Forgotten Groom in the Back Alley

(Jude's POV)

I spoke loudly enough for everyone around us to hear.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Then Sabina York spoke gently again, but she was talking to Caleb Yeoman. "Caleb, are you nervous? Come here. I'll give you a hug."

She pulled her hand back from me without a second thought and wrapped her arms around Caleb.

It was as if nothing had happened, and she hadn't heard me at all.

She treated me as if I wasn't even there.

That familiar helplessness came rushing back.

Sabina was ignoring me again.

She always said we had to keep our distance around our coworkers.

So unless it was about work, she deliberately ignored everything I said.

And somehow, whatever happened always became another reason for her to fuss over Caleb.

Once, when I was running late, I asked her to hold the elevator. Instead, she asked Caleb if he was cold from the draft and pressed the button to close the doors.

When my stomach hurt, I asked her to get me some warm water. She turned around, asked Caleb if he was feeling hot, and ordered him iced drinks and snacks.

One day, it rained, and I asked if I could ride home with her. Instead, she asked Caleb if he had an umbrella, then invited him into the front seat. She drove in the opposite direction to take him home.

After a while, even my coworkers followed her lead and acted like I didn't exist.

I thought I had gotten used to being ignored and forgotten.

But it still hurt to see how close she and Caleb were now, completely unconcerned about anyone around them.

It was obvious who she loved and who she didn't.

Someone snickered, and soon the others started laughing too.

"That guy is putting on another one-man show. Look at him! He's all dressed up like a groom. You'd think Ms. York was marrying him."

"Can't he see that Ms. York can barely stand him? She even held the wedding early just to avoid him. And he still chased after her for eight years. Talk about being shameless."

"Now he's saying things at Caleb's wedding to make him think there's something between them. Isn't he just begging to be the other man?"

As the gossip got worse, Caleb waved his hands and tried to calm everyone down. "Don't say that about Jude. He's just trying to lighten the mood. He didn't mean anything by it."

But his vague defense only made it sound like the accusations were true, and the mocking started again.

Sabina finally frowned and gave them a warning look. "Watch your mouths. Caleb won't like it."

Then she turned back to Caleb and straightened his bow tie without sparing me a glance.

The coworkers erupted in delighted laughter, loving the sight of them together.

But I suddenly felt humiliated.

She did nothing when they mocked me and never corrected them when they misunderstood me.

But Caleb only had to say one thing, and she immediately worried about his feelings. She would even step in to defend him.

It made my decision to break up with her look exactly like the pathetic one-man show they said it was.

The stench on me was a constant reminder of how miserable I looked.

Ashamed, I took off my suit and walked out of the banquet hall without looking back.

When I saw the giant screen outside, my heart sank. I felt completely numb.

I had shown this exact plan to Sabina when we were preparing for our wedding.

The giant screen cost 15,000 dollars a day. With 2,000 photos, that was enough to keep it running all day without repeating a single one.

Back then, she said it was too flashy and accused me of wasting money.

Now, she was proudly displaying photos of herself and Caleb for everyone to see.

So that was why she hadn't wanted me to use the front entrance.

She wasn't trying to avoid gossip. She wanted to show him off.

When it came to Caleb, Sabina never wanted to hide him.