Chapter 2

My lips parted slightly, but a bitter laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

Is this real? Am I seeing things? Or is fate messing with me again?

Because if what I’m seeing right now is true, then life just pulled the cruelest joke it could manage.

“Why her?” I muttered, my gaze running from her unmistakable pink hair down to her towering stilettos.

And just like that, the memories I buried so deep. The ones I swore I’d never touch again. Started clawing their way back.

“Purple tie?”

Her voice came out slow and heavy, like even she couldn’t believe it. Her finger stayed pointed at my necktie, unmoving.

If I had known she’d be the woman waiting at the end of this ridiculous arrangement, I never would’ve worn this tie. I should’ve listened to Jac. I should’ve backed out while I still could.

But I didn’t. And now I’m here, face-to-face with a ghost I spent years trying to forget.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and let out a shaky sigh. “Pink hair…”

A soft chuckle escaped me, though it tasted bitter on my tongue.

Her shoulders dropped almost instantly. Whatever denial she’d been clinging to vanished. The shock on her face shifted into something dangerously close to disappointment.

Reality hit her, too.

This wasn’t a hallucination. This was happening.

“Why you?” she asked at last, her eyes locked on mine, unblinking.

She scanned me the same way I had scanned her, sharp, assessing, almost offended. Then she slapped her forehead repeatedly, still pointing at me like I was some nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.

“Out of all the men in the world… why you?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

I laughed and shook my head. That was the exact question echoing inside me since the second she appeared.

She was rattled. But my shock ran deeper.

Because out of all people, the one woman I never wanted to see again, the one I thought I’d finally gotten over, was standing right here.

And she’s the woman I’m about to marry.

If I had known this was where things would lead, I wouldn’t have come back.

“Oh God… why you?” she whispered again, dragging her hands through her hair like she was a breath away from pulling it out.

I couldn’t tell if the pink was real or dyed, but honestly, I didn’t care.

I kept shaking my head, trying to clear the fog in my mind. Of all the women in the world… why Dorry?

I wasn’t even picky. It didn’t matter who I married today—tall, short, pretty, plain, rich, or poor. None of that mattered to me.

I came back for Grandpa’s last wish.

I was ready to marry whoever they assigned to me. Anyone.

Just not her.

Not the woman who shattered me over and over.

Not the person who taught me how it felt to break from the inside out.

Not the reason I stopped believing in love.

And yet here she is.

The woman I’m bound to marry.

“Nelson De Vedra and Dorothy Castillo.”

We both turned as a staff member called our names from the office door.

“Dorothy Castillo…” I echoed quietly, letting the irony sit on my tongue.

So that’s her real name.

Funny how we spent years on that island, years of friendship, years of me loving her in silence, yet I never knew her full name.

“Nelson… why you?” she asked again, her voice soft but strangled, like she was running out of breath.

She ruffled her pink hair in frustration, her entire expression screaming disappointment.

Every inch of her rejected this as much as I did.

I gave a faint smile, unable to hide the amusement threading through my nerves. “We’re asking the same question, Dorry. Why you? Why you, of all people?”

Her expression faltered. For a moment, I thought she was about to cry.

There was anger in her eyes, but something else too.

Something that made my chest tighten.

“Do we really have to go through with this?” I asked, my voice dropping lower.

She let out a long, frustrated sigh but didn’t answer. Instead, she turned to the staff still waiting by the door.

“Miss, can you give us a minute? We just need to talk,” she said, her tone polite but urgent.

The woman nodded and slipped inside.

“To be honest… I don’t know. I’m not sure anymore, Nelson.” Her voice wavered at the edges.

A bitter laugh escaped me. “You don’t know? Not sure anymore? Why, Dorry? Because it’s me standing here? If the groom were someone else, would you already be certain?”

She didn’t answer. She just stared, her brow tightening.

“If it were another man, this wedding would already be done, right? You’d already be Mrs. Somebody.”

Her lips parted but closed again. Her gaze dropped before she forced a faint, humorless smile.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, Nelson. But from what I understand, we’re both being pushed into this.”

Her voice lowered, steady but sharp.

“Whatever your reasons are, I don’t care. As for me, I know why I’m here. I know why I agreed to marry a man I don’t even know.”

Her words landed harder than I expected.

“Don’t know…” I echoed softly. It cut deeper than I wanted to admit.

But she was right.

We didn’t know each other.

Not really.

We spent years together on that island, but back then, we were both broken. Carrying our own baggage, hiding behind smiles, jokes, and petty arguments.

The Nelson she knew wasn’t the man standing in front of her now.

Back then, I was simple. Directionless. A nobody with no money, no connections, no future.

Just a boatman.

Maybe that’s why she turned me down over and over. Maybe that’s why she never took me seriously.

She was wealthy. Respected. Someone like me had no business loving someone like her.

“All I’m asking, Dorry… do we really have to do this? Do you honestly want to go through with this wedding?” I asked again, trying to keep my voice steady.

She let out a bitter laugh and crossed her arms. “You may look different now, but your brain is still the same—weak! Always questioning everything! If I didn’t want this, I would’ve left a long time ago!”

I smiled faintly. “Now I’m the weak one? Your thoughts are all over the place. You said it yourself—you’re not sure.”

“Yes, I’m not sure! But that doesn’t mean I’ll run away. I have to do this, Nelson. I need to. Even if everything inside me screams not to… I’ll still do it.”

Her voice cracked at the end, but her stare didn’t waver.

I didn’t know if she meant it or if she was bluffing her way through this like I was.

“Are you really sure?” I asked again, softer this time.

“For the last time, yes! Stop asking!” she snapped, rolling her eyes, clearly done with this conversation.

I chuckled, shaking my head. “You won’t back out once we’re inside, right?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she took a careful step toward me.

“I already said I have to do this. I have my reasons. So let’s just get this over with. Let’s end this.”

I exhaled sharply, fighting the smile tugging at my lips. “Alright then. Let’s do it.”

I reached for the door and opened it for her. She walked in first, chin high, eyes fierce.

I followed close behind, letting my hand drift lightly toward her waist as we entered.

Her whole body stiffened at the touch.

Her lips parted in shock.

I leaned in, just enough for her to hear me. “Make sure you won’t regret tying yourself to me.”

Her eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat.

Before she could respond, I turned to the mayor.

“Sir, we’re ready…”