Chapter 3

I thought my mother would ask me why. Instead, she threatened me.

“Arabella, if you dare break up with him and ruin this wedding, I will jump off the roof and die right in front of you.”

In high school, when I didn’t apply for finance, my mother threatened to jump off the roof.

In college, when I wanted to work away from my hometown, my mother threatened to jump off the roof.

Now, when I didn’t want to get married anymore, my mother threatened to jump off the roof again.

She never allowed me a single streak of rebellion, nor did she ever care whether I was happy.

But this time, I wanted to live for myself.

So I lied through my teeth. “Fine. I’ll marry him.”

Yet my hands didn’t stop packing for a single second.

Along the way, I listed our future home for sale online.

The next day, I still hadn’t deleted my comment on social media—it was Aurelia who ended up deleting her post altogether.

Even so, Xavier still showed up to drive me to my wedding dress fitting.

He even brought me breakfast.

I remembered back when Aurelia hadn’t moved in next door yet. Xavier used to wake up early every single morning to buy me fresh pastries and coffee from the cafe downstairs.

Back then, his eyes and heart were filled with nothing but me.

Now, even when I was starving to the point of hypoglycemia, Xavier was busy cooking meals for Aurelia.

Looking at the pastries and coffee in front of me, my eyes welled up with moisture.

Just as I was about to take a bite, however, I noticed a lipstick mark on the pastry wrapper.

It turned out he hadn’t bought it specifically for me at all—it was just Aurelia’s leftover.

I looked up at Xavier, waiting for an explanation.

He simply dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “Arabella, you should be glad there’s food at all. Don’t be so picky.”

I truly wasn’t going to be picky anymore—I tossed the whole thing straight into the trash can.

Xavier opened his mouth to scold me, but Aurelia tugged gently at the hem of his jacket.

“Alright, let’s head out. Your mom is still waiting for me to take photos of Arabella in her gown to send to her.”

My mother had clearly assigned Aurelia to keep tabs on me.

When we arrived at the bridal shop, I tried on the wedding gown I had ordered three months ago.

Back then, Xavier had fallen in love with the design at first sight, insisting it would look breathtaking on me.

I had hesitated because of the steep price tag, reluctant to buy it.

Xavier had gone behind my back and secretly placed the order.

Now, as I stood in the gown, he didn’t even spare me a single glance.

Instead, he hovered around Aurelia, who was wearing a bridesmaid dress, meticulously adjusting her skirt hem.

Even the shop assistant couldn’t help but chime in, “The bride’s gown is a bit heavy. The groom can hold up her train so it looks nice for photos!”

Xavier glanced over at me, his tone completely flat. “No need for photos. It doesn’t look good anyway.”

The assistant looked terribly awkward, her eyes shifting toward me with a trace of pity.

Aurelia swatted Xavier’s arm playfully. “What are you talking about? Arabella looks the prettiest. I’ll take her picture!”

While Aurelia took photos of me, Xavier stood aside with an impatient scowl.

Yet the moment Aurelia returned to his side, a bright smile instantly flashed across his face.

In that moment, I felt like I wasn’t wearing a wedding dress at all—I was wearing a clown costume.

The gown I had once been so desperate to put on was now something I couldn’t wait to strip off.

Just as I stepped into the fitting room, I overheard the assistants talking outside.

“The bride is so pitiful. The groom spent the entire time hovering around the bridesmaid. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was in love with her.”

“I know, right? If he doesn’t love her, why is he marrying her? Isn’t he just wasting her life?”

Right... If he didn’t love me, why did he want to marry me?

He had wasted seven years of my life—was he planning to waste the rest of it, too?

Tears soaked through the delicate fabric of the wedding dress, leaving me completely drained of strength.

When I stepped back out, the assistant informed me that Xavier had already left with Aurelia.

I checked my phone and found a single text message from him:

“Aurelia said there was a popular restaurant nearby, so I took her there first to check it out.”

I used to love checking out famous food spots, too. Back then, Xavier always complained that it was too crowded and too hot, calling anyone who waited in line an idiot.

Now, with the weather sweltering and the roads packed with traffic, Xavier was happily standing in line for Aurelia.

So it wasn’t that he hated waiting in line—he just hated waiting in line for me.

With trembling hands, I typed back a single word:

“Okay.”