Three Times He Made Me Wait The Bride He Lost

In our family there is a rule: when a woman has her wedding postponed three times, it means the ancestors do not approve of the match.

She gets branded a curse, and her whole family is cast out, spat on by everyone.

At my third pre-wedding gathering with Eugene Delgado, he brought his junior colleague Lisa Cobb again.

Eugene looked at me, his tone calm. "Amelia Summers, let's postpone the wedding."

"Next week I have to take Lisa to Capital City for an academic conference."

My best friend nudged my arm lightly and lowered her voice. "Has he lost his mind? Did he forget your family's rule?"

I lifted my eyes to him, smiled bitterly, and slowly finished the wine in my glass.

He hadn't forgotten.

It was just that in his heart, I had never come first.

If he didn't want to go, then we wouldn't go.

The wedding didn't have to be with him either.

…

Back home, I stood in the entryway. The lamplight stretched both our shadows long.

I looked at Eugene seriously. "Eugene, the custom in my hometown…"

"Amelia."

He tugged at his tie and cut me off. "What century is this? Stop using customs and morals to blackmail me."

I dropped my eyes and dug my nails hard into my palm.

But all I wanted to say was that in my hometown, when a wedding is postponed three times, it means the ancestors don't approve of the match.

I would be branded a curse too. His words stopped the rest in my throat.

"Didn't I already explain? I have to go for the academic exchange. Professor Cobb entrusted Lisa to me back then. I promised I'd take good care of her."

Ever since Lisa appeared, our world for two had turned into a party of three on its own.

At the movies, she sat in the middle. At dinner, we ordered the dishes she liked.

Weekend trips, he'd say, "Lisa's feeling down, let's take her out to clear her head."

Every time there was a reason. Every time I was the one who had to understand.

"Fine. I get it."

My voice was flat.

After washing up, he wrapped his arms around me from behind, his chin resting in the curve of my shoulder, his voice low. "Amelia."

For a second, the warmth of his arms left me dazed.

As if he were still the Eugene who used to stay up watching the stars with me, who once waited all night downstairs.

I lifted my eyes to him, wanting to give us both one more chance.

"Eugene, our wedding, seven days from now…"

He lowered his head and kissed me. I closed my eyes without thinking.

But the next second, Lisa's special ringtone came down like cold water.

The mood in the room went cold at once.

He stopped, let go of me, and turned to get his phone.

I reached out and held his hand, my voice going soft and coaxing. "Eugene, don't answer it, okay?"

He frowned faintly, a thread of impatience in his tone. "Amelia, I don't like how possessive you are of me."

A nameless anger shot up in me, and my voice rose before I could stop it.

"Eugene, who exactly is your girlfriend?"

"We're all adults here. She calls you in the middle of the night. Does she have any sense of boundaries at all?"

He blinked, as if he hadn't expected me to flare up. His tone softened, but it was still the same line.

"If it weren't for Professor Cobb's help back then, I wouldn't be where I am today. Lisa has depression. If something happened to her, I'd never be able to face him as long as I live."

All at once I felt very tired.

This kind of life, I'd had enough of it. I didn't want it anymore.

I let go of his hand.

He pulled on his coat while taking the call. At the door he looked back once, but in the end he didn't say a single word.

I leaned against the wall for a while, then dialed my mother.

It rang once and connected.

"Mom," I said softly, "I've thought it through. I'm willing to accept the marriage the family arranged."