All Chapters of When the Bride Treats the Wedding Like a Game: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I lowered my head and pressed a hand to my chest. Strangely, it didn't hurt anymore. Maybe there came a point where disappointment simply ran its course, leaving nothing behind. No anger or sadness remained—just the sudden realization that I'd finally had enough.A crack of thunder shook the sky outside the airport, and moments later, rain came pouring down. Lydia pulled the car up to the entrance, and Mom and Dad immediately climbed into the back seat. Heath, carrying his coat, took the passenger seat without hesitation. I was about to open the rear door when he stopped me."Wait."He took the garment bag from me and carefully laid it across the only remaining space in the back seat. "This suit is custom-made," he explained. "If it gets ruined, what are you going to wear next week?"I stared at the suit stretched across the seat. "I can hold it," I replied. Heath looked me over, then glanced at the suit with a troubled expression. "But you're covered in sweat. What if

At dawn, my bedroom door swung open. Dad stormed in and slapped me across the face. Mom threw her phone down in front of me. On the screen was Heath's final video, posted just before he slit his wrist. His face was deadly pale, with a bloodstained box cutter lying beside him. "Julian leaked my messages with Lydia to those troll accounts," he murmured. "He even paid people to harass me online and report my account. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have kept teasing him or expected him to forgive me."I had no idea what these supposed messages even were. But after hearing Heath's accusations, everyone had decided that I'd orchestrated the online harassment behind the scenes and driven him over the edge."Are you happy now, Julian?" Mom hissed, pointing a finger at me. "Heath slit his wrist last night. He's still fighting for his life in the hospital!"In the suicide note Heath left behind, he'd filled page after page with apologies to me. He claimed he'd only wanted to have som

When Lydia returned to Heath's room, she looked so pale that he immediately knew something was wrong. "Lydia, is Julian still refusing to forgive me?" he asked anxiously. "Once I'm discharged, I'll apologize to him in person."Usually, that was all it took. The moment Heath lowered his voice and played the victim, everyone softened—but not this time."You said Julian leaked your messages to those troll accounts," Lydia said, placing her phone in front of him. "Where's your proof?"Heath fell silent for a moment."The accounts already deleted everything. I don't know how I'm supposed to prove it now," he finally said. "But who else would hate me enough to do something like that?"Mom instinctively wanted to defend him, but Dad reached over and stopped her. Lydia said nothing. Instead, she had her assistant contact the platform where Heath had posted his videos. Within two hours, they had obtained the platform's internal records.The device used to log into the account that h

After the plane landed, I didn't immediately start over. 13 hours in the air had drained what little strength I had left. I collapsed in the arrivals hall and was taken to a nearby hospital by the airport staff, where I ended up staying for another full week. Mom and Dad weren't by my side, and neither was Lydia. But when the pain kept me awake at night, a nurse would quietly bring me another blanket. The woman in the bed beside mine would peel an apple and give me half. Those small acts of kindness from complete strangers kept bringing me back to what should've been my wedding day. I realized then that I'd never wanted much. For the past seven years, even the smallest bit of care had been something I had to earn by swallowing my hurt and forcing myself to smile. …Six months earlier, an overseas partner had offered me a position on their Westmere team. With my wedding just around the corner, I'd turned it down without a second thought. But on the third day of my hos

Lydia's hand trembled. "You asked if we could start over," I continued. "But every time I see you, I remember the airport, the empty back seat of the car where my wedding suit had sat instead of me. I remember the video you refused to delete. "And I remember the kidney I injured protecting you—the one that couldn't be saved in the end. I don't have what it takes to trust you again."Lydia lowered her gaze, and a tear fell onto the ring in her palm. "Okay," she finally whispered after a long silence. "This time, I won't force you."At last, she had learned to respect my decision. But that was also the last time we ever saw each other. Mom and Dad stayed in Westmere for another two weeks. They came to the street outside my office every day, but they never tried to stop me again. Whenever it rained, Dad would stand across the street with an umbrella. Sometimes, when he saw me laughing and talking with my colleagues, he'd take a step toward me, only to stop himself. It finall