Chapter 10
The day before the wedding, Felix couldn’t shake the anxiety gnawing at him.
His phone kept lighting up with messages from the group chat:
[Yo, bro–wedding’s still on, right? We need confirmation so we can grab front–row seats to the drama]
[Yeah, and don’t worry–we’ll film Lydia in her wedding dress. Gonna be epic.]
Felix stared at the chat screen for a while, then opened Lydia’s messages.
The last thing he’d sent her was, “Good night.”
She hadn’t replied.
”
THE
Josh
Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and typed into the group chat. [Do brides usually ghost the groom the night before the wedding?!
The replies came soon: [Dude, we’re all single. What do we know?1
[She’s probably too excited to sleep. Might be waiting under the covers hoping you’ll FaceTime her.]
[Or maybe she’s just shy? Tomorrow’s a big day.]
[Wait, are you seriously going through with it?]
Was he?
His mind flashed back to the moments they’d shared–the quiet ones, the real ones.
Lydia, curled up in oversized pajamas, watching movies on the carpet, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons when she laughed.
Lydia, pouting and nudging him with her elbow, whining, “I can’t cook, Felix. Help me, please?”
Lydia, flushed and giggling, calling him a perv when he whispered sweet things into her ear.
All of it hit him at once–vivid, electric, unmistakably hers.
And suddenly, he was sure. He wasn’t just marrying her out of impulse or competition
He wanted her. Every part of her.
He wanted to wake up to her face, grow old in the same house, stitch every finy moment together into a life that felt whole.
He dialed her number.
“The number you’ve dialed is currently unavailable…”
Cold dread swept over him.
He texted the group: (Her phone’s off.]
[Relax, bro. She’s probably knocked out. Weddings take stamina–you need to rest–up]
Maybe they were right.
So he replied: (Tomorrow’s the big day. No one better ball on me.]
[You sure you’re not bailing on her?)
(I knew it, Felix’s just playing tough. He’d never leave Lydia hanging
Felix locked his screen and tried to picture her in the wedding gowIL
Even though her custom dress had been ruined somehow, he knew no matter what she wore–she’d be the most beautiful bride he’d
Chapter 10
ReelShort
Ever seen.
Starting tomorrow, he’d drop the games, drop the doubts. He’d commit to this life with he
The Day of the Mating Ceremony
The venue looked picture–perfect–flowers in bloom, lights glowing softly, guests smiling as the officiant read from the script–but something about it all felt wrong.
Felix couldn’t breathe Lydia still hadn’t shown up, and his heart was thudding like it was trying to claw its way out of his chest.
Then the officiant went off–script
“Let’s hear what the groom wants to say to his bride-”
Felix snapped to attention.
That line wasn’t part of the plan
A beat later, the surround sound system kicked in.
And Felix heard his own voice–cold, unfiltered, and cruel: “I only chased Lydia to piss off Damon.”
“Once I got her, it just lost its thrill”
“But bailing on the wedding last–minute? That’d be perfect. Let her taste humiliation.”
Gasps echoed through the room. Someone dropped a glass. Whispered curses flew like arrows,
Then the screen came alive with footage.
Clips and stills, spliced together with surgical precision.
A my
mystery girl leaning in to kiss him–frozen right as he recoiled.
A hotel hallway security cam showing him entering an elevator, with Mia’s social media post about the room number right beneath it.
Another image: Mia crying against his chest outside the hospital.
He didn’t even push her away.
None of it was what it looked like.
But no one would believe that now.
Felix’s legs buckled. His body trembled, blood running cold.
She knew.
Lydia had known all along
e’d known about the games, the grudges, the childish need to get back at Damon.
She’d stayed, playing along with smiles and kisses, letting him believe she was clueless–only so she could walk away without a single regret
And now she was gone.
All those moments her turking a warin water bottle into his hands, hand–knitting him a scarf, nursing him when he was sick– Blooded back like needles pricking his skin.
He’d taken it all for granted.
He’d betrayed the only girl who ever looked at him like he mattered.
And now? She w