Chapter 3

She turned around to comfort Chris, who was still pretending to cry, and headed toward the hotel.

She left everyone behind to point fingers at me.

I ignored every stare before pulling the suit jacket tighter around myself.

Then, in full view of everyone present, I removed the jacket still carrying Jessica's warmth and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

It was just like how I'd thrown away the shredded remains of my wedding suit the night before.

I then turned around and walked back to my room. I locked the door behind me.

I retrieved my phone and tapped on the contact with the black profile picture.

[Katie, does what you said three years ago still stand?]

Less than three seconds later, the typing indicator appeared.

[It does. Anytime you want.]

I let out a long sigh and sent her the hotel's location.

[Tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning. Let's meet on time.]

I put down the phone.

'Jessica, you love pushing my boundaries to please your precious childhood friend.

'In that case, I'll remove those boundaries altogether and see whether you can still keep your footing.'

I didn't attend the bachelor party that night.

My phone suddenly lit up.

Someone sent me a screenshot. It was a post from Chris' social media account.

In the photo, he was in a men's bathrobe while lying on a king-sized hotel bed.

A burgundy silk scarf dangled from his fingers.

It was Jessica's favorite scarf. I'd picked it out myself for her birthday last year.

There was a caption.

[Some people are destined to be nothing more than someone she met along the way. I'm the one she's meant to end up with.]

I saw Jessica's expensive Patek Philippe watch in the background.

I saved the screenshot before blocking the sender.

At eleven that night, someone knocked on my door.

I opened it. Jessica stood outside. She reeked of alcohol.

Her collar was slightly open. The burgundy scarf was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you still awake, Zac?"

She walked inside and closed the door behind her. She then sat down on the couch and rubbed her temples.

"We need to make a small change to tomorrow's ceremony."

"What kind of change?" I looked at her coldly.

Jessica lifted her head. Her eyes darted away briefly before hardening with determination.

"I will walk down the aisle to Chris tomorrow."

The room fell silent.

For several seconds, I simply stared at her. She felt like a stranger.

"What did you just say?"

Jessica took a deep breath and walked up to me.

Her hand settled on the back of my neck. Her thumb slowly stroked my skin.

"His depression is flaring up again. He's holding broken glass and won't let anyone near him. Zac, this is about someone's life.

"It's only a few minutes. It doesn't affect the real vows. The Solomon family's official son-in-law will still be you."

She was taking away my place as the groom and walking down the aisle to another man.

She was even expecting me to wear a groomsman's suit and watch them from the audience.

How could she even ask me to do that?

I looked at her loving expression and felt my stomach churn.

"Do you really think I'd agree to that?" I flung her hand away.

Jessica's expression darkened. Her grip tightened against the back of my neck.

"I already told you it's just for show. I spent six months planning this wedding. What exactly are you throwing a fit over?

"Do you really need to compete with a sick person over a meaningless detail? Does someone's life mean so little to you?"

I stared at her. The anger I'd been suppressing suddenly disappeared.

I smiled brightly.

"Sure. Let's go with that."

Jessica froze.

She stepped forward and threw herself into my arms before pressing her forehead against my chin.

"Thank you. I know this isn't fair to you. After tomorrow, I promise everything will go back to normal."

I took a step back and avoided her embrace.

"As long as you stay in the audience and watch quietly, once the ceremony is over, we'll leave for our honeymoon immediately." Satisfied, Jessica turned around and left the room. She closed the door behind her.