I remained silent.

Olivia grew anxious.

"Martin, has something happened?"

"If you can't come to surprise me, that's fine too. I've checked the wedding venue, and it's exactly what I wanted. I'm sure you'll love it too!"

She was still so considerate, even magnanimous about me standing her up for the proposal.

"I'm at home. As long as you like it, that's enough."

Olivia paused for a moment before trying to comfort me.

"Alright, I'll come home to accompany you soon."

She didn't ask why I had stood her up or why I hadn't given her a ring yet.

It was not because she loved me enough to tolerate my whims, but because she had already received the proposal and ring from the man she truly loved at her dream wedding.

I was merely her backup plan.

When Olivia entered the house, I had just stepped out of the bathroom.

Seeing David behind her, I frowned instinctively.

"Why did you bring him here?"

Was she really that eager to humiliate me by bringing him here?

Olivia awkwardly flashed a playful smile and teased.

"Martin, I ran into David downstairs and found out he lives in the same neighborhood as us. When he heard you were back, he insisted on coming up to apologize..."

I coldly watched her put on her act.

"Martin, my father and I were out of line back then. I'm here to apologize on his behalf. Can you forgive us?"

Suppressing my anger, I asked Olivia, my voice trembling.

"So, do you think I should forgive them?"

The pain of a ruptured eardrum, the numbness from being whipped until I lost all feeling in my legs, and the agony of seeing my father's belongings burned to ashes...

I wasn't pathetic enough to ask her why she had fallen in love with David.

That would make me seem spineless.

Olivia's guilt vanished as I stubbornly waited for her answer.

"Martin, David was just a mischievous child back then. He didn't know any better. He's felt guilty for years and has already apologized to you. Why hold on to the past?"

The physical and emotional abuse that dragged me into an abyss was now referred to as the past.

Refusing to forgive David was now called being petty.

Back then, it was she who had dialed 911 and stayed with me at the hospital. She knew better than anyone how much I despised my stepfather and stepbrother.

But she still fell in love with David, standing firmly against me.

Olivia reached out, trying to clasp my hand, forcing me to make peace with David.

I swatted her hand away, seething.

"Olivia, what right do you have to ask me to forgive them?"

Behind my mother's back, they had abused me, manipulated my mother into hating me, and after my mother passed away, they didn't even give her a proper funeral...

Olivia stared at her reddened hand, her temper flaring but barely held back.

"Martin, I'm doing this for your sake. You have no family left. At least David and his father are like half-families to you. Why cling to the past and make yourself miserable?"

"We should look ahead, shouldn't we?"

Olivia's words were sincere, but the familiar impatience on her pretty face betrayed her.

Gone were the concern and care I had once known.

I could almost hear my shattered heart crumble into dust.

It hurt so much that I could hardly speak.

And the smug, provocative gleam in David's reddened eyes was exactly as I remembered.

"Martin, it's alright if you can't forgive me. But I will continue to repent and feel guilty until you acknowledge me as family."

"Get out!"

I gripped the doorframe tightly to keep myself from shaking uncontrollably.

Olivia's impatience was plain on her face.

"Martin, why are you being so unreasonable? Everyone makes mistakes. Where is your forgiveness?"

She had witnessed firsthand how David and his father pushed me to the brink of depression, even to the point of attempting suicide.

She used to stand up for me, arguing with them, even angrily rebuking them.

What changed? What made her stand on the opposite side and start defending David instead?

I let the pain engulf me, word by word, I told Olivia.

"Unless he dies right in front of me, I will never forgive him!"

Olivia's delicate brows furrowed, and anger was brewing.

She used to have the same look when she angrily rebuked David and his father for me.

"Martin! You've only been abroad for two years, and you've turned into such a venomous person. Fine, don't forgive him, but at least apologize to David! I don't want people to laugh at my fiancé for being a petty and effeminate man!"

"Your father took his own life because he was weak. If he had cared about you being so young, your mother wouldn't have had to remarry to survive! Don't blame all your misfortune on David and his father. His father made mistakes, yes, but not to the point of death! If you're going to stubbornly hold on and torment yourself like your father, then you deserve to have nightmares every night!"

She practically spat out the word "nightmares" through gritted teeth.

The disgust flashing across her face was something I clearly caught.

So, the person who swore to stand by me forever had grown tired of the nightmares that plagued me.

In the end, all my misfortune and pain had become her weapon to hurt me, stabbing me once more until I was left completely broken.

Once upon a time, she would have shed tears at the mention of my nightmares, holding me close and saying. "Martin, as long as I'm here, no nightmares, no demons can hurt you!"

She had used love and care to pull me out of the abyss, but now she was the one pushing me back in.

For David's sake, she told me I deserved it!

I trembled, a wave of sharp pain gripping my stomach. Unable to hold onto the doorframe any longer, I staggered backward.

Olivia was quick to catch me, only then noticing the swelling on my knees.

She immediately squatted down to examine the wound.

"How did your knees get so badly hurt?"

"Fine, if you don't want to apologize, I'll apologize for you. But from now on, stop being so petty."

I yanked my hand away, my face pale as I pointed toward the door.

"Get out! All of you, just leave!"

Olivia, understanding how fragile I was at this moment, tried to hug me to calm me down.

But David, with tears streaming down his face, bowed deeply to me.

"Martin, I'll leave now. Please don't torment yourself because of me anymore."

With that, he ran out. But in his haste, he bumped into the doorframe and fell to the side.

Olivia immediately released me and rushed to catch David, both of them tumbling outside.

David's head hit the doorframe, turning red instantly with a faint trace of blood seeping out.

Olivia knelt beside him, her hands trembling as she touched his head, her eyes filled with a tenderness I knew all too well.

But it was no longer for me.

"David, does it hurt? I'll take you to the doctor right away!"

The doorway finally fell silent.

And my heart sank to the bottom.

Ten years of knowing her, ten years of loving her, and it had all come to this.

I took out my phone and booked a flight for the day of the wedding.

Seven days left, just enough time to settle everything from my past.

Olivia was right. People need to move forward.

From now on, I would sever myself completely from all the joy and pain of the past!

I threw away all the wedding items I had painstakingly prepared by hand.

This home, which never truly belonged to me, no longer held a trace of my presence.

In the end, all I kept was the collection of plane tickets I had lovingly made into a diary of our love.

Hesitating only for a moment, I tossed them, one by one, into the fire.

Every ticket consumed by the flames represented a part of me that once loved Olivia.

When it was all burned, only ashes remained, and the suffocating black smoke lingered.

It was just like the love I had held onto for ten years.

The next morning, the smell of breakfast woke me.

"Martin, hurry up and wash up. I've already made breakfast."

"You go ahead and eat. I'm going to take some breakfast to David, so you don't need to go."

"Okay."

Olivia paused, her hand momentarily still as she packed the food into the thermos.

"Don't feel guilty. David is very forgiving. He won't hold a grudge against you."

"After breakfast, let's go pick out a new pair of wedding rings. The ones we ordered had a problem, and they won't arrive in time for the wedding."

"Alright."

She liked to act, so I would play along.

Maybe noticing my cold demeanor, Olivia, feeling guilty, brought over the first aid kit to tend to my knees.

"Martin, we've been together for so long. Everything I've done has been for your own good. I don't want you to have no family at our wedding."

"You said you couldn't find a best man, right? I've already asked David to be your best man."

"Okay."

Olivia spoke carefully, and when I agreed so easily, disbelief filled her eyes.

Then, she took my hand and placed a warm kiss on it.

After delivering breakfast to David, she didn't return.

As I scrubbed my palms furiously, her call came.

"Martin, after you eat, come down to the garage. I'll be waiting for you in the car."

When I got to the garage, I habitually opened the driver's door, only to see David leaning casually on the steering wheel, looking at me.

Without a word, I slid into the back seat.

Olivia glanced at me, satisfied with my compliance.

"Martin, David is a jewelry designer. With him helping us, we'll definitely find the perfect wedding rings."

I nodded, closing my eyes to feign sleep.

When I happened to open my eyes, I saw Olivia lightly pinch David's cheek.

In the rearview mirror, our eyes met. She hurriedly explained.

"David had something stuck on his face, so I helped him wipe it off."

I closed my eyes again and didn't open them until we got out of the car.

The three of us entered the jewelry store, and the saleswoman enthusiastically greeted David, who stood close to Olivia.

"What can I help you pick for your loved one today, sir?"

Both David and Olivia flushed with embarrassment.

Olivia quickly pulled me over.

"What are you standing so far away for? Come over and pick out the rings!"

The saleswoman blushed, hurriedly presenting the rings for me to choose from.

But it was David who immediately stepped forward to comment.

"This one is too old-fashioned."

"This one is too gaudy."

...

No ring could match up to the handcrafted ring on his own finger.

The saleswoman glanced at me awkwardly, clearly wanting to say something but holding back.

David pretended not to notice and finally picked a very plain pair.

"Martin, let's go with this one. It'll do for the wedding, and afterward, I'll design you something even better than the one on my hand."

The saleswoman awkwardly praised his excellent taste.

David proudly shoved his hand in my face.

"Of course, it looks great! My fiancée and I designed it together."

Olivia stood silently beside him, watching him show off to me. She neither stopped him nor felt guilty, her smile softly dissolving in the breeze.

"Then let's buy the ones David picked!"

We skipped the fitting process, and Olivia had already paid.

She took out the ring, emotionlessly slipping it onto my finger.

This time, the ring wasn't too big. It barely fit.

I knew David was intentional.

As a jewelry designer, David could estimate sizes with pinpoint accuracy. There was no way he could've made such a huge mistake.

But I couldn't be bothered to expose him, pulling the ring off straightaway.

The saleswoman kindly suggested that I try a different style, but I refused.

"It's just for show. No need to make a fuss."

Olivia was displeased by my sarcastic tone.

"If you aren't satisfied, you don't have to buy it. David can custom-make another one for us later."

I shook my head and declined.

"This one is fine."

But David, looking guilty, teared up again.

"Martin, I'll head to the studio right now and work overtime to design something perfect for your wedding!"

With that, he quickly left, ignoring Olivia's calls to stop.

"Martin, what's wrong with you? It's just a wedding ring. Why are you making such a fuss?"

I was stunned.

"Am I making a fuss?"

She furrowed her brows and pulled me out of the store.

"I've got work to do at the company. We'll take the wedding photos some other time."

"Or you can go ahead and take your solo pictures. I'll have the designer Photoshop in some of my old portraits to make it work for the wedding."

"Alright."

The words Olivia wanted to say got stuck in her throat.

She stared at me for a long time before gently hugging me.

"Martin, once I'm done with everything, we'll go on a honeymoon trip and take wedding photos there."

At this point, the promise of a honeymoon felt like nothing but an insult.

She didn't have time to visit me in Fransei, but she had plenty of time to accompany David to Antarctica to see penguins, and to the Arctic to see the auroras.

Watching her location move swiftly toward David's studio, I tossed the wedding ring into a street musician's guitar case.

As expected, Olivia didn't return home for two days.

Because she had gone to the seaside with David to take their wedding photos.

And, true to her word, she had our faces Photoshopped onto a wedding photo.

I was determined to run away from the wedding, and after that, I would probably only come back for my parents' death anniversaries.

Carrying two bouquets of flowers, I went to visit my parents at the cemetery.

I also added the cemetery manager on Twitter for future convenience.

"From now on, I'll cover my parents' maintenance fees. Just refuse any payments from Miss Olivia," I told the manager.

After checking the system, the manager looked stunned.

"Sir, your parents' maintenance fees are already overdue by six months. We've tried contacting the family, but the phone number has been unreachable."

Thinking back to how I had changed my phone number after going abroad, I couldn't help but feel frustrated with my oversight.

Olivia didn't love me anymore, so why would she think about my deceased parents?

I settled the overdue fees and prepaid for ten more years, then left feeling despondent.

Just as I stepped out of the cemetery, I heard a voice I would never forget in this lifetime.

"Olivia, it's so thoughtful of you to remember today is the anniversary of David's real mom's death! If the old lady knew you brought her a cake, she'd probably be floating with joy underground."

I froze and turned to see Olivia, holding the arms of David and his father, walking up the stairs.

"Uncle, this is the least I can do," she said softly.

"Silly girl, why call me uncle? In a few days, you'll be calling me Dad!"

Olivia giggled and obediently called him "Dad."

With my eyes red, I silently went to meet up with my friends.

As soon as I arrived, I told them the wedding was off.

They exchanged glances, then tentatively asked.

"Martin, have you already known?"

I was puzzled as to how they knew.

They indignantly showed me photos of Olivia and David going to the hospital for a pre-marriage check-up.

"Martin, we support your decision to escape the wedding. I'd like to see how David plans to crash a wedding with no groom. It'll be quite the joke!"

Their words made me feel a little excited.

The day before the wedding, Olivia came back with a brand-new pair of running shoes.

I asked her nonchalantly.

"Don't you hate running the most?"

She froze for a moment, then leaned against my shoulder.

"Tomorrow, I'll be running until I drop with the groom!"

The groom she mentioned wasn't me.

And the smile that appeared on her face wasn't because of me either.

It seems that she was quite happy about the idea of David crashing the wedding to prove her love for him.

The next day, I made a round at the wedding venue.

A massive poster magnified the poorly Photoshopped wedding photo.

I took out a pair of scissors, cut off my youthful face from the picture, and then headed to the airport.

As the flight attendant reminded me to turn off my phone, Olivia's calls came flooding in.