Before we got married, Ethan Carter insisted on buying two apartments right next to each other. I asked him why he had to take on an extra mortgage. He said, “Your parents are getting older, so it’ll be convenient whether they come over to take care of you in the future or you want to take care of them.” I believed him. For those two apartments, I put in all my savings. But before we registered our marriage, when we went to file the property records, the staff member looked at the documents and frowned. “Miss, are you sure the apartment next door is also for your parents to live in?” “But the pre-registered owner is named Mia Hayes, do you know her?” I froze. Mia Hayes was my best friend. Ethan quickly pulled me aside and coaxed me in a low voice. “She just broke up and has nowhere to stay, so she’s only borrowing the place for a few days, don’t be so petty.” The next second, Mia posted on Ins. [Thank you to him for finally giving me a home.] I stared at that line for a long time, then turned around and put my documents back into my bag. That day, I did not go to the city clerk’s office, and I simply canceled the wedding.
Ethan chased after me. “Listen to me, I’ll handle Mia’s side, and we just need to change the owner, it’s a five-minute thing.” I raised my hand and called an Uber, then immediately got inside. He bent down and leaned against the car window. “If you leave like this, how am I supposed to explain it to our parents?” I glanced at him. “You can explain it to Mia.” I opened the SnapChat of our wedding planner, Claire, and sent one sentence: The wedding is paused. Claire replied almost instantly with a voice message. “Miss Harris, why is it suddenly paused?” “Your fiancé was still discussing the new plan last night.” “What new plan?” “You don’t know?” Claire’s tone was a little hesitant. “Mr. Carter said he wanted to add a special memory video at the wedding and make a photo wall.” My fingertips froze. “What photo wall?” A few seconds later, Claire sent over a picture. I opened the full-size image, and my whole body stiffened in the seat. The most eye-catching spot on the so-called wedding photo wall was not me and Ethan. It was Mia. She was wearing a white dress and standing by the ocean, smiling brightly. And Ethan stood beside her, gazing at her with endless tenderness, looking so romantic and relaxed. I stared at the screen and suddenly found it so absurd that I wanted to laugh. “Who picked these photos?” Claire’s side went quiet for a moment. “Mr. Carter sent them over.” “He said Miss Hayes is your best friend and that you two are close, so putting her photos at the wedding would also count as witnessing your friendship.” “He also said Miss Hayes hasn’t been doing well lately, and he wanted to use this chance to cheer her up a little.” I held my phone and slowly lowered my eyes. The details of wedding planning over the past few months suddenly surfaced one by one. For the flowers I chose, Ethan said Mia was allergic to pollen, so they were later changed to artificial flowers. For the wedding music I picked, Ethan said Mia thought it was tacky, then turned around and changed it to an obscure French song. Every single time, he told me in a tone that made it sound completely natural. “Mia understands these things, and she’s also doing it for our wedding, so don’t be so sensitive.” It turned out that in this wedding that was supposed to belong to me, I had already been pushed to the side. “Miss Harris?” “Are you listening?” “I am.” I closed my eyes for a moment. “The wedding is canceled, and none of this is needed anymore.” Claire sucked in a sharp breath. “But the penalty fee is not a small amount, do you want to discuss it with Mr. Carter again?” “There’s no need to discuss it, and I’ll pay the penalty according to the contract.” “Okay, Miss Harris, then I’ll need you to come to the studio when you have time to sign.” “Okay.” After hanging up, my phone lit up again, and it was a message from Ethan: “Don’t tell your parents yet, I’ll explain the apartment situation to you tonight.” I did not reply and went straight to my parents’ house.
When I pushed open the front door, my dad was wearing reading glasses and tending to his potted orchid on the balcony. My mom was making soup in the kitchen, and when she heard movement, she poked her head out. “Olivia?” “Aren’t you supposed to be getting your marriage license with Ethan today?” “Why are you back so early?” I did not rush to answer and only walked to the dining table and sat down. “We didn’t get it.” “I also canceled the wedding, and I’m planning to return those two apartments.” My dad quickly walked over, and my mom also wiped her hands and ran out of the kitchen. “What happened?” “Did you two have a fight?” My mom was so anxious that her face changed. I pushed a document envelope toward them. “When we went to the property transaction center today to file the records, the staff told me that for the apartment Ethan bought next door, the pre-filled owner was Mia Hayes.” “Mia Hayes?” “That friend of yours?” My dad frowned. I nodded. “Yes.” The air fell silent at that moment. My mom stood frozen in place, her lips moving, but she could not speak for a long while. My dad grabbed the document envelope from the table. “That bastard!” “Back then, he swore up and down that he was buying it for us to retire in, and that was why we agreed to let you put in your savings!” “What is this supposed to be?” “Using our Harris family’s money to support another woman?” He turned to get his phone. “I’m calling Attorney Lewis right now, and this apartment must be returned!” “He has to spit out every cent!” Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang. Ethan’s anxious face appeared outside the door. He was still holding a bouquet of roses. “Olivia, let’s go back and talk about this.” “Can you let me in?” “This really isn’t as serious as you think, so don’t act on impulse.” I did not move. My mom walked over with a cold face and pressed the call button. “Ethan, how do you still have the nerve to come here?” Ethan froze for a second, and the expression on his face instantly turned awkward. “Mrs. Harris... you’re here too.” “Did Olivia say something to you?” “She told us everything.” My mom stared at the screen, her voice as cold as ice. “I only have one question for you.” “For the apartment you said you bought for us two old people to live in, why is someone else’s name on it?” Ethan became guilty. “Mrs. Harris, that’s a misunderstanding.” “Mia really has been going through a hard time recently, and I was just helping her as a friend...” “A friend?” My mom sneered. “You took my daughter’s money to help your friend settle down, do you think the Harris family runs a charity?” “Mrs. Harris, please listen to me explain...” Ethan still wanted to say something, but my mom directly cut off the call. The screen went black. I looked at the dark screen and thought of the night I decided to take out my savings. My dad had once advised me to keep some money for myself, saying that a woman only has confidence when she has money in her own hands. At the time, Ethan held my hand tightly and swore while looking into my parents’ eyes. “Mr. and Mrs. Harris, please don’t worry, I will never make Olivia regret this.” Looking back now, that vow was only laughable. I sat at the dining table and admitted my stupidity in front of my parents for the first time. “Dad, Mom, I’m sorry.” “I regret it.” My mom hugged me, and her tears fell onto my shoulder. “Silly girl, what do you have to be sorry for?” “It’s a good thing you saw him clearly before you got the license.”
The next morning, my parents and I showed up on time at the sales office of Meadowbrook Residences. The customer service woman at the front desk was very polite. “Miss Harris, you previously made an appointment for a consultation about canceling the purchase, and we’ve already pulled up the purchase files on our side.” I stared at the words on the screen. [Client request: Miss Hayes prefers quiet and needs to be close to the east-side elevator, but must avoid the equipment room.] [Follow-up record: Already took Miss Hayes on-site to measure the balcony dimensions.] The date was from six months ago, the month when we had just started looking at apartments. I sat on the sofa and felt all the blood in my body rushing to the top of my head. So even the part about her having just broken up and having nowhere to stay was fake. As early as six months ago, Ethan had already brought Mia here to choose an apartment. “Olivia...” My mom held my hand, her eyes full of heartache. I patted the back of her hand to signal that I was fine. “Excuse me,” I looked at the customer service rep, “if I request to cancel one of the apartments now, what is the process?” The customer service rep looked troubled. “Miss Harris, because you received a ten percent discount for purchasing both apartments together, if you cancel only one apartment separately, the price of the other apartment will need to be recalculated at the original price.” “Also, the loan plan will need to be approved again, and the penalty fee is about five percent of the total price.” I nodded. No matter how much I lost, I could only accept this result now. “Then cancel it.” Just then, the glass door of the sales office was pushed open. Ethan ran in, out of breath. “Olivia!” He strode up to us, glanced at the page on the customer service computer, and his face instantly changed. “You really came to cancel the purchase?” “Olivia, an apartment isn’t a joke, how can you be this impulsive?” He once again used that gentle voice. “The penalty is so high, and canceling isn’t worth it.” “Come back with me first, and let’s talk properly, okay?” I looked up at him. That face was clearly so familiar, but at that moment, I only felt he was a stranger. “If an apartment isn’t a joke, then is marriage a joke?” I stood up and looked him straight in the eyes. “You brought her here to view the apartment six months ago, Ethan, how long exactly were you planning to hide her next door to me?” Ethan’s eyes dodged for a moment. “That was because... because she understands renovations, and I only asked her to come help with references!” “Is that so?” “Olivia.” Suddenly, a soft female voice came from behind Ethan. Mia stood there in an off-white knit sweater, her eyes red. She looked at me, her voice full of grievance. “You really misunderstood.” “I really just had nowhere to go, and Ethan kindly took me in.” She walked forward and tried to take my hand. “Please don’t ruin your relationship of so many years because of me, okay?” I stepped sideways to avoid her. Before I could speak, the customer service rep beside us froze first. “Huh?” “Miss Hayes, how do you have time to come over today?” The customer service rep flipped through the notebook in her hands and smiled warmly. “You came last week to choose curtain measurements, and you also said you wanted to change the master bedroom wall color to dusty pink before move-in, and we’ve already confirmed with the engineering department that it can be changed.” The surroundings instantly went quiet. The grievance on Mia’s face instantly froze, and all the color drained from it. I looked up at her. “Aren’t you just staying temporarily?” “Why are you already renovating my apartment?” Mia bit her lip and could not squeeze out a single word for a long while. “Please,” I turned to look at the customer service rep, my tone calm, “help me cancel the apartment.”
Because of Ethan’s repeated obstruction, the apartment cancellation was not settled for the time being. To keep my parents from worrying, I asked them to go home first. Then I took an Uber to the wedding studio by myself. When Claire saw me, she froze for a moment, then quickly revealed a professional smile. “Miss Harris, please sit.” She handed me a thick file, and the cover said “Wedding Schedule Confirmation Form.” I opened the first page, and my gaze stopped. In the upper right corner of the document, several words were printed boldly: Miss Hayes Confirmed Version. “Sorry, I took the wrong one.” Claire quickly pulled the document back, looking a little embarrassed. “This was the draft left from when Mr. Carter and Miss Hayes came to communicate before.” I pressed down on the document and did not let her take it away. “Do they often come together to communicate?” Claire hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Actually... every time they came to go over the schedule, Miss Hayes basically made the decisions.” She glanced at me, and her voice lowered. “Our team even thought in private that Miss Hayes was the bride.” “After all, every time you came, you were only responsible for looking at the budget details.” I felt as if my heart had been viciously squeezed by something. So in other people’s eyes, I had long since become a side character who was responsible for paying the bill. I picked up the pen on the table and flipped to the last page of the cancellation agreement. “Has the penalty been calculated?” “It has been calculated, and aside from the deposit being deducted, you still need to pay an additional twenty thousand for material losses.” I signed my name and paid without hesitation. Just as I walked into the studio lobby, I ran straight into Ethan, who had hurried over. When he saw the cancellation agreement in my hand, his eyes turned red. “Olivia Harris!” “Have you made enough of a scene?” He rushed over and tried to snatch the document from my hand. “The wedding invitations have already been sent out, and all the relatives and friends have been notified, so if you cancel the wedding now, are you trying to embarrass both families?” I looked at his sanctimonious face and suddenly felt disgusted. Then I took out my phone and notified the friends and family in the wedding SnapChat group. [Everyone, I’m sorry to inform you that Ethan and I are officially canceling our wedding, and I apologize for the trouble.] Ethan’s eyes widened, and he reached out to snatch my phone. “Are you crazy?” “Unsend it!” “Unsend it now!”
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