Chapter 1

“Chloe, did you really cancel the luxurious private island wedding?”

My best friend Amy called just as I walked out of the banquet hall.

The wedding poster by the entrance still hadn’t been taken down.

It read:

【Welcome to the wedding of Mr. Luca Moretti and Miss Chloe White.】

I glanced at it and looked away.

“Yes.”

“You put so much thought into the decorations alone. Are you really willing to give it up?”

“Yes.”

“Does Luca know?”

“He’s still by the sea.”

Amy was silent for a few seconds.

“So he really went to see Vera again? You know they grew up together. Vera just returned home, maybe it’s just friends meeting up…”

“Would a friend make a friend postpone his own wedding?”

I cut her off. Amy fell silent.

I hung up. The unknown number sent another photo.

In the night, the sea surface shimmered with fragmented blue light, and distant fireworks lit up half the sky.

Vera stood by the reef in a white dress, smiling back at the camera.

The caption read: 【Too bad you’ll never get the chance to watch them with him.】

I stared at those words and suddenly found it ridiculous.

Not long ago, I had come across this fireworks event online.

Excited, I had asked Luca when he could take me to see it.

He had smiled and kissed the corner of my lips: “Too many people. What’s so special about it? Someday when there’s a chance, I’ll reserve a whole island and set them off just for you.”

Yet now, he had hidden it from me and taken his childhood sweetheart to watch this very show.

My phone suddenly rang.

It was a video call from Luca.

I answered, and his familiar face appeared on the screen.

He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. Behind him, the sea reflected brilliant fireworks.

“Baby, have you eaten?”

“Yes.”

“Is everything going smoothly with the wedding? Is there anything about the island setup you don’t like? I’ll have them rearrange it.”

His tone was earnest.

I could almost picture him inspecting the venue in advance.

He had truly looked forward to this wedding for a long time.

“Everything’s fine,” I lied.

Luca smiled.

“That’s good. When I get back, we’ll get married. Chloe, I can’t wait any longer.”

I looked at him and suddenly didn’t know what to say.

The next second, Vera’s voice came from off-screen.

“Luca, the fireworks are almost over. Didn’t you promise to walk with me along the shore?”

He glanced aside, covered the microphone, and took a few steps forward before looking back at me, his tone slightly flustered:

“I ran into Vera during the business trip…”

“Baby, Vera’s been in a bad mood lately because her pet dog has a cold. I’ve been keeping her company for a few days. I promise I’ll be back the day after tomorrow.”

Tomorrow was supposed to be our original wedding date.

Yet he chose to watch fireworks with a woman whose dog was sick.

“Then why isn’t she with her pet dog?”

“The dog is in the hospital.” Luca frowned. “Chloe, don’t be sarcastic. She really loves that dog.”

I said nothing.

Lately I had been struggling too.

Today was the anniversary of my mother’s death.

The day my mother died, he had promised that every year on this date, he would spend it with me.

It seemed that the moment Vera returned, Luca completely forgot.

“Luca! Come quick!!”

The woman’s voice called from off-screen again.

Luca turned and answered, “I’m coming.”

When he looked back at me, his tone was completely natural.

“Vera’s calling me. Honey, I’ll hang up for now.”

Without waiting for my reply, the video ended.

On my phone calendar, four days remained until I left Sicily.