Chapter 1

Yvonne's smile froze as she looked at me. "What do you mean there's no going back?"

Another painful spasm hit my stomach as I grabbed the guardrail tightly, blood rising in my throat. I murmured, "Exactly what I said."

Ernie tilted his head. "You're not mad, are you? I just wanted to see how much you really love Yvonne. Turns out you would die for her."

He laughed before anyone else could, and their friends gathering under the bridge joined in.

"Come on, Alex. Don't be a sore loser."

"Yvonne actually spent half an hour soaking in the river for this test."

"Ernie stayed up two nights planning it. You should thank him."

I turned to Yvonne. "You were hiding under the bridge the whole time?"

"I had a diving suit on. I was safe." She made it sound like nothing.

Over the past three days, her father had cried until he fainted at the funeral home. Her mother had smashed the framed photographs of my late parents. They had pointed their fingers in my face and called me a living, walking curse.

I had been on my knees in front of Yvonne's photograph, unable to get up until my knees were bloodied.

And all that time, she had been in a nearby hotel, watching the funeral home's security footage and waiting to see when I would break down.

"I kept vigil for you for three days."

Yvonne glanced down at my bloody knees and said, "It's over now. I'll have someone take care of your wounds when we get back."

Ernie suddenly grabbed his ankle. "Yvonne, I think I twisted my ankle running over here."

Yvonne immediately dropped the roses and crouched in front of him. She asked, "Can you walk?"

"It hurts a little," Ernie said.

"I'll take you to the hospital," Yvonne said, helping him toward the parking lot. Ernie then glanced back and winked at me, the wedding ring on his finger.

"Yvonne…" I called out.

She turned, impatient. "What now?"

"Your father saved that ring for your future husband…" I said.

She glanced at the ring. "It's not that big of a deal. Just let him wear it for a few days. He proved to me just how much you love me. I have to reward him with something."

Just yesterday, her father had slapped me seven times with the hand that had worn that ring. He had blamed me for his daughter's death and said I did not deserve to marry into his family.

Ernie shook his finger at me. "Don't be so petty. I'll put it on your finger myself on your wedding day."

I bent down and picked up the roses. A thorn pierced my palm, and blood dripped onto the white wrapping paper.

Yvonne frowned. "Are you ruining them on purpose? I picked those out at the florist first thing this morning."

She had remembered that Ernie liked champagne roses. She had forgotten I was allergic to rose pollen.

I tasted blood in my mouth again. I forced myself to ask, "Yvonne… What if I really do die here today…?"

Ernie burst out laughing. "You haven't even made it over the guardrail, and you're already talking about dying?"

Yvonne also laughed. "Don't try to scare me by talking about dying. The wedding's in three days. Go home and calm down."

She then helped Ernie toward the parking lot, and everyone followed.

Before the car door closed, Ernie stuck his head out. "That white suit looks great on you. Let me borrow it for some photos tomorrow."

After they drove away, I collapsed to my knees by the guardrail. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth onto my white suit.

My phone chimed.

Yvonne had sent two messages.

[Take a cab home.]

[Ernie hurt his ankle. There's no room in the car.]

Our conversation was still pinned at the top of my messages. In it was the message she'd sent three days earlier.

[Alex, wait for me. We'll get married when I get home.]

Someone ran over to help me, and I heard an ambulance approaching below the bridge.

As the paramedics cut open my sleeve, I called Yvonne. It took all my strength, but all I heard was Ernie laughing when the phone was picked up.

"Yvonne's checking me in at the hospital. Did you need something?"

I opened my mouth, but blood came out first.

Ernie waited a few seconds. "Alex, don't tell me you're pretending to be sick again. You didn't fool us last time, so now you're trying something else?"

Then he hung up.

Before the ambulance doors closed, someone asked, "Where's your family?"

I closed my eyes. "There's no one left."