A Ten-Year Dream, All in Vain

"Karen, marry me. In this lifetime, I will only love you."

Six months ago, after I stayed up late preparing a birthday surprise for him, he hugged me tenderly. "Silly girl, you are a thousand times more important than any gift."

Yesterday, he kissed my forehead, swearing with all his might.

"Karen, starting tomorrow, please guide me through the rest of our lives! I promise, I will never let you suffer even a little."

The Mike in my memories was a completely different person from the cruel and violent adulterer he was today.

I curled up in the darkness, my body cold, as my consciousness slowly sank into the abyss.

If this was love, then I would rather have never met him.

The squeaking sound of rats suddenly jolted me awake, my body drenched in cold sweat.

As soon as I moved, the rats cautiously backed away a few steps, but they didn't run away, as though they knew I was so weak that I didn't even have the strength to drive them away.

The iron door creaked open and a man with a brutish face threw a bowl of spoiled food into the room.

"Eat it. Don't starve to death. Mike said, you still have debts to repay."

A hoarse, desperate sound escaped from my throat as I shook my head with all my might.

I didn't gamble.

And I certainly didn't owe any debts.

The man frowned impatiently.

"What other tricks do you want to play?"

I tremblingly extended my deformed fingers, dipping them in the water on the ground. With all the strength I had left, I managed to scrawl in crooked letters on the cement floor. "I am Mike's fiancee."

The man stared at the words on the ground, then suddenly burst into laughter, as if hearing the biggest joke of his life.

"You? Mike's fiancee?"

He took out his phone and started a livestream, holding it in front of me.

"Open your eyes wide and take a good look. Mike's wedding is about to begin and I don't know how many lives you have to pretend to be Mike's fiancee!"

On the screen, Mike stood at the entrance of the hotel, dressed in a well-tailored black suit, a fresh flower pinned to his chest, anxiously looking around.

"Mike, the lucky hour is almost here, why hasn’t the bride arrived?"

The host's puzzled voice came from the phone.

The man retracted his phone, stomping on the knuckles where I'd written with a brutal force.

"Been watching long enough?" he sneered. "I could tell yesterday that you, this toad, were trying to get a taste of something beyond your reach. But you're still not giving up, huh? You probably don't even know, Mike's fiancee is a renowned mortician, even the police take her seriously! She's nothing like the likes of you, some scamming gambler!"

The sharp pain from the brutal kick made me curl into a ball, but despite the agony, a sliver of hope surged within me.

As long as Mike realized I was missing, he would definitely come looking for me.

The auspicious time had arrived at the hotel.

The guests were whispering among themselves and the emcee had already rearranged the program for the third time.

Mike stood in the lounge, calling my phone over and over again, but no one ever answered.

“Mike, why can’t we get in touch with Karen? Could something have happened to her?”

Kyle, the bridesmaid, was so anxious she was on the verge of tears.

Mike’s face grew darker and darker. He grabbed his coat and dashed out. “I’m going to find her!”

He sped all the way home and when he pushed open the door, the living room was silent.

My slippers were neatly placed by the entryway and the wedding dress was still hanging on the rack in the center of the room, the dust cover not even removed.

“Karen?” he called out.

He searched every room one by one, even opening the wardrobe to check, but there was still no sign of me.

He checked the bathroom and confirmed that I hadn’t come home the night before.