One minute before the wedding march was supposed to play, I got the message that Arthur was going to jump into the ocean. The wind howled on the other end of the line, his voice torn to shreds: "Chloe, if you marry him today, I'm jumping off right here—I mean it." My fingers instantly turned ice cold. Up front, the officiant was giving his opening remarks, the guests waiting with smiles for the bride to make her entrance. Beside me, my fiancé, Liam, noticed something was wrong. He turned his head and asked softly, "What's the matter?" His eyes were gentle, just as they had been every morning he looked at me for the past three years. But I knew some secrets couldn't be hidden anymore. "It's Arthur," I heard my own dry voice say. "He said if the wedding continues, he'll kill himself to show me." Liam's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He held my hand, his palm warm: "Call the police. Today is our big day. Don't let anyone ruin it." He was right. Arthur was my past, and Liam was my present and future. But why were my hands shaking so badly? "He might actually jump," I murmured. "We both know how dangerous those cliffs are." Liam was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "So, what do you want to do?" 1 What did I want to do? I wanted to finish this wedding and marry the man in front of me who had given me stability and respect. I also wanted Arthur to live. The officiant's voice echoed again, this time cueing my entrance. Liam looked down at me, his eyes complex: "Chloe, if you want to go make sure he's safe, I'll wait for you." That sentence was like a key, unlocking a door tightly shut in my heart. "I'm sorry," I heard myself say. "I'll be right back." I lifted the hem of my wedding dress and turned to run towards the exit under the astonished gazes of the guests filling the hall. Liam's mother stood up to stop me, but Liam gently pressed her shoulder down. In that moment, his eyes were unfathomable. This wasn't the first time I had abandoned Liam for Arthur. Three years ago, on our first date, Arthur was hospitalized with stomach bleeding. I left Liam behind and stayed at the hospital for an entire night. Two years ago, a birthday surprise Liam had meticulously prepared ended abruptly because of a call from Arthur having a "depressive episode." A year ago, on the night Liam proposed to me, Arthur got into a car accident. I didn't even let Liam finish saying, "Will you marry me?" before rushing to the hospital. Every time, Liam said, "It's okay." Every time, he forgave me. But forgiveness comes with a price. When my car pulled up to the coastal cliffs, Arthur was sitting on the railing, his legs dangling over the crashing waves below. He turned and saw me, smiling: "I knew you'd come." The ocean breeze tangled his hair, his white dress shirt billowing like a bird about to fall. "Get down, Arthur," my voice was calm. "Stop playing these childish games." "Childish?" He raised an eyebrow. "Chloe, I'm getting married next month." My heart sank heavily. "To whom?" "The daughter of the Chen family. A corporate marriage," he said casually. "So I had to see you today, before you became someone else's bride." I walked towards him step by step, my heels clicking firmly on the rocky path. "So you thought you'd threaten me by jumping into the ocean just to see me one last time before you got married? Arthur, do you think I'm still the same Chloe from three years ago who did whatever you said?" Arthur's smile froze. He looked at me, his eyes holding that familiar, heartbreaking expression—that childlike, fragile yet stubborn look that had made me compromise countless times. "I'm getting married, and you're getting married," he said. "Don't you think it's unfair?" "Fair?" I felt a surge of nameless anger. "For the past three years, every time something happened to you, I was by your side. But when I needed you, where were you? Where were you the night my father died?" Arthur's face instantly turned pale. "I was in Paris," he whispered. "I didn't know..." "You knew. I called you seventeen times and sent twenty-three messages. You didn't reply until the next day, saying you lost your phone." I stopped five paces away from him. "That night, it was Liam who stayed with me to handle all the arrangements. It was him holding my hand at the funeral home. It was him helping me deal with those difficult relatives." Arthur's lips moved, but no sound came out. "Get down," I said. "Don't use death to threaten me. If you really wanted to die, you wouldn't have called me. You would have just jumped." The wind seemed to die down in that moment. 2 Arthur stared at me for a while, then slowly climbed off the railing and stood on the safe side. His movements were a bit stiff, like he had been sitting there too long. "You've changed," he said. "We've both changed." I turned to leave, the hem of my wedding dress caught by the wind, tangling around my calves. At that moment, Arthur's voice came from behind: "If I said I could cancel the marriage with the Chen family, would you..." "No," I didn't look back. "I have to go back. My wedding is still waiting for me." Back in my car, I checked my phone. There were thirty-seven missed calls, mostly from Liam, and a few from his parents. I took a deep breath and started the car. On the way back, it started to rain. Raindrops hit the windshield, quickly blurring my vision. I turned on the wipers and suddenly remembered a rainy day three years ago. Arthur stood below my apartment, soaked to the bone, just to tell me he had gotten the opportunity to study in Paris. "Two years," he had said then. "Just two years. Wait for me to come back, and we'll get married." I believed him. I waited. But when he came back, there was already someone else by his side. The light turned red. I stopped the car and saw my pale face and slightly messed up makeup in the rearview mirror. My phone vibrated again. This time it was a text from Liam: "Are you safe?" Just three simple words. No interrogation, no blame. I replied: "Safe. Heading back." The light turned green. When I got back to the hotel, the wedding had been paused for an hour and a half. Most of the guests were still there, but the atmosphere was noticeably different. The whispering stopped abruptly as I entered the banquet hall, all eyes focusing on me. Liam stood in the center of the stage, looking sharp in his suit, his expression calm. Seeing me, he gave a slight nod, then signaled the officiant. Liam's mother walked over quickly, grabbed my arm, and hissed, "Chloe, do you know how many important people are here today? Do you know how much face you've made the Vance family lose?" "Mom," Liam's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone around to hear. "Chloe is back. That's enough." He walked over and offered me his hand. I hesitated for a second, then placed my hand in his palm. His hand was very warm, while mine was still icy. "Shall we continue the wedding?" he asked softly. I nodded. The officiant resumed hosting, but his voice had lost its initial enthusiasm. When it was time to exchange rings, Liam slowly slid a ring onto my ring finger. It was a simple diamond ring, not the one we had originally chosen. "Where's the original ring?" I whispered. "Needed for the ceremony, we'll use this one for now," he answered, then leaned down and kissed me. It was a polite and restrained kiss, devoid of warmth. The wedding banquet ended in an eerie atmosphere. 3 During the toasts, I saw all sorts of expressions: pity, mockery, curiosity, schadenfreude. Liam maintained a proper smile throughout, deflecting all the difficult questions for me. At 10 PM, the last wave of guests left. Liam and I stood at the hotel entrance, seeing off his parents. His mother looked at me, her eyes complex: "I hope you two really know what you're doing." His father patted Liam on the shoulder: "Have a good talk." In the car ride to our new home, neither of us spoke. The new home was a house Liam bought three months ago in an upscale neighborhood on the west side of the city. I had imagined our married life here countless times, but now, those imaginations were cast under a shadow. After going inside, Liam took off his coat and loosened his tie. "Do you need help taking off the dress?" "I can do it myself," I said. He nodded and walked towards the kitchen. "I'm going to warm up some milk. Do you want a cup?" "No, thanks." In the bedroom, I struggled to undo the buttons on the back of the wedding dress. We had chosen this dress together, a simple mermaid style. Liam had said then that it perfectly accentuated my figure. Now, it felt like a heavy cocoon binding me. I took off the wedding dress, changed into pajamas, and walked into the living room. Liam was sitting on the sofa, holding a glass of milk. Our marriage certificate lay on the coffee table in front of him. "We need to talk," he said. I sat down across from him. "About today, I want to hear the full explanation." His tone was calm, but his eyes were sharp. I truthfully recounted everything that happened at the cliffs, including the news of Arthur getting married. Liam listened quietly, his fingers tapping gently against his glass. "So, if he had really jumped today, what would you have done?" he asked. I didn't know. I really didn't know. The answer to this question terrified me. "I don't know," I said honestly. Liam took a sip of milk and set the glass down. "Chloe, this is the last time I will tolerate anything between you and Arthur. We are married, which means some things have to change." "I understand." "I'm not sure you really do." He looked at me. "For the past three years, I've been waiting. Waiting for you to completely let him go, waiting for you to wholeheartedly choose me. Today, I gave you one last chance by letting you leave during the wedding. If you hadn't come back, I would have canceled the wedding." My heart tightened. "But you came back," he continued. "So I'm willing to give us one more chance. But from now on, Arthur must completely exit our lives. Can you do that?" Could I? The question swirled in my mind. I've known Arthur for fifteen years, from our awkward middle school days to now. He was the entirety of my youth's memories, my first crush, the person I once thought I'd spend the rest of my life with. "I can," I said. Liam nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer, but also seemingly not entirely convinced. "Then prove it to me." On our first night as newlyweds, we slept in separate rooms. Liam said he still had some work to handle and slept in the guest room. I knew that wasn't the real reason, but I didn't push. Lying in the unfamiliar marital bed, I tossed and turned. My phone screen lit up and dimmed in the dark. Eventually, I picked it up. No new messages. Arthur hadn't contacted me again. 4 The next morning, I was woken up by the sunlight. I checked the time; it was 7 AM. I got up, washed my face, and when I went downstairs, I found Liam already preparing breakfast in the kitchen. "Morning," he said, handing me a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. "How did you sleep?" "Alright," I took the juice. "And you?" "The usual." He plated the fried eggs. "Any plans for today?" According to our original plan, we were supposed to go on our honeymoon, a two-week trip to Europe. But now, I didn't know if that plan was still on. "The honeymoon..." I started tentatively. "As scheduled." Liam placed the plates on the dining table. "The flight is at 3 PM. We still have time to pack." I looked at him in surprise. "Life goes on, Chloe," he said. "I'm not going to change all our plans just because of what happened yesterday." After breakfast, we packed our bags separately. During this time, my phone rang a few times; it was all congratulatory messages from friends and colleagues. I replied to them one by one. I didn't see any messages from Arthur. Around noon, Liam's mother suddenly visited. She hadn't given any advance notice and just rang the doorbell. "I heard you two are still going on your honeymoon?" she asked directly after entering, her tone conveying disapproval. "Yes, Mom," Liam answered calmly. "I think you should stay and deal with the issues left over from yesterday." His mother looked at me. "Many relatives and friends are asking about what happened. We need a unified story." "What unified story?" I asked. "Like, you suddenly left because you weren't feeling well, or you got an urgent work call," she said. "Not because your ex-boyfriend was going to jump into the ocean." I felt a wave of suffocation. "There's no need to make up excuses," Liam said. "The facts are the facts." "Liam!" His mother's voice rose. "Do you know what your Uncle Miller said yesterday? He said the Vance family's daughter-in-law ran off to see her ex-boyfriend at her own wedding. It's an absolute joke!" "Then let them laugh," Liam remained unmoved. "My marriage with Chloe doesn't require an explanation to anyone." His mother stared at him for a long time before finally sighing: "You're always like this. From childhood to adulthood, once you make a decision, there's no turning back. But this is different; this concerns the Vance family's reputation." "If the Vance family's reputation is that fragile, then it wasn't worth maintaining in the first place," Liam said. That sentence completely silenced his mother. She picked up her bag and walked towards the door. "Do what you want. But remember, every choice has consequences." After she left, the house returned to silence. Liam rubbed his temples, looking a bit tired. "I'm sorry," I said. "I put you in a difficult position again." "It's not your fault," he said. "My mother is just worried. But she's right; every choice has consequences. We both need to be prepared." At 2 PM, we left for the airport. On the way, Liam took a work call, while I looked at the rapidly receding street views out the window. This city held too many of my memories, and today, I was temporarily leaving it. Maybe this was a new beginning. While checking in, I saw a familiar figure. It was Arthur's younger sister, Anna. She clearly saw me too. She hesitated for a moment, then walked over. "Chloe," she said softly. "Can I talk to you in private for a minute?" I looked at Liam. He nodded: "I'll go look at the magazines over there." Anna pulled me aside. Her eyes were red and swollen, like she had been crying. "My brother is in the hospital." My heart sank. "What happened?" "He started running a fever after coming back from the beach yesterday. This morning, I couldn't reach him. When I went to his apartment, I found him unconscious." Anna's voice trembled. "The doctor said it's a severe cold that turned into pneumonia, but he refuses to cooperate with the treatment and keeps calling your name." "Which hospital is he at?" "City General." Anna grabbed my hand. "Chloe, I know I shouldn't bother you, especially since today is your second day of marriage. But I really don't know who else to turn to. My brother... he's in a very bad state." Looking at Anna's anxious face, I remembered the little girl who always used to follow us around all those years ago. Arthur's parents died early, and he and his sister had only each other. This was also one of the reasons I could never completely cut ties with him. "I need to discuss this with my husband," I said.
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