Beside him, Cassandra's expression grew darker by the second.

Everyone wore the same frantic, worried look. None of it seemed faked.

But in my last life I'd believed them too, and I'd ended up dead on the road.

The thought made me clench my fists.

"Kent, I never dated Cassandra Sullivan, let alone married her!"

"Pull this AI-video stunt one more time and I really am going to lose it!"

My old friend went quiet for a beat, then laughed in pure exasperation.

"AI? Albert, did a horse kick you in the head? Look closely. Does this look like AI to you?"

"Get it through your skull, this is your wedding today, not mine! Marry her or don't, I'm done caring!"

With that he fired a screenshot at me and hung up.

I sat there stunned.

In the screenshot, I'd apparently announced my own marriage to the world.

And the marriage certificate showed a photo of me and Cassandra, plain as day!

I studied it several times. No trace of Photoshop, no trace of AI.

But I'd never posted a marriage certificate, and I sure hadn't seen this announcement go up just now!

My head was a tangled mess.

Kent had been my friend since we were kids. The guy stutters the second he tries to lie.

And that tirade just now? That was no act.

My parents had even less reason to gang up with them and trick me.

If all of this was real, why did I have zero memory of ever dating Cassandra?

Why was everyone insisting today was my wedding to her?

Right then, one person popped into my mind.

My aunt was a marriage registrar. If the certificate was fake, she'd be able to confirm it!

I sent her the certificate at once.

"Aunt Phoebe Gilbert, quick question! Is this marriage certificate real?"

My aunt blew up on the spot. "You little brat, sending me a fake certificate to mess with me, you're doing this just to set me off!"

"After all the matches I've set you up with, you didn't like a single one! And now you've got the nerve to wind me up!"

Listening to her familiar grumbling, the knot in my chest loosened a little.

"So the certificate's fake?"

"Obviously!"

She shoved her computer screen right up to the camera.

"See for yourself. Which word in your spouse field says 'married'?"

"And the registrar listed here is my own name. If you were registering a marriage through me, you think I wouldn't know?"

I stared hard at the screen. Sure enough, it said single.

One of her coworkers leaned in too, teasing, "Honestly, that fake's pretty convincing!"

"Albert, your aunt's worried herself sick over your love life, so quit pulling her leg! Go find someone and come get the real thing, she'll register it for you herself!"

Listening to their familiar chatter, I let out a long breath.

Right. My aunt had doted on me since I was little. There was no way she'd skip my wedding.

The government system listed me as single, so I definitely wasn't married!

But the very next second, a group chat on my phone called "Wedding Squad Assemble" exploded.

Countless people were tagging me like crazy.

"Albert, where on earth did you go? The officiant has called for you a dozen times, why aren't you walking in yet?"

"Hurry up! If this doesn't start soon, the guests are going to riot!"

My head buzzed.

When had this group chat even appeared? Why couldn't I remember a thing about it?

Right then, a voice message dropped in.

"Albert Gilbert, are you marrying me or not?"

It was Cassandra.

The irritation in her voice was unmistakable.

My parents sent voice messages too.

"Albert, what are you doing? Marriage isn't a game, how could you vanish at a time like this?"

"Get in here now, everyone's waiting! Cassandra's circled the whole place looking for you. Whatever stunt you're pulling, don't pull it now. Hurry, or your mother and I are going to be furious!"

I was so worked up that I forwarded the video of my call with my aunt straight to them.

"Mom, Dad, what's going on? Why are you in on it too, lying to me?"

"I'm not married at all. Why would you pull a joke like this? It's not funny in the slightest!"

I thought they'd quit while they were ahead, but instead my mother's scolding came through.

"Phoebe Gilbert, what are you playing at! The kid's lost his head, and now you've gone senile too? Is this something to joke about?"

Then my aunt's voice came, begging off:

"Oh, all right, all right, I was wrong!"

"I thought Albert had a case of cold feet, so I wanted to tease him a little! How was I supposed to know he'd go and hide instead of showing up to his own wedding!"

"Albert, your aunt was wrong! You really did get married, I'm the one who filed your marriage certificate myself! Hurry up and get in here, I've been waiting ages to drink to your happiness!"

I stared, eyes wide with disbelief.

Wasn't my aunt at work at the county clerk's office? How could she be at the wedding venue?

I hurried to make a video call to her.

But there she sat, prim and upright at the marriage registry, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"You kid, can't you see I'm busy right now? What are you calling for again?"

A chill swept through me all at once.

What was happening? How could there be two of my aunt at the same time?

Neither one looked fake. Which one was the real one?

My head felt like it was about to split open. Shaking, I forwarded the call record into the group chat again.

"I'm not married at all. What exactly is it you people want?"

The group chat, so lively just a moment ago, fell dead silent.

That was when Cassandra Sullivan sent a voice message:

"Albert Gilbert, you keep sending AI-generated pictures over. What are you trying to prove?"

"My patience has a limit. I'll give you five minutes, that's all. If you still don't come, you know the consequences..."

Her words sent a jolt through me.

Cassandra Sullivan, the living tyrant who could turn Rivermont upside down with a flick of her hand. Who would dare cross her?

And yet someone like that would put on a play for a nobody like me?

This wedding was lavish beyond all reason. The imported peonies filling the hall alone, the same kind the casino magnate's family used, had to run into the millions.

Who pulls a prank and bleeds that kind of money for it?

The group chat kept pushing, the calls kept coming.

The defenses inside me loosened, bit by bit. I wanted nothing more than to rush over and see for myself.

But the terror of being thrown through the air by that truck in my past life closed around my throat once more.

No! I couldn't gamble on this.

Just then my phone rang, shrill and urgent. Cassandra Sullivan!

My pupils contracted in an instant, the phone nearly slipping from my hand.

Impossible!

I'd searched countless times just now.

There was no Cassandra Sullivan anywhere in my contacts!

So why was her name showing up on my phone now?

My heart slammed against my ribs. Trembling, I pressed accept.

Cassandra Sullivan appeared on the screen, her face cold as frost.

"Albert Gilbert, time's up. You... still won't come?"

A strange ache twisted in my chest. Carefully, I spoke up.

"Ms... Ms. Sullivan, we aren't... we aren't married, are we?"

The moment the words left me, her lashes trembled for several seconds.

She let out a bitter, mocking little laugh. "Albert Gilbert, you really are something!"

"We've been together three years. I thought if I was good to you without conditions, gave you everything you wanted, it would be enough to win you over..."

"But now I see I was wrong..."

Watching her face go hollow with loss, I denied it almost on reflex.

"No, it's not like that..."

Married to her? I dreamed of it!

I'd had a secret crush on her since high school.

All these years I never dated anyone, and it was because she had never left my heart.

But reason told me none of this was real.

An ordinary man like me, how could I make someone as cool and untouchable as her burn for me?

And on top of that, in my last life I died horribly at that intersection. I couldn't gamble my own life on this!

I drew in a deep breath and looked at her, grave and torn all at once.

"Ms. Sullivan... we really aren't married! Stop messing with me... okay?"

At my words, the warmth in Cassandra's eyes froze over, degree by degree.

She gave a desolate little smile, nodded, and hung up without another word.

Before I could even gather myself, my parents' call came through.

"Albert Gilbert, have you lost your mind? Cassandra is the kind of wife you couldn't find if you searched the world over, and you're throwing her away!"

"Why are you so willful? Even while you two were dating, you took it for granted, always making her prove she loved you. Now you're married and still acting up. What exactly do you want?"

I was so frantic I nearly cried.

"Mom, Dad, what is wrong with you two? I never married Cassandra Sullivan. I—"

But they flew into a rage on the spot, throwing down hard words.

"Quit playing dumb!"

"I'm telling you, Albert Gilbert, if you still don't show up, we're done calling you our son!"

The line went dead, and when I called back, the number didn't even exist anymore.

I was falling apart. Then the hotel's name flashed into my head, and I called them at once.

"Excuse me, are Cassandra Sullivan and Albert Gilbert holding a wedding at your hotel today?"

The voice on the other end was firm and certain.

"Sorry, we don't have any wedding banquet today. Were you looking to book one?"

The dread that had been hanging over me finally settled.

I knew it! They were lying to me!

Cassandra must have bought everyone off, just to toy with me!

Only she had the kind of power to make every last person do as she said.

But what was she after?

I still hadn't figured it out when my childhood friend suddenly fired a link my way.

I clicked it on reflex, and the scene in front of me made everything go black!

It was Cassandra, standing in the doorway of the banquet hall!

Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was announcing, in front of everyone, that the wedding with me was off.

Reporters descended in droves, cameras and lenses crowding around her, flashes firing like mad.

The internet was buried under headlines about me, the runaway groom.

Everyone was calling me a deluded, overconfident loser who couldn't tell a good thing when he had it, who'd been turned down even by the richest woman around.

My parents and my friend were drenched in sweat, frantically trying to talk her down.

"Cassandra, Cassandra, can't you wait a little longer?"

"Albert isn't a man who'd disregard the bigger picture. Something must have come up. Let's just wait a bit longer, all right?"

"I'll go find him myself right now. I'll drag him back to give you an explanation, all right?"

My aunt chimed in beside them, just as desperate.

"That's right, Cassandra, Albert surely didn't do this on purpose!"