Chapter 1

When I handed over my starting spot as the esports team's star player to her precious ex, Ashley, my girlfriend, rewarded me with an early wedding.

I thought everything was finally falling into place.

But then, during the ceremony, Brad, the ex, whipped out a freakin' knife and started cutting himself.

"Ashley, please, don't marry him!" he screamed.

Ashley, who's usually cooler than a cucumber, completely lost it.

She begged me to save Brad's life.

Everyone in the room was staring, waiting to see how I would react.

I just quietly stepped aside, giving up my place at the altar.

She looked at me, all teary-eyed, and said, "I promise, this is the last time I'll ask you to do this. We'll get the marriage license right after the reception."

She forgot, though, that this was like, the 96th time she'd pulled something like this.

I was already done. I was just waiting for these last three favors to pay back her debt for saving my grandma's life back then. Then, I was outta there. No looking back.

...

"Did he really just slink off like that?"

"What did you expect? He was always just a placeholder for Brad. Now things are back to normal."

"Look at them. They're perfect together."

I looked up at the stage. Ashley and Brad were holding hands, beaming. A golden couple.

But the ceremony didn't restart. Workers started bringing out new signs, replacing anything with my name on it.

Then, they handed out new invitations.

I got one too.

I opened it. The bride's name was still Ashley, but the groom was now Brad.

Ashley saw the whole thing.

Even though she knew Brad's little suicide attempt was just a pathetic ploy for attention, she still gave him a look that was pure adoration.

"Brad, you're such a drama queen. Don't ever do that again. What if you actually got hurt?"