Chapter 2

Even so, I knew that I could do nothing to stop her. There was nothing I could do or say to change Sherry’s mind.

I could only watch as she left. With her, she took away my heart, my love, my everything, in her journey toward another man.

It did not matter that this other man was nothing but a poor copy of the original.

“You have to trust me, Mason…”

Sherry still wanted to explain herself some more, but I cut her off.

“I promised you that I would accept any decisions you make, Sherry. Just go. Don’t let… Norbert… wait any longer.”

A grateful smile spread on Sherry’s face. She sighed in relief and angled to leave an icy kiss on my lips. Then, she left the wedding venue without even turning back.

I watched as she left in a hurry. My heart felt like something vital had been scooped out of it. It felt empty and painful.

I laughed self-deprecatingly again and opened the grand doors to the wedding venue alone.

No guests greeted me, no well wishes were given to me, and no lively party was thrown.

The venue was completely empty, save for a cool, black coffin.

Next, I fished out a medical report from my pocket.

The only words that mattered were these: Late-stage stomach cancer.

…

I stepped over to the stage and ran my hand over the smooth, cold surface of the coffin. The neutral, unemotional face of my doctor popped up in my head as he gave me my diagnosis.

The diagnosis had come a few days ago, and I only had less than a month to live.

I had canceled the wedding long ago, not wanting Sherry to suffer with me.

I had never wanted a big wedding, only a loving partner. Someone who could be there for me in my last moments of life, so that I would not be alone in that critical time.

It was a shame that such an insignificant demand had turned out to be a luxury I could not afford.

At this thought, I closed my eyes and threw the ring in my hand viciously into the coffin. Then, I left without turning back.

…

“Come now, Mason. What’s the point of this?”

My best friend, Lucian Jones, watched as I downed shot after shot of whiskey and reached out to stop me.

“Sherry’s been gone almost a week now, and she hasn’t even called you. She wouldn’t know it even if you drank yourself to death!”

I slapped Lucian’s hand away and let out a bitter chuckle.

“If she really cared, she wouldn’t have left me on our wedding day.”

Lucian threw back his own drink before slamming his glass on the bar top. “Forget the wedding! I’ve never liked that Sherry in the first place!

“Remember when you took a day off just to take her to Disneyland last year to cheer her up? Do you remember what happened? She called you childish and said you weren’t ambitious enough!

“Look what she’s doing now! She’s been posting on her social media. Didn’t she used to say that posting on social media was something only low-intellect showoffs did?”

I gave another bitter laugh and did not say anything.

Lucian was talking about the social media post Sherry had posted yesterday.

She had not posted anything in years, but she had posted a whole compilation of photos all of a sudden.

In the pictures, Sherry and Norbert were at the top of a Ferris wheel. The lights from below enveloped them in a dreamy atmosphere.

Sherry had always been afraid of heights, but she beamed in the photo, her eyes sparkling with joy and happiness.

I could tell that the smile was genuine.

How long had it been since she had smiled this genuinely? Three years, ten years?

Even I had forgotten.

Love was so powerful. It was powerful enough to make someone triumph over their fears.

It was just a shame that I was not the person that Sherry loved.

I shook my head, still laughing bitterly. I did not say anything more, only quietly poured myself another shot.