Chapter 5

Matthew quickly hung up the video call.

Several of them hastily stubbed out their cigarettes, straightened their suits, and walked out of the balcony.

When they caught up to me, Edward said quietly:

"Olivia, after all these years, we all know about you and Xavier. He does care about you in his heart. Men, you know..."

I didn't look at him or respond.

Actually, until yesterday, I still didn't want to believe he'd fall into the same trap of loving the new and abandoning the old.

Windsor was an investor's only daughter, fresh out of college.

Ever since they met once at a celebration banquet, his eyes hadn't been right.

At the time I thought I was being paranoid.

After ten years together, if I didn't understand him, I wouldn't have persisted this long.

So I chose to believe through many ambiguous moments, many late nights with no WhatsApp replies.

I didn't believe that we, who'd finally made it through the hard times and were about to start a family, would lose to a girl fresh out of school.

But he gradually grew eager to tear off his mask, becoming more and more outrageous.

No longer hiding it, even deliberately letting me find out.

Then packaging his betrayal as a favor:

"Someone as outstanding as me, how could I have only one woman? But my heart is yours. No one but you can be Mrs. Xavier."

He expected me to be grateful.

Barbara was right—he could fake it so well.

Faking it until the day before the wedding to finally tear off that last layer of disguise.

Using that cruelest method to make me see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears, what exactly he thought of me.

Faking it until I had no way out.

"Olivia, walk slowly down the aisle later, okay? We'll be behind you to hold down the scene."

"Right, right, Xavier said once he's done he'll come over. You just go through the motions first."

They thought I was just going through the motions at the wedding.

Thought I'd walk down the red carpet alone in my wedding dress, stand before the priest, waiting for a groom who might never show up.

Then smile and say "I do" to an empty groom's position.

This was the script Xavier left for me.

The groomsmen stood on either side of me, faces still wearing that "everything's under control" smile.

The church doors slowly opened, and someone stood in the backlight.

Then everyone's smiles froze.

Xavier had a cigarette and buckled his belt.

"You're really leaving?" Windsor sat on the bed wrapped in sheets, her face full of displeasure,

"You promised to stay with me all day. I only agreed to postpone getting the certificate because of that, and now you're leaving?"

"I have to go." Xavier picked up his jacket, "She only gave me three minutes. If I don't go now, with her temper—you know—"

"What temper?" Windsor pouted, "Isn't she the most understanding?"

"Understanding is one thing, but today's different." Xavier checked himself in the mirror, straightening his shirt collar, "The wedding of the century—I promised her that."

"Then why did you come here?"

"Didn't you insist?" Xavier smiled, walked over and pinched her face, "Be good, wait for me to come back tonight."

Windsor swatted his hand away and turned around: "When will the certificate thing be postponed to?"

"We'll see." Xavier answered perfunctorily, picking up his phone from the nightstand.

The screen lit up. WhatsApp messages were exploding.

All from the friend group, voice messages one after another. The last one was a video from Matthew.

He frowned and randomly clicked it open, his eyes widening sharply.