ll embarrass everyone.”
“So you can cancel his promise for him?”
Her voice hardened.
“Why must you compete with your sister? Bianca’s heart has already stopped once. Do you want to push her there again?”
“She’s marrying my fiancé.”
“Matteo is saving her.”
That sentence had become their excuse for everything. As long as they called it saving a life, I was expected to surrender whatever they took.
I ended the call.
【Time remaining: 05:00:00.】
The snow thickened, covering the bench and stone steps. When I stood, my legs were numb, and a sharp ache pulled through my abdomen.
I caught the railing beside the tower, but my vision still went black.
When I woke again, hospital lights burned above me.
A nurse adjusted my IV and handed me the test results.
“You’re eight weeks pregnant, and there are signs of a threatened miscarriage. Have you been resting at all?”
I stared at her before taking the report.
“Pregnant?”
“The baby is stable for now, but you can’t stay out in the cold or keep pushing yourself like this.”
