Chapter 2

I'd already gone through this 100 times with Rachel running away. It was simply a matter of practice and getting used to it.

The first time she ran away from our wedding, I was shocked and furious. The second time, I broke down completely, consumed by panic. The third time, I cried like an idiot, and the tenth time, I drank myself into a stupor to numb the pain.

The 50th time it happened, I felt so tormented that I began questioning the meaning of life. By the 70th time, I had begun doubting the world itself. And by the 99th time, I stood in the pouring rain for hours until I caught a severe cold that left me bedridden.

Then, I nearly killed myself by mixing drugs with alcohol. It was a very close brush with death, and I was barely saved in time.

Rachel wept by my hospital bedside and admitted that she was wrong for doing this to me. She also promised that she wouldn't continue tormenting me again next time.

"I want to be your bride, Felix… I don't want to be a widow…"

Her apologies were still ringing in my ears when she ran away from the altar for the 100th time.

And I was already numb to it all. I wasn't upset. In fact, I felt like laughing.

The diamond ring was still in my hand because I never got the chance to slide it onto her finger. I threw it into the sea with all my might. It made a beautiful arc in the air before landing in the water and sinking to the bottom.

I didn't want Rachel anymore.

…

It was quiet when I returned to our shared home from the cruise ship. Rachel still hadn't come home, so I began packing up my things and preparing to resign from my job as well.

Rachel and I had met in college. She was an only daughter and the sole heiress to a multi-billion-dollar corporation.

I studied financial management in college and started working at her family's corporation after graduation, where I managed the company's accounts.

I was content just staying behind the scenes as her supportive partner and never seeking the limelight. I didn't even care when people mocked me for being a "kept man" living off his wife.

But thanks to our joint efforts, the company thrived. Yet, our life together became more and more unsustainable.

Rachel had a secret social media account she thought I didn't know about, but I could see everything that she posted there. That was where she would always post updates about her and her lover being affectionate and intimate with each other.

Every time Rachel left me at the altar, she would claim that she had only done it because she found the thrill and excitement irresistible. She said that she was done being stressed out at work and constantly having to live at such a quick pace, so this was her way of rebelling against it all.

Apparently, being a runaway bride helped calm her nerves, release negative pent-up energy, and relax and unwind.

She used to always say to me, "You understand my need to be wild and free, don't you, Felix? Women are all prone to acting up as I do anyway. If you truly love me, you should be willing to put up with that side of me, too.

"I'm going to be your wife sooner or later anyway, so there's no hurry. I'll finally settle down after I'm done playing around. I just don't want my life to be dull. I want to do some unforgettable things while I'm still young so that I'll have fond memories to look back on when I'm older."

However, the truth was that she would always meet up with an indie rock singer named Ted Madden.

He was covered from head to toe in massive tattoos. He was crude and vulgar in the way he spoke, and he had even served time in prison, leaving him with a criminal record for getting into violent brawls and seriously injuring others.

Just as I expected, Rachel updated her secret social media account that evening. She was at a nightclub with dark, smoky makeup and wearing a distressed mini dress that barely covered her butt, grinding and dancing intimately with Ted.

The carefully crafted caption read, "I ran away from the wedding again today. I know that doing so hurts Felix, but I have no other choice. I can't control my feelings.

"I've had enough of being the good, docile girl when I was growing up. I've had enough of proper manners and business suits. So what if I'm just a little rebellious?

"I know that Felix is a good man and that he loves me very much, but he's just too dull. I feel suffocated and stuck in a stagnant pool whenever I'm with him.

"It's only when I'm with Ted that I realize the true meaning of life and finally feel alive instead of like a walking corpse…"

Was I too dull?

I guess there was some truth to that.