Chapter 4

Asher's POV

On the day of the wedding, Lucinda was 20 minutes late.

I sat in the dressing room in my wedding suit while Mrs. Walker Sr. had already told us to hurry up three times. When the door opened for the 4th time, it was Jace who walked in.

He had changed into his groomsman suit, with a bandage still stuck to his lower back. "Asher, I'm here to apologize."

I looked at myself in the mirror and said nothing.

He walked up behind me, his gaze sweeping over my collar. He said, "The reason Luce hates waiting is that her birth mother abandoned her at a train station when she was little. She said she was going to buy tickets and told her to wait for five minutes. She never came back."

That was the first time I had ever heard about that story. Over the past six years, I had asked Lucinda about it many times. She would only say that waiting was pointless.

Jace smirked. "She never told you about any of this, did she?"

"What are you trying to say?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just think you're rather pathetic." He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "You thought that after six years together, she must love you. But all along, she still had feelings for me."

I turned my head.

Jace took out an old photo from his pocket. In the photo, Lucinda was only 20 years old, sitting in a hospital corridor. Jace leaned against her shoulder, her fingers interlocked. The date was seven years ago.

He explained, "That year, my family forced me to go abroad, so I couldn't stay with her." He put the photo away. "It was only later that she met you."

"You came here just to tell me all this?" I asked.

"I never intended to take her from you." He looked at me through the mirror with a disdainful smile. "But then I realized she was still waiting for me."

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed outside the dressing room.

Lucinda pushed the door open, slightly out of breath, her forehead covered in sweat. "Jace, why was your phone turned off?"

Jace's eyes instantly turned red. "I didn't want to disturb your wedding."

Lucinda grabbed his wrist. "What did you mean by the message you sent earlier? You won't show up anymore?"

"Nothing."

"Come with me," she said.

I stood up. My suit was neat and immaculate, without a single crease. "Lucinda, the ceremony is about to begin."

She turned to look at me. "He's not in a good state right now. I'll take him home first."

"There's a driver outside."

"He won't leave with anyone else."

"So, you're going to leave me here?" I asked.

Lucinda glanced at her watch. "I just need half an hour at most."

Half an hour. The guests outside had already taken their seats. The emcee was warming up the crowd on stage, and both our families were waiting for us to exchange rings. Yet, she wanted me to wait while she took another man home.

I said threateningly, "If you leave, the wedding is over."

Lucinda frowned and hissed, "Don't use the wedding to threaten me."

"I'm not threatening you."

"Then wait until I get back." Lucinda pulled Jace toward the door.

I called after her again. "Lucinda!"

She stopped, but she didn't turn around.

I said, "You once said that the greatest waste of time is waiting."

"Today is our wedding. Don't dredge up the past," she retorted.

"So, why are you willing to wait for him?" I pressed.

Jace looked down, but his fingers gripped Lucinda's sleeve tightly.

After a few moments of silence, she replied, "He's not the same as you."

The wedding march began to play in the hall, drifting through the closed doors.

At that moment, I finally understood. There was no need to find excuses for the indifference she had shown me over the past six years. She wasn't incapable of waiting. She just wasn't willing to wait for me.

I relented. "Fine. Go."

Lucinda finally turned to look at me, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "I'll be back soon."

Just before the door closed, she added, "Asher, wait for me."

I sat back down in front of the mirror. The minutes ticked by on my phone. Five minutes later, Mrs. Walker Sr. came in to ask what had happened. Ten minutes later, the emcee said the guests were starting to talk.

20 minutes later, Lucinda sent a message. "Jace refuses to get out of the car. I'm trying to talk to him. Wait a little longer."

Exactly 30 minutes later, I took off my brooch.

Mrs. Walker Sr. grabbed my hand to stop me. "Asher, Luce will be back soon."

"Ma'am, she isn't coming back."

"I'll call her right now and give her a piece of my mind," she said.

"No need for that." I took off my suit and changed into the casual clothes I had already left in the closet.

The prenuptial agreement slipped out of my clothes and landed on the vanity. My name was still unsigned. I took off my engagement ring and placed it on the agreement's final page.

The doors to the hall opened, and every guest turned to look at me. I strode forward, walking through the crowd one step at a time, toward the hotel exit.

My phone vibrated again. Lucinda had sent me a picture of the traffic. "I'm stuck in traffic. Don't make a fuss. Wait another 15 minutes."

I deleted the messages, removed the SIM card from my phone, snapped it in half, and threw it into the trash can by the entrance.

Outside the hotel, the car I had booked was already waiting. The driver opened the door for me.

Meanwhile, photos of Lucinda and me from the past six years were still playing on a loop on the large screen in the hall. The final photo was from that snowy night when she had waited with me at the dessert shop.

As the car door closed, I could still see her smile on the screen.