Chapter 4

After Serena realized I had blocked her, she assumed it was just another round of me playing hard to get.

"Myles has hit his limit. Without me, he doesn't have much of a life left. Just wait until the wedding. He'll show up on his own."

The night before the wedding, she still acted relaxed in front of her friends.

Only she knew how unsettled she felt each time she opened her messages and saw that harsh red exclamation mark next to my name.

No matter how bad our fights had been in the past, I had never cut contact like this.

Had she gone too far this time?

But the divorce had been my decision.

"Serena," someone said. "Myles couldn't be contacted for a while now. Aren't you worried something might've happened?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and gave a short, humorless laugh. "He knows that trick doesn't work on me anymore, so now he's trying something else. Don't worry. Tomorrow, he won't be able to stay away."

As long as I was willing to back down first, she believed she could end things with Casper and reluctantly forgive me.

We had been locked in this cycle for more than ten years, and the truth was, she was exhausted too.

All Serena wanted was for me to be the one who gave in and coaxed her. How hard could that be?

Instead, I'd chosen the worst possible timing to talk about divorce, as if I genuinely believed she wouldn't bear to leave me.

Even so, she felt like something important was slipping out of reach, and her heart pounded uncontrollably.

Serena drank nonstop, trying to numb herself.

Her friends noticed the shift in her mood and sighed.

"We've watched you two go back and forth for years," one of them said. "Are you really ready to walk away from Myles? Don't forget. He was the one who stood by you through everything back then."

At the mention of that, her expression turned cold.

"It's getting late, Serena. We have a wedding tomorrow. We should head back," Casper said. He appeared at just the right moment and helped her up.

He had overheard plenty. My disappearance thrilled him as much as it terrified him.

If I had really left for good, that would be perfect. After all, he couldn't have me showing up tomorrow and ruining his wedding.

…

The next day, Serena remained distracted, her eyes drifting repeatedly toward the entrance.

She had sent out invitations everywhere. As long as I was still alive, she was certain one of them would reach me.

She was convinced I would come. After all, I had spent ten years of my life on her and sacrificed my reputation for her sake.

There was nowhere else for me to go. She didn't believe I would actually turn around and choose Yvette.

Watching her lose focus, Casper grew anxious. Still, he kept his voice gentle, trying to draw her attention back to him.

"Serena, today is our long-awaited wedding. I know Myles hurt you before. From now on, I'll do my best to give you a normal life, alright?"

He looked at her earnestly, but her expression darkened in an instant.

"What happened between Myles and me isn't for you to comment on!" she snapped.

Casper froze, caught off guard. He couldn't understand what he'd said wrong. Even now, was I still taboo?

She brushed past him and went straight to the entrance, choosing to wait there herself.

Just as she expected, she saw Benedict approaching.

In her mind, I was still too proud, still unwilling to give in, and choosing instead to send someone else. As long as I apologized properly, she told herself, forgiveness wasn't impossible.

She glanced at Benedict, smugness flickering in her eyes. "What's wrong? Is Myles too miserable to show his face, so he sent you to crash my wedding instead?"

Benedict sneered and threw a piece of paper at her face. "Myles isn't coming. You can go ahead with the wedding. Ms. Jacobs, no one is going to play these pointless games with you anymore."

With that, he staggered away.

Serena picked up the piece of paper in disbelief.

It was my funeral announcement.