Nine Years of Love Ended

The night before my wedding with Patty Rush, she told me she had to stay late at the office for an urgent project.

Before leaving, she hugged my neck and asked me to double-check the wedding details for the next day. I smiled and assured her I would, telling her not to worry.

I went through everything alone until dawn, making sure there were no mistakes. Satisfied, I called her to report back.

Her assistant, Ivan Drake, answered the phone.

"Ms. Patty just fell asleep from exhaustion. Is there anything you need?"

I paused for a moment and said, "No, it's nothing."

The next morning, Patty called me.

"Honey, Ivan's sister is getting married and he asked me to be the maid of honor. We're going to have to postpone our wedding by a week."

I calmly replied, "Okay."

But I wasn’t postponing the wedding—I was canceling it.

——

I notified everyone on my own.

From informing my parents to contacting friends and family and then notifying the venue.

It was easier than I expected.

The same process, repeated over and over, like a machine stuck on a loop.

My parents and friends kept calling and texting, asking me why.

"Son, what happened?"

"Bro, are you serious?"

They all wanted to know the reason, but I didn’t know how to explain.

Should I tell them that Patty would rather be a bridesmaid at someone else’s wedding than marry me today?

I wanted to hold on to at least a shred of dignity.

So, I played the ostrich—ignoring calls, not replying to texts.

I texted Patty about the wedding cancellation.

As long as she called me to question it, there was still a chance for us to fix things.

But she never replied.

I comforted myself by thinking she was probably busy and hadn’t seen the message yet.

But then I saw her post on social media.

In the video, she was dressed as a bridesmaid, smiling brightly.

She looked stunning, completely stealing the spotlight from the bride.

I could no longer deceive myself.

I laughed bitterly at my own foolishness.

It was over between us.

From that love-at-first-sight moment in college to five years of relentless pursuit, I had spent nine years living entirely for her.

Chasing after her had become second nature to me.

When she laughed, I laughed with her.

When she cried, I was there to comfort her.

She often told me, "True love is about always being there."

I took those words to heart and stayed by her side, never troubling her with my own struggles. I carried my burdens alone, doing my best to fulfill her every wish.

She once said she wanted to see a grand fireworks display for her birthday, so I bought out an entire street’s worth of fireworks just to make it happen for her.

She mentioned wanting a cat and even though I was allergic to cat hair, I kept that to myself and took her to pick one out from the pet market.

Because of my care, she could focus all her energy on her career.

In just five years, she rose from a junior employee to the position of deputy general manager.

She got an assistant and often worked late into the night with him or traveled on business trips.

Though I felt a pang of jealousy, I never said anything, reassuring myself it was just work.

I loved her, so I trusted her.

When she accepted my proposal, she said, "Thank you for always being there for me. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

Hearing that, I felt a little unhappy.

I didn’t want compensation; I wanted her love.

Reality hit me hard. She didn’t love me after all.

She said, "True love is about always being there."

But even the strongest companionship can grow weary.

This time, she didn’t care about my feelings at all. With just one sentence, she postponed the wedding, making me see her for who she really was and recognize myself as well.

She never truly valued me.

And I was tired. I didn’t want to keep going.

Nine years of loving her and in the end, it amounted to nothing—vanished into thin air.