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Chapter 4

Author: Mulberry Moon
My phone lit up.

Xyla had just posted something on social media.

In the photo, she was sitting in the passenger seat with her legs stretched out comfortably. Her caption was only one sentence.

"When you're the favorite, even the seat remembers you."

Zavier glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

"Let's have dinner tonight. Let me make it up to you."

"Where?"

He seemed relieved and quickly named a restaurant.

It served the kind of Kiyoran food Xyla loved.

I slipped my phone back into my bag.

"You two go ahead."

The car pulled over to the curb, and I opened the door and stepped out.

As I bent down to grab my bag, I noticed a piece of paper sticking halfway out from between the rear seats.

I pulled it free and curled my fingers around it.

I didn't look at it until I had closed the car door.

It was a receipt for a couples' pottery class, with a photo attached.

The date was the 17th of last month.

That was the day Zavier said he had a construction-site inspection and would be tied up until 11:00 pm. He didn't even make it to my birthday dinner.

I had waited alone at the restaurant for two hours.

When he finally arrived, he was covered in dust.

I felt sorry for how hard he'd been working and brought him the noodles I'd kept warm for him.

But in the photo, Zavier and Xyla were sitting side by side at the pottery wheel.

Their clay-covered hands overlapped as they steadied the cup together.

The timestamp in the corner read 7:40 pm.

That was the exact moment my birthday candle had burned halfway down.

My phone vibrated.

Zavier had sent me a message.

"I've already reserved a table for you at the restaurant. Stop being difficult and come over so we can finalize the wedding dress and the remaining payment."

I stared at the message for a long time before opening our mutual friends' group chat.

Everyone was discussing the wedding favors.

Zavier's mother shared several custom design mockups. She didn't tag me. Instead, she tagged Xyla.

"Xyla, help me pick which one looks better. I even added your favorite fragrance."

Xyla replied almost immediately.

"Mrs. Grant, I like the second one in pink. Zavier said it looked classy too."

No one seemed to remember that I was severely allergic to cedarwood, and pink was my least favorite color.

I didn't reply in the group chat.

Instead, I exited the chat and sent Zavier a private message.

"I'm not paying the remaining balance. I'm putting the wedding on hold."

The phone rang almost immediately.

"Natalia, what are you making a fuss about now?"

In the background, I could hear Xyla asking the server for another order of shrimp.

I sent Zavier a photo of the pottery-class receipt.

The line went silent for a few seconds.

Zavier's voice dropped.

"The pottery studio was next to the building supply store. I had some time to kill while I waited for the samples, so I stopped by for a while."

"Was my birthday just something you did to kill time, too?"

"Didn't I go back to be with you afterward?

"Natalia, stop this. We can replace the furniture, but putting the wedding on hold will embarrass both our families."

He finally agreed to replace the furniture.

But even then, what mattered to him still wasn't me.

"Zavier, I'm giving you one last chance to choose.

"Leave Xyla and come to me now.

"We'll clear everything up in front of both our families."

A muffled cough came from Xyla on the other end of the call.

Zavier immediately said, "Xyla's stomach is bothering her tonight. I can't just leave her here alone. We'll talk tomorrow."

I closed my eyes and ended the call.

I officially submitted the wedding cancellation request.

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