Chapter 3

3.

Jared didn't come home for days.

I never reached out to him either. I only caught glimpses of their progress through the petty, provocative videos Willow kept sending me.

Watching their intimate clips, my heart didn't stir with a single ripple of emotion. I continued preparing for the wedding on schedule.

The only difference was that on the newly printed invitations, the groom's name wasn't Jared anymore. It was Sean.

Soon enough, a close friend called me in confusion.

"Nina, did the printer mess up the groom's name on your invite?"

"Nope, it's correct," I replied calmly.

"There was a last-minute change. It's Sean, my childhood friend."

My friend gasped in shock.

"Nina, did you and Jared... have a huge fight or something?"

She asked cautiously, her tone dripping with disbelief.

It was understandable. I had never hidden how crazy I was about Jared.

Everyone who knew us knew I would lower myself into the dirt just to please him.

Yet Jared, the one being worshipped, acted completely oblivious.

Or rather, he always knew, but simply didn't care.

He was forever the arrogant ice prince on his high pedestal, watching coldly as I exhausted myself trying to climb up to him, only to fall and shatter.

I didn't offer a lengthy explanation and simply smiled.

My friend sighed in relief and started teasing me, assuming it was just some playful prank between couples to spice things up.

Nobody believed I would actually dump the man I spent three years desperately chasing down.

I couldn't blame them, though.

Even when I uttered the words about changing grooms, I felt a brief moment of surreal detachment myself.

I hadn't expected letting go of this five-year attachment to be this easy.

Still, this worked out in my favor. Nobody would run to Jared to spoil the surprise.

That gave me plenty of quiet time to get everything ready.

...

About a week later, Jared finally came home.

He looked completely drained, with dark circles under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept in days.

I glanced at the faint red mark on his collarbone and silently shifted my gaze away.

"Rough week?" I asked casually.

He didn't answer right away. He slipped off his shoes, sat beside me on the sofa, and stared at me with conflicted eyes.

"Something on your mind?" I looked at him.

"Yeah. We need to postpone the wedding. The professor passed away, and out of respect, I need to observe a period of mourning. I can't get married right now."

When he finished, a rare flicker of guilt surfaced in his gaze.

"I'm sorry, Nina..."

I looked back at him with genuine curiosity.

Why was he apologizing?

Was it because he knew deep down that this wedding had been my ultimate dream for years?

Or was he apologizing for sleeping with another woman while wearing my promise ring?

I didn't know, and I honestly didn't care.

"Got it. My condolences."

Jared stared at me, his brows slowly pulling together as he tried to read my face.

He seemed utterly confused by my lack of drama.

After all, when I first found out about his plan to impregnate Willow, I had blown up with fury.

Still, he brushed it aside and spoke again.

"The memorial service is today. Come with me."

His tone was commanding, not leaving any room for discussion.

I didn't bother arguing.

Even though his mentor had made such an outrageous dying request, the man was dead now, and I held no grudge against a corpse.

If anything, I owed him a little gratitude for opening my eyes to Jared's true colors.