Five Years for His Remains, I Saw His Wedding

1 For five years, I had been a war correspondent, tirelessly searching for Charlie’s remains. Now, by sheer accident, I crashed his wedding. My comrades-in-arms, who had once scoured battlefields with me, froze, their faces rigid with shock. “Evie, please don’t be upset. Charlie’s faked death was necessary. Sarah’s identity is too sensitive to leave unprotected.” Behind them stood Sarah, shielded by the men who had once searched with me. She was wanted by the Alliance for leaking secrets—and Charlie’s childhood sweetheart. I wasn’t upset. My voice was calm as I said, “So to protect a traitor, Captain Davies chose to die with her.” In the silence, Charlie finally spoke, his voice raspy. “Sarah’s had it hard. You should understand why I did it.” “Understand?” I repeated, a laugh rising. “That you made me search for five years? That you all acted for me? Or that—” “You’re getting married.” Charlie stiffened. Sarah sobbed. “I’m sorry. I’m leaving in five days. This is my last wish.” I opened my mouth, but no words came. “Enough! You’ve waited five years!” Charlie snapped. “Can’t you wait five more?” I smiled. He was right. Five days was enough time to write a report that would shake the world. … My laughter echoed through the wedding venue, jarringly out of place. Even the music had stopped. Charlie’s brow was deeply furrowed. He walked slowly towards me, lowering his voice. “Don’t look at me like that. I thought about telling you, but you talk to too many people. I was afraid of leaking Sarah’s whereabouts.” I lowered my gaze to the wedding ring on his left ring finger. It was blindingly bright. Too many people. He knew all along. After his “death,” the whispers had never ceased. Everyone said he and Sarah came from old, established families, and their joint “accidental deaths” surely hid a secret. But I refused to believe it. Not just because his squad members had mourned with me, tirelessly sifting through bullet-riddled battlefields for five long years. But because I had witnessed his unwavering impartiality firsthand. To him, the mission was everything. When I had a high fever during my pregnancy, he received a call on the way to the hospital and left. When he returned, the baby was gone due to delayed medical attention. I had cried hysterically, and he had simply frowned, explaining, “Emergency missions can’t wait. As for the baby, we can have another.” When his enemies kidnapped me, he was on the front lines and hung up on the abductors. They tortured me for half a month before tossing my barely alive body by the roadside. When he rushed back from the front, I was just recovering from emergency surgery. He simply held me, promising I would never face such danger again. After his “death,” his enemies and the accusations had descended upon me. So I had applied to be a war correspondent. I searched for his “remains” in conflict zones, and with each report, I defended his honor. Now, he said he was afraid of leaking Sarah’s whereabouts. To protect her, Charlie had abandoned a decade of loyalty, abandoned his principles, and abandoned me. I smiled, a wry, helpless gesture, and slowly shook my head. When I looked up again, I noticed everyone was watching me warily, including Charlie. “Five days,” Charlie took a step closer, his voice so low only I could hear it. “I’ll get Sarah out safely in five days, then I’ll come back. This wedding… it’s just her wish. Don’t take it seriously.” He was too close. I immediately stepped back, instinctively picking up a wine glass from a nearby table. Almost instantly, everyone rushed to shield Sarah. Charlie grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight it hurt. “What are you doing? Calm down! Don’t hurt Sarah!” Sarah started to sob again. “If Evie’s angry, she can just splash me. I was selfish, wanting a wedding with friends before I leave.” Their eyes filled with even more pity for her, and their gazes at me sharpened. “Sarah saved Captain Davies’s life. He’s just repaying a debt.” “It’s just a small wish. Evie, don’t be so pushy.” “Sarah has suffered enough. Just because she accidentally sent a few lines of text, she’s labeled a traitor. But Captain Davies clearly won that battle.” I listened silently. The “few lines of text” they spoke of were the real-time coordinates of my father’s and brother’s unit. My father and brother had died in the ambush caused by that leak. And their “Captain Davies won” was a victory delayed by half a month because of that leak. That was the fifteen days I spent in a dark warehouse, with eight broken ribs and shattered kneecaps. I smiled faintly and drained the red wine in my glass. Those painful memories seemed to slide down my throat with the last drops. As everyone watched, stunned, I set down the empty glass, my voice calm. “I drink this last toast to you all. Farewell.” I turned to leave, but Charlie abruptly seized my wrist. His brows were tightly knitted, his voice forced out through gritted teeth. “You came all this way just to toast us? Was it truly an ‘accident’ you came in?” The moment his words landed, the eyes of everyone in the room pierced me like needles. “Evie… you wouldn’t… wouldn’t expose me, would you?” Sarah’s voice trembled. Almost simultaneously, several figures silently blocked the exits of the banquet hall. Charlie looked at me, took a deep breath, and held out his hand. “Your phone.” I smiled faintly and handed it over. The screen still showed an old photo of us from years ago. His movements stiffened for a moment, then he quickly scrolled through it… finding nothing, of course. I tried to leave again. But someone whispered, their voice laced with suppressed resentment, “Wasn’t Evie the one who reported Sarah for leaking information?” “Sarah saved Captain Davies’s life. Shouldn’t we be more careful with Evie?” “We can’t let Evie’s jealousy ruin Captain Davies’s five-year plan!” “Sarah has suffered so much because of Evie, hiding for all these years.” Listening to their words, I suddenly burst out laughing. I finally understood another reason Charlie had kept it from me, beyond just protecting Sarah. He also hated me. Hated me for reporting Sarah, even though every word of that report was a bloody, undeniable truth. And I, too, hated. For five years, I had hated Sarah. Now, there was one more. “Still not convinced?” I looked at Charlie, and under everyone’s watchful eyes, I emptied all my pockets. Then, I unzipped my jacket and tossed it onto the floor. Beneath, I wore only a black camisole. I raised my hand, my fingertips touching the strap— “Enough!” Charlie abruptly turned his face away, his voice hoarse. “Just go.” This time, no one stopped me. I picked up my jacket and walked out without looking back. Back home, I accessed my other phone, the screen now displaying a photo of my father and brother. This was a completely different system. In my five years as a war correspondent, I was no longer the helpless victim I had been when kidnapped. No, my presence at that wedding tonight was no accident. Three days ago, I had received a text message—a wedding invitation. The sender was Sarah, who had supposedly “died” five years ago. My heart had constricted the moment I saw the wedding venue. But there was no time for pain; other things surged forth. The graves of my father and brother, the searing pain of my shattered kneecaps, and the kidnapper’s mocking words: “Looks like Charlie doesn’t care about you that much, does he?” I dragged the photos and audio clips from tonight onto my computer, one by one. A report capable of igniting global outrage slowly took shape. Until the sound of the door lock turning. I quickly closed my laptop. Charlie pushed the door open, reeking of alcohol. “You still resent me, don’t you?” He stumbled towards me, reaching out to touch my face, but I turned away, avoiding his hand. He collapsed onto the rug at my feet, looking up at me, his eyes red. “Don’t resent me. Sarah saved my life. On the training ground, someone’s gun misfired, and she pushed me away. I couldn’t not repay that debt.” I listened in silence, suddenly remembering many years ago. I had secretly gone to see my brother. Charlie and my brother were so similar in build that in a moment of crisis, I had instinctively lunged towards him. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had mistaken him for someone else. The bullet scar on my chest throbbed faintly. “You’re the only one in my heart,” he grabbed my wrist. “She’ll be gone soon. We can go back to how things were…” “Charlie,” I cut him off, handing him the documents I had already prepared. “Sign this.” “What is it? What do you want to buy? Sign… I’ll sign anything.” He mumbled, barely looking, and scrawled his name. After signing, he seemed to run out of strength, falling into a deep sleep. I pulled out the divorce papers and walked out. 2 After handing the divorce papers to my lawyer, I went to the cemetery. Not long after I left the gravesite, an SUV suddenly screeched to a halt in front of me, and I was pulled inside. Charlie was beside me. The smell of alcohol was gone, replaced by a terrifying, grim expression. “I really did trust you too much. You hate Sarah that much? Enough to have her kidnapped?!” I froze. He gripped my arm, his teeth clenched. “Don’t pretend! The moment I woke up, you were gone! Even if you didn’t arrange the kidnapping, you must have leaked her whereabouts!” The other men in the car spoke with complex tones. “Sarah’s been living under the radar all these years. Aside from us, no one knows where she is.” “You were the only one at the wedding last night, and this morning she was in trouble.” My chest felt like it had been ripped open, cold wind howling through the void. All these years, I had dodged fire with them, scoured fields of corpses with them, and yet, I was still not trusted. The car sped relentlessly towards a deserted factory. I was shoved inside. Sarah was tied up, her face streaked with tears and dust. The kidnappers saw Charlie and scoffed. “You came fast. Looks like this woman really is your precious darling.” “Last time, we got the wrong person. You didn’t show up for half a month of torment. This time, you’re here in less than half an hour.” Charlie’s body stiffened. He forced himself to yell at the kidnappers, his voice rough. “You’ve got the wrong person! This is my wife! That one is irrelevant! Let her go!” I turned to look at him, disbelief washing over me. The kidnappers were also stunned. “You think I’m stupid…” “Look closely!” Charlie sharply interrupted, roughly grabbing my left hand and holding it up. At the same time, I saw the plain band on his hand. It was a perfect match for the ring I’d worn for years, now almost embedded in my skin. He was wearing it again. To exchange me for Sarah? “This is a wedding ring!” Charlie shouted. “I’m exchanging my wife for her!” The kidnappers exchanged glances, seemingly hesitant. But I spoke, each word distinct: “I. will. not. be. exchanged.” “It’s not up to you!” Charlie suddenly grabbed my finger, pulling forcefully at the ring! The ring was deeply embedded in my flesh. The friction caused a tearing pain. The bones in my finger made a sickening “click.” Blood instantly gushed from my finger. He threw the blood-stained ring at the kidnappers. “Check it! Release her!” The kidnappers picked up the ring, examined it, then suspiciously scrutinized both me and Sarah. Sarah cried out, “Brother Kidnapper! Don’t hurt Evie! I’ll go in her place! I’d be happy to do something for Charlie and Evie!” Hearing this, Charlie’s eyes grew even more anxious and pained. He looked at me, almost gritting his teeth. “Evie! They were coming for you anyway! Sarah is innocent!” Coming for me? I suddenly wanted to laugh out loud. So in his mind, I deserved to be kidnapped, deserved to be tortured, while Sarah was always, perpetually innocent. But before I could speak, a sharp pain shot through the back of my neck, and the world plunged into darkness.

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