Chapter 1

“Shen Wangshu, apologize to Yingqiao, or there won’t be a wedding today.”

The ceremony was forty minutes away.

Xue Shiye stood before me in an impeccably pressed suit, his expression grim.

Behind him, Lin Yingqiao clutched his sleeve, her eyes red.

“Shiye, let it go. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come to your wedding.”

His frown deepened.

“You don’t have to leave. You’re not the one who should go.”

He turned back to me.

“I’m asking you one last time, Shen Wangshu. Are you going to apologize?”

I looked down at my wedding dress.

I had tried on seventeen gowns for today and chosen the simplest. No elaborate embroidery, no sweeping train.

Xue Shiye had asked why I hadn’t picked something more expensive. I’d told him this one was beautiful enough.

He didn’t know how long I had dreamed of walking down the aisle in a dress like this.

I raised my head.

“I won’t.”

He froze for an instant, then gave a cold laugh.

“Fine.”

He took out his phone and called the wedding coordinator in front of me.

“Tell the host to suspend the ceremony.”

“There won’t be a wedding today.”

The waiting room fell utterly silent.

Even Lin Yingqiao seemed alarmed.

“Shiye, don’t do this. It’s your big day.”

But he never took his eyes off me.

He was waiting for tears, for me to admit I was wrong—to catch his hand and beg him not to be angry, as I always had.

This time, I only nodded.

“All right.”

He frowned.

“What did you say?”

“I said all right.”

I removed my veil and laid it on the dressing table.

“Call it off.”

At last, his expression changed. But I no longer bothered to look at him. I picked up my phone and called the venue manager.

“Hello. I’m the bride for today’s eleven o’clock ceremony.”

“The wedding won’t be going ahead. But could I keep the hall from twelve to twelve thirty?”

A brief silence.

“Miss Shen, you mean you only want the venue?”

“Yes.”

I tightened my grip on the phone.

“Half an hour is enough. No host, no music. Just me.”

—

### 2

“Shen Wangshu, what are you playing at now?”

Xue Shiye snatched the phone from my hand and ended the call before the manager could answer.

I held out my hand.

“Give it back.”

He didn’t move.

“The wedding’s off. What are you staying here for?”

“Something personal.”

“What could be more important than getting married?”

I didn’t answer.

He suddenly laughed.

“You think this will soften me up?”

“Don’t forget, Shen Wangshu: I’m choosing to marry you. You’re not doing me a favor.”

He slowed his words deliberately, as though lecturing a difficult child.

“I know how much you want this wedding. You started choosing the date two years ago. It had to be September seventeenth. You wouldn’t even consider another hall. If you throw a tantrum now, aren’t you the one who’ll suffer?”

My fingers tightened.

September seventeenth.

I had waited so long for this day that sometimes I couldn’t tell whether I was waiting for a wedding or a wish that could never come true.

Mistaking my silence for confirmation, he softened a little.

“How about this? One more chance. Apologize to Yingqiao now, and I’ll pretend none of this happened.”

Lin Yingqiao hurried to speak.

“Wangshu, I really don’t need an apology. I only wanted to make the wedding more relaxed. I didn’t realize you’d take it so personally.”

At last, I looked at her.

“Miss Lin, I already told you. I don’t want that part of my past brought up at my wedding.”

She bit her lip.

“How was I supposed to know you couldn’t even mention it?”

I had no desire to argue again. It hadn’t been complicated.

Ten minutes earlier, she had been rehearsing her speech in the side hall. The staff were adjusting the sound, and a few relatives who had arrived early sat below.

Holding the microphone, she had beamed.

“Wangshu nearly got married once before. Now she’s finally making it down the aisle. Good things really do take a few setbacks!”

Someone gave an embarrassed chuckle. My mother went white.

I went over and asked her to cut that part. She accused me of humiliating her.

“I’m wishing you well. I haven’t said anything nasty.”

I told her it wasn’t something to joke about. She refused to change it, so I suggested choosing another speaker.

That was how the argument had begun.

Not once had Xue Shiye asked why I couldn’t bear to hear it. All he saw was me slighting Lin Yingqiao.

“So you were engaged before. Is that really such a big deal?”

Even now, that was his response.

“Everyone has a past. I don’t even mind. Do you have to make a scene today and ruin it for everyone?”

I looked at him.

“Do you really not mind?”

He hesitated.

“Why would I? It’s not as though I only found out today.”

No. He had always known.

When we started dating four years ago, I told him I’d had a fiancé who died. He held my hand and said I couldn’t keep myself locked in the past forever.

Once, I had thought him the most understanding man in the world. Now, he could reduce that grief to a casual “Everyone has a past.”

I held out my hand again.

“My phone.”

His face darkened. After a moment’s standoff, he tossed it into my hand.

“Shen Wangshu, don’t regret this.”

I took it and spoke quietly.

“Whatever happens, I’ll live with it.”

Gathering my skirt, I walked past him.

Behind me, Lin Yingqiao asked tentatively:

“Shiye, shouldn’t you go and talk her around?”

He scoffed.

“What for? She can’t leave me. Just watch. She’ll come crawling back in less than half an hour.”

My steps faltered briefly. Then I kept walking.

I had heard those words too many times.

Today, they left me only unbearably tired.

—

### 3