After seven years of dating, Andrew and I were finally getting married. I was enthusiastically planning our wedding, only to find out our venue had been double-booked. My dream venue had been snatched away. When I complained to Andrew in frustration, he ruthlessly cut me off. "Are you done whining? It’s just a venue. If this one doesn't work, we'll just find another one." I stared at Andrew in utter shock, completely blindsided by his sudden attitude. After that day, he stopped reaching out to me. Whenever I called, his only response was a cold, "I’m busy." Ten days before the wedding, I went to his office to surprise him. That was when I heard his voice drifting from inside the room: "I promise you, Chloe. On the wedding day, all the guests will be at that venue. She will be the only bride standing there." "I didn't change the address on the invitations." I froze in the hallway, my heart dropping into my stomach. So, it wasn't a double-booked venue. It was a double-booked groom.
I walked home like a ghost. My mind was such a mess that I kept bumping into pedestrians along the street. "Hey! Watch where you're going, crazy!" "Is she blind? What a freak!" "If you don't need your eyes, donate them!" I stiffened, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. "Yeah... I must be blind." The rude passerby gave me a weird look and quickly walked away without another word. They probably thought I was insane, but I didn't care to explain. Suddenly, the sky opened up. Heavy rain poured down, soaking me to the bone in seconds. But I felt nothing. The icy water mingled with the tears rolling down my cheeks. By midnight, I had developed a raging fever. As I lay shivering in bed, my phone buzzed. It was Andrew. "Audrey, can you bring some hangover pills to the club for me? These guys are totally wasting me." My body went rigid. Out of habit, I almost stood up to search the medicine cabinet. But then reality hit me. I stopped myself. "Sorry, I have a fever. I can't go." There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by some loud teasing in the background: "Looks like you lost, Andrew! Guess you'll have to buy your own hangover pills." The sweet, giggling voice sounded incredibly familiar. It was Chloe. I let out a cold sneer, and Andrew hung up immediately. In the middle of the night, Andrew stumbled into the apartment, smelling heavily of tequila. He violently pulled me up from my sleep. "Are you out of your mind? I was getting hammered by my friends, and you made up some lame excuse about a fever just to avoid coming?" "Do you even care about me anymore?!" The suffocating smell of alcohol snapped me fully awake. I held my throbbing forehead, trying my best to stay steady. "I told you. I have a fever." My flat, serious tone finally made Andrew look at my face. My bright red, flushed cheeks spoke for themselves. He went quiet for a second, then muttered, "Sorry. I'll sleep in the study." I scoffed and fell back onto the mattress. There was no way I could sleep now. Soon, I heard muffled laughter and whispers coming from the study next door. It was loud and humiliating. I stayed awake all night. The next morning, Andrew walked out of the study looking refreshed, with Chloe right behind him. The moment Andrew saw me, his smile froze. He instinctively took a step away from Chloe. "Morning." "The party ended too late last night, and Chloe lost her keys. So I brought her back here." I just nodded, stepping aside to head toward the front door. Andrew grabbed my wrist. I looked at him, confused. He stammered, "Where are you going? Aren't we supposed to go dress shopping today?" I paused, then turned to him with a smile. "Why don't you two go instead? I have some urgent stuff to handle at the office." Andrew visibly let out a sigh of relief. His smile became genuine. "Alright then. Chloe has amazing taste. She'll make sure we get the perfect dress." "Sure," I replied softly. The moment I left the apartment, I sent a Snapchat blast to Andrew’s family and friends, informing them of the venue change. Then, I texted my own family and friends that the wedding was canceled. After that, I turned off my phone. I didn't want to explain myself to anyone. I immediately drove to the agency to finalize my passport and visa. I had been accepted into a prestigious exchange program in London months ago. Initially, because we were getting married, I didn't want to be away from Andrew for so long, so I had put it on hold. But now that the wedding was dead, I was absolutely not giving up this opportunity. When I stepped out of the government building, I saw Andrew and Chloe coming out of the City Hall next door. Both of them were beaming with joy. But the moment Andrew’s eyes met mine, he froze. "What... what are you doing here?" he asked, panic flaring in his eyes. He looked incredibly guilty, his gaze darting away from me.
Chloe reached out, wrapping her arm tightly around Andrew's. She looked at me with a smug, victorious smile. "Andrew came to help me take care of some paperwork." I gave her a flat look. "Congratulations." Andrew tried to step forward to explain, but his hand grabbed empty air. "Audrey!" I didn't stop. I quickened my pace and walked away. That evening, Andrew brought Chloe back to our apartment again. I looked at them calmly. "Do you want me to vacate the master bedroom for you guys? I doubt the study is comfortable enough for two." My words clearly struck a nerve. Andrew’s face turned incredibly ugly. "Audrey! Do you have to be so damn sarcastic?" "Since when did you become like this?" "You're acting like a hysterical psycho!" I almost laughed out loud. I hadn't cried, I hadn't made a scene, yet the label of a "psycho" was already slapped onto my head. I pointed at my forehead and smiled. "Well, you've thrown so many labels at me, I'm starting to lose track of who I'm supposed to be." Andrew looked uncomfortable for a split second, but then his anger flared. He violently pushed my shoulder. "Don't get cocky with me! Don't forget, this is my apartment!" "I pay for your food, your drinks, and your rent! And you dare speak to me like that?" "Get out! Get the hell out of my house!" He shoved me toward the door, not even giving me a chance to grab my phone. Before I could even process what was happening, the heavy door slammed shut in my face. "Andrew! Give me my phone!" I pounded on the door frantically, but it never opened again. The autumn air was freezing. I rubbed my arms as goosebumps broke out all over my skin. This was the city I grew up in, yet at this moment, I was entirely homeless. Without a single penny or a phone, I had no choice but to walk all the way to my office. By the time I reached my desk, I was utterly exhausted. I collapsed onto the table and fell asleep. The next morning, with the help of a coworker, I bought a cheap replacement phone and dialed Andrew's number. He didn't answer. Instead, Chloe’s voice came through the speaker: "Andrew, it's an unknown number." Andrew's impatient voice echoed in the background: "Just hang up if you don't know who it is." But Chloe didn't hang up. She probably guessed it was me. "Andrew, maybe you should go apologize to Audrey?" "She's a girl, after all. She needs to save some face..." What a manipulative little snake. I let out a soft laugh. It was such a cheap trick. But Andrew's response still managed to completely freeze the blood in my veins. "Why should I care about her? She has nowhere else to go in this city anyway." "She doesn't even have her phone." "It won't take long before she crawls back and begs for my forgiveness." The line went dead. I stood there, staring blankly at my phone. So, he knew. He knew I had nothing, and he did it anyway. I let out a bitter laugh. I thought my heart was already numb, but it still managed to ache. I immediately redialed the number. "Why are you still calling? Didn't you hear what he just said?" Chloe’s annoyed voice filled my ear. "Have you no shame? Why do you keep throwing yourself at Andrew? Don't you get how pathetic you are?" I ignored her insults. I smiled faintly. "Let's meet. I have something I want to give you." Chloe sounded suspicious. After a moment of hesitation, her greed got the better of her. "Fine. Meet me at the Starbucks on the South Side." I hung up and headed out immediately. But when the time came, Chloe didn't show up.
"Audrey! Are you trying to bully Chloe again?!" "I told you a thousand times, there's nothing going on between us! Why do you keep harassing her?!" Andrew’s furious voice roared behind me, followed by a stinging slap across my face. My cheek burned with sharp pain. I looked at him, letting out a mocking laugh. He felt completely like a stranger now. "Hitting me without even asking what happened? Is this how your prestigious family raised you?" Andrew's face drained of color. He bit his lip, seemingly unable to find a comeback. Since Chloe didn't show up, there was no point in keeping the truth to myself anymore. "If I wanted to harass her, would I have called your phone?" "Could I have predicted she would answer? Don't make me laugh." I took a step toward him, forcing him to look into my eyes. His expression crumbled, and he took a step back. I found the whole thing incredibly pathetic. I turned around and walked away. Andrew didn't contact me again, but the wedding day was fast approaching. With only one day left, he sent someone to deliver a necklace to my office. There was no wrapping, no box. Just a bare, tarnished silver necklace. "Didn't you always want this necklace? I bought it back for you." Andrew's text read. I found it hilarious. I called him and said, "Andrew, if you think I’m going to cherish a secondhand piece of trash that was stolen by Chloe first, you are sorely underestimating me." Andrew sounded guilty, his voice cracking. "Why do you always have to make such a big deal out of nothing?" "You got the thing you wanted, and I'm still by your side. What more do you want?" "After tomorrow, we'll be husband and wife." I smiled mockingly. "I see." That was all I said before hanging up. "Where have you been staying these past few days? You couldn't possibly..." He suddenly called back, his voice laced with a strange anxiety. For a moment, I felt a deep, piercing humiliation. Anger flared in my chest. "Andrew! If you knew I had nowhere to go, why did you kick me out in the first place?!" "Did you really think..." He dodged the question, murmuring guiltily, "I thought you'd give in and apologize after half a day." At that moment, I was just so tired. "Forget it." I hung up and blocked his number. When I walked down to the lobby of my office building, an unwelcome guest was already waiting for me. "Audrey." I turned and saw Chloe. "Did you get the necklace?" "Consider it a little compensation from Andrew and me. Weren't you dying to have it?" I looked at Chloe. Around her neck hung the Heart of the Ocean—a blue diamond necklace worth millions that had recently been auctioned off. Noticing my gaze, Chloe raised her chin proudly, running her fingers over the massive diamond. "Andrew said you liked that cheap silver thing, so he used this multi-million dollar diamond to trade for it with me." Her tone was dripping with smug satisfaction. I laughed. "It's just trash. Keep it for yourself." Chloe's face twisted in rage, but I walked right past her. The next day, I boarded my flight to London. I ignored the dozens of missed calls from Andrew and Chloe. But just as I was about to pass through the boarding gate, a violent force slammed me to the ground. "You skipped our wedding just to run away?!"
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