Chapter 2

What a fool I was. I had actually been worried about her burning out.

So, Cyrus and I worked ourselves ragged, taking on any part-time work that came our way, just to save a little more money and make her life easier.

However, the wedding I had envisioned never came. Instead, I watched Celia marry someone else.

Cyrus was furious on my behalf. He stormed off to the wedding venue to confront Celia. A BMW ran a red light and hit him.

I watched the car hit him. Blood splashed across the pavement. His guts lay scattered on the ground.

Just thinking about that scene made my heart clench painfully. I turned pale as my body swayed, barely standing straight.

Celia thought I was upset over the photos. She rushed to steady me.

“Ethan, I can explain. They were just quick snapshots from my business trips.

“If it bothers you that much, I’ll take pictures with you next time. We can even bring Cyrus along and make it a family thing.”

My knuckles turned white from gripping the hem of my shirt too hard. Tears streamed down my face subconsciously.

Cyrus was gone. I did not have any family left.

She saw me crying and started to panic. She hurriedly wiped my tears away.

“Oh, come on. It’s nothing. Why are you crying over something so small? I promise it won’t happen again, alright?”

She was still speaking when Mason arrived in his groom’s suit.

“Celia, what are you doing out here? The ceremony’s about to start.”

He did not notice me until he got closer. His face went pale. He slapped himself across the face and stammered as he apologized.

“Mr. Grant, I had no idea you’d be here. I’m so sorry. I’ll get out of your way right now. The groom’s spot is yours.”

Celia looked at his reddened cheek pitifully and quickly helped him up.

“Stop apologizing for everything. You’re the man of the hour today. Man up.”

Then, she looked at me with a pleading expression

“Ethan, I let that little stunt you pulled on the phone slide. Don’t tell me you’re going to be that petty and crash Mason’s wedding too?”

I was her husband. The wedding should have been mine.

What did she mean by me pulling a stunt and crashing the wedding?

Her words were supposed to hurt me. But the moment I found out that Cyrus had passed away, I felt numb.

I said plainly, “Okay, I’ll leave.”

Cyrus’ body was still at the hospital. I needed to go get him.

Celia thought she had convinced me. She smiled and pulled from her bag two small party favors that she had prepared to hand out to the children and some money.

She stuffed them into my hands and said, “Give this to Cyrus. You can buy him something good. You don’t have to tell me what it is or how much you spend.”

She touched my face and said with a bright smile, “Come on, don’t be so dramatic. It’s just a wedding. After all this is over, you can have yours whenever you want. I’ll do whatever you say.”

She only felt at ease after watching me leave. Only then did she head back to the wedding hall.

I left the venue without looking back.

But Celia still did not know Cyrus was dead. I did not even want to be engaged with her any longer, let alone have a wedding.

I stood at the curb and called the traffic police.

...

On the other end of the line, the officer offered his condolences.

“The driver fled the scene. We’ll let you know as soon as we have any updates.”

“I appreciate that.”

I hung up and rushed to the hospital.

Our parents had died when we were young. Cyrus and I were sent to an orphanage and grew up together. We had no one but each other. After I got into college, I brought him along to the big city.

I met Celia at a restaurant, where we both worked. During her shift, she jumped in to defend a coworker whose boyfriend was abusing her. Celia almost got hit by the man.