Chapter 5
There are only seven days left until the 10th.
Hanna reached out to me, saying she had gotten her hands on a wedding invitation for me.
It’s nice to know this lady still remembers me.
I expressed my gratitude.
Then, I opened the package and pulled out the golden–embossed invitation.
In the “newlyweds” section, it read–Kaiden Xavier and Melina Farrell.
I stared at it for a long time before slipping the invitation into my bag.
Since it’s a wedding, I also need to prepare a gift.
I removed the emerald bracelet from my wrist.
Next, I opened the drawer and took out a small ring box from the back.
The wedding rings Kaiden had rejected were actually the ones I ended up keeping.
I looked at the two plain rings, one bigger than the other.
The questions that had once troubled me are finally clear now.
Kaiden refused to wear the ring because he always knew we would never marry.
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He didn’t try harder because he knew there was no future for us.
He’s like a saint who has seen everything and stands above it all.
And here I am, like a fool, desperately holding on to a future that doesn’t exist.
It’s both sad and absurd.
The morning of the 10th.
I left with my suitcase in hand.
As soon as I got up, Kaiden was sitting in the living room.
He stared at me for a long time.
Just before I was about to leave, he walked over, took hold of my wrist, and pulled me into a hug.
“Fiona, when you return from your trip, let’s have a good talk, okay?”
I remained silent.
I glanced past his shoulder at the photo hanging on the wall opposite.
It was from our first anniversary.
Back then, we were full of youthful passion, and our love felt invincible.
We thought we could take on the world for love.
But time is a cruel force.
It strips away the beauty of what was, leaving us as mere shadows’of
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who we were.
I didn’t respond, just pushed Kaiden away.
Kaiden, I’m not coming back.
We don’t have a future together.
In the airport terminal, the announcement echoed that a flight was ready for check–in.
I stood up, blocked all communication from Kaiden, and walked toward the boarding gate with my ID.
Kaiden had been feeling uneasy all day.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
He furrowed his brows, kept checking his phone, and seemed distracted even while changing into his suit.
Suddenly, someone accidentally bumped into his shoulder.
His phone dropped to the floor, and the screen cracked.
The man kept apologizing.
Kaiden appeared not to hear him, picking up the phone without saying
a word.
He wasn’t upset about the phone, but his heart tightened when he saw the photo of us on the screensaver, shattered by the broken screen.
It felt like something important was slipping away from him.
Kaiden suddenly recalled the moment I left home that morning.
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Something had seemed off about me.
Feeling uneasy, he walked to a quiet corner and dialed the familiar number.
But no one picked up.
He furrowed his brow and dialed again.
The screen displayed that the phone was off.
Kaiden couldn’t bear it anymore. He grabbed his phone and stepped out of the wedding hall.
“Where are you headed, Kaiden?”
A middle–aged couple blocked his path.
Kaiden stopped and called out, “Mom, Dad, I need to step out for a bit. Something came up.”
Kaiden’s mother looked concerned. “The wedding is starting soon. Is there anything more urgent than the wedding?”
Kaiden stayed silent, his grip tightening on his phone.
This wedding was pivotal to both families‘ futures for decades to come.
He wasn’t supposed to be selfish.
But he had a gut feeling.
If he didn’t leave now, he would regret it forever.
Kaiden’s mother gently took his hand. “Son, Melina is a wonderful girl. Even if you don’t have feelings for her now, the more time you
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spend together, the more you’ll come to care for her.”
Kaiden remained silent.
He nearly blurted out that he would only ever love one person.
But with his parents watching him with such kind smiles, he couldn’t find the words to say it.
He glanced outside the venue.
The sun was shining brightly, just like the day he first met Fiona Gannon.
That day, she had been standing by the fountain.
The mist shimmered with colors of the rainbow.
Fiona turned around, her smile outshining any view in the world.
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