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!"

"You don't understand. Albert may act willful in front of you, but he's always loved you! He acts out because he thinks you're too remarkable, and he feels insecure, like he doesn't deserve you!"

"That boy has loved you since high school. Being with you was his dream! He cried for joy the day you got your marriage certificate. How could he possibly skip a moment as important as the wedding on purpose?"

Cassandra's eyes were bloodshot, and she let out a low laugh.

"Not on purpose?"

"From the moment I met him three years ago, I swore I'd never let him slip away again."

"To be with him, I gave every bit of my heart. I spent a year preparing this wedding. I thought he longed for this day the way I did. Forgiveness was nothing but me moving myself to tears..."

"He's treated me like a fool from the start, grinding my dignity into the ground!"

With that, she shoved through the crowd, ready to storm off in a fury.

At that moment her childhood friend grabbed at her arm desperately.

"No, Ms. Sullivan, you can't leave!"

"Albert's flaky as a rule, sure, but he'd never joke about something like this. Just wait a little longer. Give her one more chance, please?"

Then he turned and bellowed at the livestream, livid:

"You little punk, what the hell are you doing?!"

"It's down to the wire and you're still playing hard to get. Get over here, now! Do you really want to throw your own happiness away?"

Watching the frantic look on their faces, I couldn't stay still a second longer.

Was all of it real? Had my own memory glitched somehow?

I bolted out the door right then. My neighbor stared at me, stunned.

"Albert, didn't you just get home from work? Heading out again?"

My chest seized. "Mrs. Wood! Do you know... that I'm getting married today?"

Mrs. Wood blinked, then laughed.

"You're too funny, Albert! Haven't you been single this whole time?"

The words turned me cold all over, but I still hit the elevator button and rushed toward the hotel.

Whatever game they were playing, I had to go see it for myself!

The whole way there, my nerves stayed pulled tight, terrified I'd run into that runaway truck again.

But all the way to the hotel entrance, nothing happened.

I hurried inside, and the sight in front of me froze the blood in my veins.

The fright dropped me to the floor on the spot!

The banquet hall that should have been ablaze with lights had become a ruin, not a single soul in it!

"Impossible. This is impossible!"

I looked around in terror. "Where are they? Where are the people who were getting married here?"

The hotel manager walked over briskly. "A wedding?"

"We've been renovating for the past two months. There hasn't been a single wedding here. Are you sure you've got the right place?"

Just as he bent down to help me up, I caught sight of the tattoo on the web of his hand.

In a flash, it all came clear to me!