Chapter 4

I instinctively caught Helena before she fell and checked whether she'd been hurt.

But before I could say anything, Cedric swung his fist at me.

"You bastard! Helena and I were nice enough to pay for your bride's wedding dress, and this is how you repay us? By trying to humiliate my wife in front of everyone?"

Helena immediately looked at me with disgust and shoved me away. She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped where I'd touched her, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"Benjamin, what's happened to you over these past five years? I never knew you could be so disgusting. You weren't like this before."

My head struck a chair as I fell, and blood immediately began streaming from the wound.

Everyone around me was staring with contempt, but my head was throbbing, and I felt so dazed that all I could hear was a loud ringing in my ears.

Helena tossed the handkerchief beside me and grabbed Cedric's arm, ready to leave.

But Noelle caught hold of her. She looked up at Helena, stubbornly fighting back her tears.

"Dad didn't do anything wrong! Someone stepped on your dress! It wasn't Dad's fault! Please, ma'am, I'm telling the truth. It wasn't him!"

Helena froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. She instinctively grabbed Noelle's arm, her voice trembling. "W-What did you just call me?"

Noelle was crying now, but she repeated, "Ma'am."

I struggled to my feet and quickly pulled her behind me. "Sweetheart, that's not what you should call her. She's your Uncle Cedric's wife. You should call her Aunt Helena."

Helena went pale. Without another word, she grabbed Cedric and hurried out of the boutique.

After paying for the damaged wedding gown, I took Noelle home and started packing our belongings.

While searching under the bed, I found a time capsule tucked away at the very back.

Helena and I had bought it together when we'd first started college. We'd promised to write each other letters whenever something special happened, then open them all together when we turned 80.

But after our divorce five years ago, I stopped adding letters.

I carefully opened one of the older ones. It was among Helena's earliest memories of us.

"Benjamin, you smiled at me today. You're adorable. Your brother is such a jerk, though. He's always giving you a hard time. Don't worry, I'll always stand up for you."

As I reached the letters from later years, I frowned.

"I'm starting to realize that Cedric hasn't had an easy life, either. I'll help Benjamin make up for what happened to him."

"Cedric cried today. I hated seeing him like that."

Then, the letters began to change.

"If only I'd met Cedric sooner."

"But I can't betray Benjamin. What am I supposed to do?"

"Benjamin already has so much in his life. I've decided to choose Cedric."

By the time I reached the most recent letters, every single one was about Helena's feelings for Cedric. My name wasn't mentioned even once.

I felt my fingers grow cold.

All this time, I'd been struggling to let go of a relationship that had fallen apart long before I realized it.

…

The wedding the following day was a lavish affair.

I was getting ready to walk onto the stage with Cedric, where we were supposed to wait for our brides to enter, when my parents suddenly stopped me.

They lowered their voices so no one else could hear.

"Benjamin, there's something you need to know. Actually, it's just Cedric's wedding today. When they offered to arrange a wedding for you, they were only trying to teach you a lesson. We never even reached out to the Hayeses. So, when you go up there, you're going as Cedric's groomsman."

I smiled and nodded before making my way onto the stage.

My parents were ready to cheer, but when the doors opened, their excitement quickly vanished.

At the other entrance, Astrid wore a wedding gown and held a bouquet, smiling directly at me.

Helena stared at her in shock. "I thought nobody contacted the Hayes family! How could she possibly be here?"

I smiled.

My parents were right. They hadn't contacted the Hayeses.

But I had.