Chapter 5

Brian then remembered the video was still on and glanced at the screen.

"Lucas, Gwen says the wedding starts in three minutes. You'd better hurry."

Lucas's low laughter came through the phone, carrying the lazy aftermath of passion.

"Three minutes? Does this woman have some kind of misunderstanding about me?"

A woman's soft giggle came through the speaker, saying something sweet.

"Lucas..." Brian asked quietly. "So..."

There was two seconds of silence on the other end, then Lucas's impatient voice came through. "Go ahead and help me hold down the fort. I'll come over when I'm done here."

When he said "done," another coquettish sound came from the woman in the background.

Brian quickly hung up the video call.

The group frantically stubbed out their cigarettes, straightened their suits, and filed out of the terrace.

As he caught up with me, Jason said quietly.

"Gwen, we all know about you and Lucas after all these years. He does have feelings for you, it's just... you know how men are."

I didn't look at him or respond.

Actually, until yesterday, I still didn't want to believe he'd developed a taste for the new and grown tired of the old.

Vivian was an investor's only daughter, fresh out of college.

Ever since they met once at a celebration banquet, his gaze toward her had been off.

Back then I thought I was being paranoid.

After all, we'd been together for ten years. If I didn't understand him, I wouldn't have persisted this long.

So I chose to trust him through many ambiguous moments, many late-night messages left unread.

I didn't believe that after all our struggles, just when we were about to build our life together, we would lose to a girl fresh out of college.

But he gradually became eager to tear off his mask, getting more and more outrageous.

He stopped hiding it, even deliberately making sure I found out.

Then he packaged his betrayal as a gift.

"How could someone as outstanding as me have just one woman? But my heart belongs to you. No one but you can be Mrs. Shaw."

Expecting me to be grateful.

Harper was right--he was too good at pretending.

He pretended right up until the day before the wedding before finally tearing off that last layer of disguise.

In the cruelest way possible, making me see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears exactly what he considered me to be.

He pretended until I had no way out.

"Gwen, walk slowly on the red carpet later. We'll back you up from behind."

"Right, right. Lucas said when he's done he'll come over. You just go through the motions first."

They thought I was just going through the motions at the wedding.

Thought I'd walk the red carpet alone in my wedding dress, stand before the priest, and wait for a groom who might never show up.

Then smile and say "I do" to an empty groom's spot.

This was the script Lucas left for me.

The groomsmen stood on either side of me, their faces still wearing those "everything's under control" smiles.

The church doors slowly opened, and a figure stood in the backlight.

Then everyone's smiles froze.

Lucas stubbed out his cigarette and buckled his belt.

"You're really leaving?" Vivian sat on the bed wrapped in sheets, her face full of displeasure. "You promised to stay with me all day. I only agreed to postpone getting the certificate because of that, and now you're just leaving?"

"I have to go." Lucas picked up his jacket. "She only gave me three minutes. If I don't get there, with her temper--you know how she is--"

"What temper?" Vivian pouted. "Isn't she supposed to be so understanding?"

"Understanding is one thing, but today's different." Lucas checked himself in the mirror, adjusting his collar. "The century wedding--I promised her that."

"Then why did you come to me?"

"Didn't you insist?" Lucas smiled, walked over and pinched her cheek. "Be good. I'll be back tonight."

Vivian swatted his hand away and turned around. "So when are we postponing the certificate to?"

"We'll see." Lucas answered perfunctorily, picking up his phone from the nightstand.

The screen lit up. His messages had exploded.

Voice messages one after another, and the last one was a video from Brian.

He frowned and casually clicked it open.

His eyes widened.