My Wedding, Her Lie

I threw away all the wedding items I had painstakingly prepared by hand.

This home, which never truly belonged to me, no longer held a trace of my presence.

In the end, all I kept was the collection of plane tickets I had lovingly made into a diary of our love.

Hesitating only for a moment, I tossed them, one by one, into the fire.

Every ticket consumed by the flames represented a part of me that once loved Olivia.

When it was all burned, only ashes remained, and the suffocating black smoke lingered.

It was just like the love I had held onto for ten years.

The next morning, the smell of breakfast woke me.

"Martin, hurry up and wash up. I've already made breakfast."

"You go ahead and eat. I'm going to take some breakfast to David, so you don't need to go."

"Okay."

Olivia paused, her hand momentarily still as she packed the food into the thermos.

"Don't feel guilty. David is very forgiving. He won't hold a grudge against you."

"After breakfast, let's go pick out a new pair of wedding rings. The ones we ordered had a problem, and they won't arrive in time for the wedding."

"Alright."

She liked to act, so I would play along.

Maybe noticing my cold demeanor, Olivia, feeling guilty, brought over the first aid kit to tend to my knees.

"Martin, we've been together for so long. Everything I've done has been for your own good. I don't want you to have no family at our wedding."

"You said you couldn't find a best man, right? I've already asked David to be your best man."

"Okay."

Olivia spoke carefully, and when I agreed so easily, disbelief filled her eyes.

Then, she took my hand and placed a warm kiss on it.

After delivering breakfast to David, she didn't return.

As I scrubbed my palms furiously, her call came.

"Martin, after you eat, come down to the garage. I'll be waiting for you in the car."

When I got to the garage, I habitually opened the driver's door, only to see David leaning casually on the steering wheel, looking at me.

Without a word, I slid into the back seat.

Olivia glanced at me, satisfied with my compliance.

"Martin, David is a jewelry designer. With him helping us, we'll definitely find the perfect wedding rings."

I nodded, closing my eyes to feign sleep.

When I happened to open my eyes, I saw Olivia lightly pinch David's cheek.

In the rearview mirror, our eyes met. She hurriedly explained.

"David had something stuck on his face, so I helped him wipe it off."

I closed my eyes again and didn't open them until we got out of the car.

The three of us entered the jewelry store, and the saleswoman enthusiastically greeted David, who stood close to Olivia.

"What can I help you pick for your loved one today, sir?"

Both David and Olivia flushed with embarrassment.

Olivia quickly pulled me over.

"What are you standing so far away for? Come over and pick out the rings!"

The saleswoman blushed, hurriedly presenting the rings for me to choose from.

But it was David who immediately stepped forward to comment.

"This one is too old-fashioned."

"This one is too gaudy."

...

No ring could match up to the handcrafted ring on his own finger.

The saleswoman glanced at me awkwardly, clearly wanting to say something but holding back.

David pretended not to notice and finally picked a very plain pair.

"Martin, let's go with this one. It'll do for the wedding, and afterward, I'll design you something even better than the one on my hand."

The saleswoman awkwardly praised his excellent taste.

David proudly shoved his hand in my face.

"Of course, it looks great! My fiancée and I designed it together."

Olivia stood silently beside him, watching him show off to me. She neither stopped him nor felt guilty, her smile softly dissolving in the breeze.

"Then let's buy the ones David picked!"

We skipped the fitting process, and Olivia had already paid.

She took out the ring, emotionlessly slipping it onto my finger.

This time, the ring wasn't too big. It barely fit.

I knew David was intentional.

As a jewelry designer, David could estimate sizes with pinpoint accuracy. There was no way he could've made such a huge mistake.

But I couldn't be bothered to expose him, pulling the ring off straightaway.

The saleswoman kindly suggested that I try a different style, but I refused.

"It's just for show. No need to make a fuss."

Olivia was displeased by my sarcastic tone.

"If you aren't satisfied, you don't have to buy it. David can custom-make another one for us later."

I shook my head and declined.

"This one is fine."

But David, looking guilty, teared up again.

"Martin, I'll head to the studio right now and work overtime to design something perfect for your wedding!"

With that, he quickly left, ignoring Olivia's calls to stop.

"Martin, what's wrong with you? It's just a wedding ring. Why are you making such a fuss?"

I was stunned.

"Am I making a fuss?"

She furrowed her brows and pulled me out of the store.

"I've got work to do at the company. We'll take the wedding photos some other time."

"Or you can go ahead and take your solo pictures. I'll have the designer Photoshop in some of my old portraits to make it work for the wedding."

"Alright."

The words Olivia wanted to say got stuck in her throat.

She stared at me for a long time before gently hugging me.

"Martin, once I'm done with everything, we'll go on a honeymoon trip and take wedding photos there."

At this point, the promise of a honeymoon felt like nothing but an insult.

She didn't have time to visit me in Fransei, but she had plenty of time to accompany David to Antarctica to see penguins, and to the Arctic to see the auroras.

Watching her location move swiftly toward David's studio, I tossed the wedding ring into a street musician's guitar case.

As expected, Olivia didn't return home for two days.

Because she had gone to the seaside with David to take their wedding photos.

And, true to her word, she had our faces Photoshopped onto a wedding photo.

I was determined to run away from the wedding, and after that, I would probably only come back for my parents' death anniversaries.

Carrying two bouquets of flowers, I went to visit my parents at the cemetery.

I also added the cemetery manager on Twitter for future convenience.

"From now on, I'll cover my parents' maintenance fees. Just refuse any payments from Miss Olivia," I told the manager.

After checking the system, the manager looked stunned.

"Sir, your parents' maintenance fees are already overdue by six months. We've tried contacting the family, but the phone number has been unreachable."

Thinking back to how I had changed my phone number after going abroad, I couldn't help but feel frustrated with my oversight.

Olivia didn't love me anymore, so why would she think about my deceased parents?

I settled the overdue fees and prepaid for ten more years, then left feeling despondent.

Just as I stepped out of the cemetery, I heard a voice I would never forget in this lifetime.

"Olivia, it's so thoughtful of you to remember today is the anniversary of David's real mom's death! If the old lady knew you brought her a cake, she'd probably be floating with joy underground."

I froze and turned to see Olivia, holding the arms of David and his father, walking up the stairs.

"Uncle, this is the least I can do," she said softly.

"Silly girl, why call me uncle? In a few days, you'll be calling me Dad!"

Olivia giggled and obediently called him "Dad."

With my eyes red, I silently went to meet up with my friends.

As soon as I arrived, I told them the wedding was off.

They exchanged glances, then tentatively asked.

"Martin, have you already known?"

I was puzzled as to how they knew.

They indignantly showed me photos of Olivia and David going to the hospital for a pre-marriage check-up.

"Martin, we support your decision to escape the wedding. I'd like to see how David plans to crash a wedding with no groom. It'll be quite the joke!"

Their words made me feel a little excited.

The day before the wedding, Olivia came back with a brand-new pair of running shoes.

I asked her nonchalantly.

"Don't you hate running the most?"

She froze for a moment, then leaned against my shoulder.

"Tomorrow, I'll be running until I drop with the groom!"

The groom she mentioned wasn't me.

And the smile that appeared on her face wasn't because of me either.

It seems that she was quite happy about the idea of David crashing the wedding to prove her love for him.

The next day, I made a round at the wedding venue.

A massive poster magnified the poorly Photoshopped wedding photo.

I took out a pair of scissors, cut off my youthful face from the picture, and then headed to the airport.

As the flight attendant reminded me to turn off my phone, Olivia's calls came flooding in.