Out of nowhere, Noah’s female friend since childhood lifted her glass to make a toast at my wedding’s lunch rehearsal.

"First toast to Noah Blackwood, the groom. Since you're getting married, don’t try to grab my underwear before watching an action movie from now on!"

Everyone burst out laughing. In fact, Noah’s female friend laughed so hard she nearly fell into his arms.

When Yvette saw the unhappy look on my face, she raised her glass again with a teasing grin.

"And the second toast to the bride. Look at this young woman. She must’ve been good in bed. Noah will definitely like it!"

Noah quickly grabbed Yvette, covering her mouth as he softly laughed.

"Gosh, Yvette! Why are you always thinking like that?"

She leaned away from Noah and said, "Anyway, Evelyn, you know that Noah and I grew up together. You’re not mad, right?"

——

I just let out a smile.

"Why would I be upset? We’re all like childhood friends here."

Everyone stared at me, seemingly surprised. Meanwhile, Noah put his arm around my shoulders and tapped my nose in response.

"Evelyn, you’re being so calm today! I thought you’d be the type to get jealous and throw a fit."

The female friend jumped in right away.

"Exactly! The girls Noah dated before were all so fake. They couldn’t deal with us, his close friends. We always ended up breaking up with them!"

"You know that old saying? Friends are bound like limbs until the end, even when you fight, but you can always discard women like clothes when you fight!" Yvette exclaimed before reached for Noah again.

"So, Noah, do you want to go around without clothes or without limbs? Anyway, I still have your baby pictures with no clothes on!"

My soon-to-be husband just laughed as he pushed her hand away.

"Yvette, please stop messing around! Evelyn is right here!"

Yvette rolled her eyes.

"Why didn’t you say that when you were playing with my bra straps and practicing how to unhook them? I had a boyfriend back then!"

She grabbed my arm and pouted.

"Evelyn, you have to make him pay me back! He ruined so many of my bras!"

I held her arm and asked, "Are you planning to give the same toast at tomorrow’s wedding?"

Yvette froze, clearly shocked that I had asked that. Indeed, today was only a practice run. In our hometown tradition, both the bride and groom would have someone stand up and make a toast for them at weddings.

Everything had been going smoothly until Yvette raised her empty glass and started talking.

"So, you’re saying I shouldn’t say that?" Yvette asked, curled her lips and slammed her glass on the table.

The loud thud made everyone fall silent.

"Noah, your wife is being way too much. What did I even say? I was just being honest!"

Noah’s eyes moved between Yvette and me. Finally, he held my hand and shook it lightly. After that, he smiled at her.

"Yvette, you’re like my siblin. You just accepted my wife as part of the group. Don’t fight with her, okay?"

Yvette stomped her foot angrily at what he just said.

"Noah, I’ve liked you all these years for nothing! You’re not even married yet and you’re already siding with her!"

After that, Noah turned toward me.

"Evelyn, go apologize to Yvette. I’ll get her to change her toast and then it’ll all be fine."

He gently pushed me toward her. The rest of his friends joined in.

"Evelyn, say sorry to Yvette and make her happy. Only then can you marry Noah."

"Yeah! Everyone knows Noah listens to Yvette the most. If you want to fit into our group, you need to win her over first!"

Yvette immediately let out a laugh, lightly punched the person’s chest when she heard that.

"Armand, how many times have I told you I’m the boss? Call me Bossie!"

One of Noah’s friends, Armand Gasly, quickly nodded his head again and again.

"Yes, yes, Bossie! My bad!"

My soon-to-be husband’s group of friends burst into laughter. They were cheering and shouting. It seemed that they completely forgot that I, the bride, was still standing there.

After Yvette finally stopped laughing, she looked at me and Armand, then nodded with a mischievous grin.

"You both have to apologize to me. But I don’t want just words. Here’s the deal. Each of you will drink a whole bottle of wine. After that, I’ll call it even!"

Noah clapped first, looking proud.

"Nice! Yvette, you’re so generous!"

The others followed, applauding loudly, while my face grew colder and colder. Not long after that, the waiter quickly brought two bottles of wine. Yvette poured herself a glass first and raised it toward Armand.

"Armand, I know you’re not feeling great today. I’ll drink this for you."

She downed the whole glass in one go, earning another round of cheers. It caused Armand to be moved to tears. He then finished the rest of his half-bottle.

"Thank you, Yvette! We’ll be friends for life!"

After they finished patting each other on the back, all eyes turned to me.

"Your turn, Noah girl!" someone shouted.

Noah slipped an arm around my waist, trying to show his dominance.

"Why are you calling me that? Just call me Noah!"

"Yes, yes, Noah, drink!"

Noah leaned close and whispered in my ear, "Evelyn, just drink it. Think of it as doing me a favor."

I stared at him without emotion, telling him, "Noah, you know that I’m allergic to alcohol."

Noah couldn’t help but freeze. His face was changing as old memories came rushing back. Years ago, he had gotten drunk at a business dinner and asked me to pick him up.

The greasy middle-aged men at the table wouldn’t let him leave unless I drank a glass with them. To get Noah out, I took the full glass of strong liquor they handed me and downed it in one gulp. While Noah was merely drunk that night, I ended up being rushed to the emergency room.

The doctor told us that my organs had almost shut down from the reaction. If I had come even a little later, I might not have survived.

The day I was discharged, Noah had held my hand, his eyes red and swore, "Evelyn, I’ll never let anyone force you to drink again!"

But now, just to please his so-called female childhood friend, Noah was asking me to drink an entire bottle. I clenched my fists, anger rising. On the other hand, Noah just lowered his voice and tried to soothe me.

"Evelyn, don’t make a scene. My friends are watching."

"Besides, it’s only wine. The alcohol content’s low. Just drink it, then go to the bathroom and throw it up. It won’t hurt you."

Hearing him say that made my heart go cold. For the first time, I wondered if marrying him was really the right choice.

Someone in the group urged me loudly, "Evelyn, hurry up! We’re all waiting!"

Before I could answer, Yvette suddenly cut in with a laugh.

"Hey, you know that saying, right? Nothing tastes better than pie, nothing’s more fun than ... well, you know!"

She gave me a pointed look and added playfully, "Your Noah might be a bit of a flirt, but don’t aim too high, alright?"

My brows drew together as I asked Noah, "What does she mean by that?"

"Noah, you’ve been teasing me out in the open for a while now and now you can’t stop, huh?"

Then, she gasped dramatically before covering her mouth as if she’d said too much.

"Oh no, did I just say what I was really thinking? Silly me!"

She tapped her temple in an exaggeratedly cute way, pretending to be clueless. Even with such an obvious act, Noah actually laughed. He grabbed Yvette’s hand affectionately.

"Alright, alright. You’ve never been the sharpest tool in the shed, so don’t make yourself look even sillier."

Yvette pretended to be furious and twisted his waist.

"Who are you calling dumb? How dare you insult your big sister! If I’m the dumb sister, then what are you? The dumber little brother?!"

The group roared with laughter again, while I stood there, feeling like an outsider at my own wedding rehearsal.

Seeing that both Yvette and Noah were about to start flirting again, I snatched the wine bottle off the table.

"So, do you want me to drink to apologize, right? Fine, I’ll drink."

Yvette’s lips curved into a smug smile.

"Yvette, I’ve already finished this one. If you drink, I’ll forgive you."

I smiled back, holding the bottle high.

"I remember you drank half for Armand earlier. Now, drink half for me too!"

Then, I tilted the bottle and poured the wine over Yvette’s head. A sharp scream cut through the hall, echoing off the walls. While everyone gasped after I poured the wine over Yvette, I left the shouting behind me and drove back home.

Once I arrived at home, I saw the house decorated with white wedding ornaments. The sight made my chest tighten painfully. I grabbed my chest, leaning against the wall and slowly slid down until I was crouched on the floor. Tears blurred my vision.

Noah and I had met in college. At first, I just thought he was handsome. So when he confessed, I agreed to date him.

But soon after, my family’s business fell apart and almost went bankrupt. When Noah found out, he didn’t leave me. Instead, he handed me all his savings and told me to help my parents.

When he noticed I couldn’t afford a new bag to replace my old designer one, he worked a summer job and used his pay to buy me a tiny designer card holder. I still remember him, dressed in a silly mascot costume, shyly handing me the gift.

That was the moment I knew that Noah was the man I wanted to marry.

Luckily, my family recovered and became wealthy again not long after. After graduation, my parents weren’t thrilled about Noah’s background. But I believed he was the one I could weather any storm with, so I insisted on marrying him.

Seeing how determined I was, my parents gave Noah a branch office to run and even bought us a big apartment in the city as our wedding gift. We were supposed to get married tomorrow. However, his friends had done something so disgusting today.

My stomach twisted like I’d swallowed something rotten. I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Not long after, Noah came home. He stormed toward me, his face dark with anger.

"Evelyn! Who gave you the right to treat Yvette like that?"

I was still vomiting. But instead of asking if I was okay, his first instinct was to defend her. At that moment, I wondered if marrying him was a mistake.

I wiped my mouth and looked up at him with a cold sneer.

"Yvette? Did she grow something you don’t have, or did you lose yours? Otherwise, how are you both the same gender?"

Noah’s face turned red with fury. He raised his hand.

"Evelyn, shut up!"

Tears filled my eyes, anger burning in my chest.

"What now? You’re going to hit me over that woman?"

Noah froze, then slowly lowered his hand. He let out a long sigh and softened his tone, "Baby, don’t be mad, okay? Yvette really is just my childhood friend. There’s nothing going on between us."

"Besides, we’re getting married tomorrow. Your parents spent so much money and effort on this wedding. You can’t just throw it all away, right?"

He smiled like nothing was wrong and tried to hug me. However, I just pushed him back and glared. I couldn’t help but scoff as I asked him, "Are you threatening me now?"

Noah shrugged casually.

"I’m just telling the truth. And Yvette is one of my groomsmen. I can’t just not have one."

I let out a bitter laugh.

"I’ve never heard of a woman being a best man."

Noah lost his patience.

"There are plenty of things you’ve never heard of. Why make a big deal out of something so small?"

"A small matter?" I asked as I laughed.

"On Valentine’s Day this year, I booked the best restaurant in the city six months ahead. That night, your so-called best female friend called you away. You didn’t even come at all. Is that a small matter too?"