Tears at Midnight

The broken sobs filled the room with a cold, heavy silence.

Delilah quietly slid her hand beneath Marcel's bare knees. The faint scrape against the floor seemed louder than anything else in the room.

I let out a strained laugh and reached down to help Marcel to his feet. "It's okay. I don't blame either of you."

Marcel looked up in disbelief. Hope flashed across his face, tempered by uncertainty. "R-Really?"

"Really."

"Then can you still go through with the wedding? I swear I'll disappear. I'll go somewhere nobody can find me and never interfere with your happiness again." His voice was desperate, as though he'd found a lifeline. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me toward Delilah.

However, Delilah, who used to lose sleep over the slightest hint of my unhappiness, simply stared at him in a daze. She didn't throw her arms around me the way she had when I proposed, swearing she’d love me forever.

Instead, she lowered her head dejectedly and gripped my sleeve weakly.

"Cedric, you're the person I love the most. For the sake of everything we've shared these past ten years, can you give me another chance?"

Marcel's chest, which was still covered in fading marks of their session, went rigid. A shadow of sadness crossed his face.

I saw the struggle in both of them and sighed inwardly.

The two people who mattered most to me had betrayed me. Surely it wasn't too much to let them suffer a little for it.

So I forced a careless smile and raised my voice as if none of it mattered, "Come on. I already told you I'm not angry. You're both amazing people, and you've known each other forever. One moment of weakness isn't the end of the world.

"I was just joking earlier. You won't do anything reckless like this again, right?"

After making my joke, I turned away. I picked up the wedding band from the table and slipped it back onto my finger.

The moment the tiny diamonds caught the light and shone brilliantly, tears spilled silently from my eyes.

Delilah and Marcel had chosen this ring together. I hadn't even planned on buying one for myself, but the two of them had competed over who could treat me better, and somehow we'd ended up purchasing the most expensive ring in the store.

"Who cares about money? My best friend deserves the best!"

"Money? That's nothing. My husband deserves the finest diamond ring!"

Back then, all I knew was how to grin like an idiot while basking in their affection.

I never imagined those playful arguments would one day change into something else.

Perhaps, a ring thrown away might still be found again.

Alas, people could never go back to the way they were.

...

On the flight home, I sat between them as I always had.

However, neither of them fought for the seat beside me anymore. Instead, they sat in silence, staring out the window or down the aisle.

Whenever they answered something I said, they carefully avoided meeting each other's eyes.

After we landed, Delilah came home with me.

We sat in the car discussing our wedding three days away as though nothing had happened, tacitly avoiding the subject.

Nevertheless, I could still feel her distracted thoughts drifting somewhere far away.

Pretending not to notice, I continued browsing wedding attire designs, but then my ringtone shattered the silence.

"Hello? Is this Cedric Davenport? Someone's collapsed here. Your number is listed as his emergency contact, so I..."

Before the caller could finish, Marcel's weak voice came through the phone.

"Cedric, I'm okay... You should go home. Tomorrow... Tomorrow I'll go pick out a tuxedo with you. You'll be the most handsome groom in the world..."

The call ended.

The busy tone filled the car.

Delilah sat rigidly through the entire conversation without saying a word, but the fingers resting on her knee tapped anxiously without pause.

Another corner of my heart seemed to cave in, dust settling over the ruins.

Suppressing the ache that was nearly suffocating me, I forced a smile and told a clumsy lie, "Delilah, you'll probably need to grab another ride. I just remembered a coworker invited me out for dinner tonight."

For a split second, her eyes lit up. Still, she tested the waters. "I'll come with you first."

"No need. I'm not a kid. Go home and get some rest. You'll need your energy to try on wedding dresses tomorrow."

I told the driver to pull over, then I opened the door for her and urged her to get out.

She frowned and lingered for a moment, clearly hesitant, but her desire to see Marcel ultimately outweighed her unease.

"Then come home early tonight. Don't drink, and don't walk around by yourself after dark. Call me as soon as you're done. I'll be waiting at home."

"Got it." I waved dismissively and shut the door without hesitation.

Through the rearview mirror, her figure grew smaller and smaller.

At first, she hurried away in quick little steps. Then she broke into a run, her high heels striking the pavement faster and faster.

Only then did my composure finally shatter. Covering my face, I let the tears spill through my fingers.

The direction Delilah was running was the exact opposite of the road that led home.

The path that was supposed to lead us to happiness had ultimately fallen apart because of betrayal.