The Canceled Wedding

The day before our engagement party, my fianc promised to take me wedding dress shopping. I waited until the shop lights went dark and the doors were locked, but he never showed up.

On my way home, I finally received a text from him.

Bianca said she had nothing to wear for bed. I'm out helping her pick out some new silk pajamas tonight.

I called him immediately, but a high-pitched, girly voice answered. "Winslow is in the shower right now. Do you want me to leave him a message?"

We had been together for four years. Every time I had something important going on, his younger protge always had some trivial crisis that required his attention. And every single time, he chose her. He would drop everything to run to her side, leaving me behind.

Even for a milestone as big as our wedding, he didn't hesitate to abandon me.

I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me. My voice was calm as I spoke into the phone. "Tell him the wedding is off. I'm done."

...

Just yesterday, Winslow had held my hand and looked into my eyes. He swore he would be there for the dress fitting.

But when the day came, his phone rang. He looked at the screen with a troubled expression. "Sonya, something came up at the office. I have to handle it quickly."

I felt a pang of disappointment, but seeing how rushed he looked, I didn't question him. I let him go.

Before leaving, he told me to wait. He promised he would come back for me.

I waited until the boutique closed, but he was a no-show. I called him dozens of times, but every call went straight to voicemail.

The pitying looks from the salesclerks felt like needles pricking my heart.

One of them walked over and spoke softly. "Miss Reed, would you like us to wait a bit longer?"

I shook my head and forced a tight, ugly smile. "No, thank you. I'm heading home."

On the walk back, I saw a photo on my social media feed. It showed a man in a boutique, carefully selecting lingerie for a woman.

The caption read: How close do you have to be for a man to pick out your intimate wear for you?

I felt a cold laugh bubble up in my throat. I left a comment right under the post. Other people's fiancs always seem to have the best taste, don't they?

Seconds later, I got three texts from Winslow. "Bianca said she had no pajamas to sleep in. I'm helping her shop tonight."

"Stop being so dramatic and making a scene. Just wait for me to get home, okay?"

"Be a good girl."

I stared at those messages and laughed until tears started streaming down my face.

Winslow and I had been a couple for four years. Every time I needed him, Bianca Blair would conveniently have a breakdown or a minor emergency. And Winslow would always drop me without a second thought.

I had fought with him about it before. He would just look at me with disappointment. "If there was anything going on between Bianca and me, you wouldn't even be in the picture."

"She's like a sister to me. She's the one who gave me the courage to ask you out. Why are you so jealous of her?"

So, I forced myself to accept the presence of a third person in our relationship. I forced myself to endure him treating her better than he treated me.

I loved him so much that I had lost myself in the process.

But I'm only human. Everyone has a breaking point.

When he promised to be at the fitting, I had secretly started a countdown in my head. I wanted to see how long it would take for Bianca to start her drama.

When she didn't show up at the start of the day, I was actually surprised.

Now I realize I was just naive. She didn't need to show up; she just needed to call.

And Winslow lied to me again. He chose her, just like he always did.

I didn't even realize I was sobbing until my face was soaked.

I tried calling him one last time, and surprisingly, he picked up.

But it wasn't his voice. It was Bianca's. "Winslow is in the shower. Do you have something urgent, Sonya? I can pass it along for you."

I let out a sharp, bitter laugh.

Today was supposed to be about our future. There were a million details that needed his attention as the groom.

Instead, my groom was taking a shower at another woman's house.

It was almost poetic in its cruelty.

Actually, I felt a sense of relief.

What if she had called him away during the actual ceremony tomorrow? I would have been left standing at the altar alone.

This wasn't the first time he had abandoned me for her.

But I decided right then that it would be the last.

I was tired. I didn't want to play this game anymore.

Bianca's voice continued through the speaker. "Winslow is really exhausted lately. Sonya, stop being so difficult. Can't you just let him have some peace for once?"

I answered with total composure. "Tell him the wedding is canceled. I'm not marrying him."

2.

After hanging up, I started packing. As I moved my things, I realized the house felt half-empty instantly.

It hit me then that Winslow had barely been home lately. He claimed he was busy with his company's upcoming IPO.

As his personal assistant, Bianca was with him twenty-four hours a day. They ate together and worked late together.

Whenever I expressed my discomfort, Winslow would darken his face. "Sonya, Bianca is essential to my career. Stop being so petty and narrow-minded."

So, I had buried my feelings deep inside.

I ignored the way they acted far too close in public. I ignored the whispers from his employees who thought Bianca was the one who truly belonged by his side.

I endured it all because I couldn't bear to lose him.

To me, Winslow was the only light in a very dark life.

When we first met, my mother had just passed away from a long illness. Not long after, my father married his first love and brought her into our home.

Life in the Reed household became a nightmare. My father only cared about his new wife and their child. He saw me as a living reminder of his past mistakes and treated me with nothing but coldness.

During those days, I felt like I was drowning. I was on the verge of a total breakdown.

Then Winslow appeared.

He took my hand and promised me a future. "Sonya, stay with me. I'll give you the home you've always wanted."

And so, I gave him my heart.

In our second year together, my name was mysteriously missing from the list for a prestigious study abroad program. Winslow seemed more devastated than I was, running around trying to find a way to fix it.

A professor who admired my work offered to help me get back on track.

But seeing how much Winslow would miss me, I turned the professor down.

The professor told me I would regret it.

At the time, looking at Winslow's happy face, I didn't have a single regret. All I wanted was a love that belonged solely to me.

I don't know when that love started to slip away.

Maybe it was when I was lying in a hospital bed with acute appendicitis, while Winslow was out stargazing with Bianca.

Maybe it was on the anniversary of my mother's death, when he left me alone to go see a movie with her.

Or maybe it was when I suffered an unexpected loss of our baby.

He had looked at me and said, "It happened, Sonya. Just be more careful next time."

Right after saying that, he took Bianca skiing because she told him she'd been having nightmares.

Back then, I told myself I would give him one last chance.

I told myself that if he left me alone one more time, I would walk away forever.

3.

I was just finishing a bowl of noodles when Winslow finally came home.

Seeing me sitting there so calmly seemed to agitate him.

He pressed his lips together and looked at me with annoyance. "I told you to wait at the shop. Why didn't you? You didn't even send a text. I went there for nothing."

I took a sip of the hot soup, not even looking up. "Was there any point in telling you?"

My coldness seemed to spark a flicker of frustration in his eyes.

He sat across from me at the table, crossing his arms as he watched me.

After a long silence, he spoke. "I've always been the one to buy Bianca's pajamas. She can't sleep if I don't pick them out."

"I didn't lie about the overtime to hurt you. I just didn't want to ruin our special day by starting a fight."

I let out a small, forced smile at his pathetic explanation.

Winslow looked surprised that I wasn't screaming or crying like I usually did.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off.

"I know, Winslow. You're just good friends."

"If there was anything else going on, I wouldn't even be here, right?"

I didn't expect those words to set him off.

He suddenly exploded, shouting at the top of his lungs. "Sonya! Enough with the sarcasm!"

I looked at him, genuinely confused.

I was only repeating his own words back to him. If he thought it sounded like sarcasm, that was his own guilt talking.

But I wasn't being sarcastic. I was just done.

I looked into his eyes, and he quickly looked away, looking a bit guilty.

Just then, Bianca walked in. She draped herself over Winslow's arm, her chest pressed firmly against his shoulder.

She shot me a look of pure disdain, as if I were the one being unreasonable.

She reached up and pinched Winslow's ear playfully. Seeing their intimacy made my stomach turn with genuine disgust.

Bianca looked at me and sighed. "Sonya, the company is about to go public. We're all under a lot of pressure. Winslow carved out time for this silly engagement just to make you feel secure. Can't you be grateful?"

"If you're upset about the pajamas, just say it. Why do you have to act like such a child?"

I tuned out her lecture. My eyes were fixed on her pale neck, where a bright, unmistakable hickey sat.

Then I looked at Winslow. There was a matching mark on his throat.

They both looked flushed, and the way they looked at each other was sickeningly sweet.

Everything clicked. It wasn't just suspicion anymore; it was the ugly truth.

I interrupted her mid-sentence, my voice flat. "What kind of friends pick out each other's underwear? And what kind of friends sleep together?"

Winslow's face turned purple with rage. He grabbed my bowl of noodles and threw it at me.

I tried to block it, but the boiling liquid splashed across my chest and arms.

A searing pain erupted across my skin instantly.

Seeing me drenched and hurt, a flash of regret crossed Winslow's face for a split second.

But Bianca spoke up first. "Sonya, if you really hate me that much, I'll just leave."

"But I have to wait until after the IPO. I can't let Winslow handle all that stress by himself."

Winslow's regret vanished, replaced by a look of pure loathing. He turned to me and growled, "Why can't you be mature for once? Why can't you be more like Bianca?"

4.

His cold words acted like an ice bath, chilling my heart into total silence.

Winslow's eyes then landed on my packed suitcases in the corner. He frowned, looking genuinely puzzled. "What is this? The engagement party is tomorrow."

I let out a dry laugh. "Oh, so you actually remember that?"

He knitted his brows, staring at me as if I were a stranger.

He was finally noticing that I wasn't greeting him with the usual warmth. I wasn't asking about his day or trying to take his coat.

He scoffed, clearly irritated. "Sonya, I've told you a thousand times. Stop projecting your disgusting thoughts onto me and Bianca. We'reD"

"You're just good friends," I said, my face a mask of indifference.

For a heartbeat, he looked cornered and pathetic.

I continued, "You're such good friends that you shop for each other's intimate wear."

"You're such good friends that you share a bed and have sex."

Before I could finish the sentence, he swung his hand and slapped me hard across the face.

The world went blurry as my head snapped to the side. My ears were ringing.

I touched my cheek, feeling the heat rise as it began to swell.

Bianca let out a fake gasp. "Oh my god, Winslow! Why did you hit her? You guys have a party tomorrow!"

Winslow sneered, looking at me with pure venom. "It doesn't look like she wants to be there anyway."

Bianca pouted and tugged at his sleeve. "That's so sad... I'll be sad too. You know I've dreamed of being a bride since I was little. If you don't get engaged, how can I be her maid of honor?"

"Whatever you want, baby," Winslow's voice was suddenly tender, but it sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me.

He turned back to me, his voice returning to a cold edge. "Apologize to Bianca right now, or the engagement is off."

I let out a jagged laugh, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth.

Looking at the two of them, I felt a shudder of pure hatred.

I couldn't believe they had the nerve to stand there and act like the victims.

I grit my teeth and stared them down with icy eyes.

"Didn't Bianca tell you? There is no engagement. I'm done with you."

My intense gaze actually made Bianca flinch. She shrunk behind Winslow, clutching his arm like a scared child.

"Winslow, she's scaring me," she whispered. "She looks like she wants to kill me."

I hadn't eaten all day because I had been waiting for the dress fitting.

My stomach was cramping, and the burns on my skin were throbbing.

I didn't have any words left. I just needed to get out of there before I collapsed.

Winslow saw Bianca's act and gave me one last disgusted look.

"Fine, Sonya. You've lived off my money for years. Let's see how long you last on the streets without me."

"Come on, Bianca. I'll take you to pick out a dress. You're going to be the most beautiful woman there tomorrow."

As soon as they walked out, I dragged my feet toward the door.

But as I reached for the handle, everything went black. I collapsed onto the floor.

The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was a blurry, panicked face.

5.

When I opened my eyes, the smell of antiseptic hit me. I was in a hospital bed.

The harsh white walls felt surprisingly comforting.

A young man was fast asleep, slumped over the side of my bed. The morning sun was hitting his face.

I tried to shift my weight, and he woke up instantly, rubbing his bleary eyes.

Seeing me awake, his face lit up. "You're finally awake!"

My throat felt like it was full of glass. He immediately poured me a glass of water and helped me drink.

He gave me a bright, awkward grin and scratched his head. "I'm your new neighbor from upstairs. My name is Lincoln Young."

I croaked out a thank you.

If he hadn't found me, I might not have woken up at all.

Lincoln's smile was honest and warm. "It's a good thing my supervisor didn't make me stay late at the lab. I usually take the stairs for exercise, and that's when I saw your door open."

Just then, my phone started buzzing. It was Winslow.

He had left a dozen missed calls while I was out.

I answered it instinctively.

Winslow's voice boomed through the speaker. "Sonya, what the hell are you doing? There's a limit to your tantrums! Do you have any idea how much embarrassment you're causing me on our engagement day?"

I could hear Bianca's soft, manipulative voice in the background.

"Sonya, whatever is wrong, can't you just put it aside for today?"

Listening to his cold, heartless voice made my chest ache despite myself.

I clutched my chest as he continued to berate me.

He blamed me for being selfish. He blamed me for not being as "understanding" as Bianca.

"I'm giving you ten minutes," Winslow snapped. "If you aren't here, you're no longer my fiance. Don't ever bother coming back."

I let out a miserable laugh. "Winslow, I'm in the hospital. I can't make it."

There was a brief silence on the other end. Then his voice turned even colder. "Sonya, using your health to get my attention? That's pathetic, even for you. You disgust me."

I was stunned.

Then I just laughed. It was a hopeless, empty sound.

Winslow was always like this. Once he made up his mind about something, nothing could change it.

He thought I was faking. Even if I died in front of him, he'd probably complain about the mess.

I don't know when the love died, but it was definitely gone now.

And if he didn't want me, I certainly didn't want him.

I hung up and sent him a final text. Winslow, it's over. You and Bianca are a match made in hell. I'm stepping aside. Have a nice life together.

He replied almost instantly. Fine. Don't regret it.

That afternoon, I saw news of their engagement online. I finally understood what he meant by "Don't regret it."

Seeing photos of them embracing made my heart feel like it was being squeezed.

Bianca had posted a new update on her social media.

She was wearing a white gown, standing next to Winslow. They looked perfect together, their eyes full of something that looked like love.

I've followed you for so many years, and finally, I get to walk toward a future with you. Even if this is just a dream, I can die happy now.

Winslow had commented below it.

You're so silly. I'm never going anywhere.

My breath hitched as I read his reply.

Over the next few days, Bianca's feed was flooded with photos of their vacation. In the pictures, Winslow looked like a different personDrelaxed and happy.

It turned out he could find the time when he wanted to. His world wasn't just about work after all.

My heart slowly went numb.

It was time to move on for real.