Chapter 1

For our eighteenth wedding attempt, Julian yanked his hand away on the spot. All because I took one second too long to slide the ring onto his finger.

The disappointment in his eyes cut like broken glass.

"You know I'm a perfectionist, Ellie. Why can't you ever hit your cue on the first try?"

"If you're going to miss your mark again next time, maybe Serena should just marry me instead."

My best friend, Serena, was a self-proclaimed queen of punctuality. Julian always used her as the gold standard to judge me.

On a stormy, torrential night, I was only thirty seconds late getting downstairs. He drove off with Serena, leaving me standing in the rain.

On Valentine's Day, I was half a step behind Serena entering the restaurant. He gave her the candlelight dinner that was meant for me.

For our custom anniversary ring, because I waited ten seconds longer at a red light, he casually slipped it onto Serena's finger.

He even canceled our wedding seventeen times, making Serena stand in as my double to try on the wedding ring seventeen times "for practice."

To make sure the eighteenth time would be a success, I practiced the timing countless times.

But ten seconds before the vows, Serena, who was in charge of handing over the rings, suddenly let her hand "slip." She opened the box a second late.

Julian didn't blame her at all. He just took off the ring and called off the wedding. Again.

It turned out my timing was never the problem. The problem was that the bride wasn't her.

Since he wanted a perfect wedding so badly, I decided to give him exactly what he wanted.

Julian grabbed Serena's hand.

"Watch closely. We'll demonstrate it for you one more time."

I smiled and slid the rings onto both of their fingers myself.

"No need for a demonstration."

"This time, you two finally hit the perfect cue."

A dead silence fell over the hall.

The guests stared at me, seemingly unable to process what they had just witnessed.

Julian looked down at the ring on his finger, then looked up at me.

"Who gave you permission to change the script?"

He glanced at me coldly, annoyed by my sudden improvisation.

"That line."

"Delete it."

I froze for a second. It was hilarious.

Even now, he thought I was still playing along with his perfect wedding game.

My thoughts, my choices. He felt he could rewrite them whenever he wanted.

And it wasn't just this line.

He had deleted my favorite tulips, replacing them with the white roses Serena liked.

He had removed my childhood best friend from the bridal party, making Serena my maid of honor.

Even the wedding dress we had picked out months ago was replaced by the design Serena had her eye on.

Whenever I showed any dissatisfaction, he would always say Serena's taste fit the wedding theme "more perfectly."

His so-called perfection was built entirely on discarding everything I loved.

Yet this time, he threw his precious perfection out the window just to accommodate Serena's mistake.

Seeing me frozen in place, Serena stepped in with a sweet smile to smooth things over.

"Don't be so rigid, Julian. Ellie had good intentions."

"Besides, I think Ellie did great."

"Look, she finally hit the cue, didn't she? Slipping the ring on my finger at the exact last second."

I wanted to tell her not to bother. Once Julian made up his mind, he never looked back.

But in the next second, Julian crumpled under her gaze.

He sighed helplessly. "Fine. At least she showed some awareness this time."

My fingers curled slightly into my palms.

A sharp, tiny sting pricked my heart.

It turned out he was capable of compromising.

He just never compromised with me.

During our worst fight, I had insisted on wearing my late mother's heirloom necklace for the ceremony.

I wanted my parents, watching from heaven, to see me find my happiness.

But no matter how much I begged, cried, or argued, Julian refused to budge.

Even when I pretended to agree and tried to slip it on right before walking down the aisle, he chose to cancel the wedding five times just to force me to submit to his rules.

But now, the iron gates I could never open swung wide open at a single word from Serena.

While I was lost in thought, Julian was already holding Serena, executing a perfectly timed, angled stage-kiss.

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Some of his friends laughed and teased.

"Come on, Julian! We all know how much you love Serena. You don't have to throw a fake wedding every few months just to show off."

"We've seen this 'swapped bride' drama enough times. We're bored. Change the script next time!"

Julian didn't answer, but a clear smile danced in his eyes.

He silently allowed this chaotic deviation from the schedule.

And he silently allowed me to remain the clown who had been replaced eighteen times in this play.

I looked around. Every guest in the room belonged to Julian's or Serena's social circle.

My own friends and family had been completely exhausted and embarrassed by the seventeen previous cancellations. None of them showed up today.

No wonder no one here recognized me as the actual bride.

But Julian didn't know that even the most dedicated clown gets tired.

I wanted to take off the heavy costume and step down from his perfect stage forever.