Oops, Wrong Bride? Fine. No Wedding. Chapter 05

Oops, Wrong Bride? Fine. No Wedding. Chapter 05

The fluorescent lights in the hospital hallway were harsh, and they stung Ethan’s eyes until they felt raw. He stood at the billing counter and finished the paperwork. After an entire afternoon of chaos, Wendy’s condition had stabilized. She’d only had a scare, but she still

hadn’t calmed down.

Now, with her pills and a glass of water in her, she leaned against Ethan’s chest and kept crying. “Ethan, I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose you for good.”

Ethan felt her arms tighten around his waist, and for the first time, his mind wandered. Back

when they were new and in love, Iris had liked to hold him exactly like this, with her arms locked around his waist. He’d been shy back then, so most of the time, she was the one who

made the first move.

Ethan sighed.

In a few days, this would be over, and he’d go back to Iris, and the two of them would patch

things up as if nothing had happened. That thought loosened something in his chest.

Then, as if he’d remembered something, he asked Wendy hesitantly, “Why… did you go see

Iris’ mom?”

Wendy’s eyes wavered, and she stammered, “I only… wanted to apologize to her in person. I

didn’t think she’d…”

Ethan frowned. He wanted to ask more. But he thought about how she could have another

attack at any moment, and he held back. “Get some rest. I have to head out for a bit. Iris is still

waiting for me over there…”

Wendy clung to him, and something resentful flashed in her eyes. She sniffled. “Ethan. We have so little time left. Can’t you stay? Can’t you give me what’s left of it?”

Ethan’s heart clenched, and he went back and forth in his head. The small, secret selfishness he’d been carrying grew larger in that moment.

When Wendy first joined the company, he hadn’t felt anything toward her. But watching her fumble through everything, he felt like he was seeing Iris again, back when she used to argue with him, stubborn and refusing to back down. She was nothing like the Iris of today, who’d lost so much weight worrying over her mother’s illness and looked worn to the bone. So

naturally, he’d started paying attention to Wendy. At first, he’d only looked out for her, helping her with the design proposals she couldn’t get the hang of. Then it got more personal, and he’d drive half an hour out of his way to take her home. The texts between them piled up.

That went on until the day Iris texted him out of nowhere and asked if he’d marry her.

His first reaction was in a daze. They’d waited almost ten years, and marrying her had turned into something he had to see through, like an obligation. But that same day, Wendy went out and got drunk, and she called him halfway through and confessed her feelings. She said she didn’t believe in marriage, but she wanted a wedding of her own. That was how the game got

started.

He’d planned the whole elaborate excuse himself and carried it out on the day of the wedding.

He had regrets. Of course he did. When he saw Iris crying, stunned and heartbroken, something in him had softened. But it was done, and he figured Iris would understand.

Ethan finally said yes.

He told himself he was only playing by the rules of the game. Iris was so understanding. She

wouldn’t have the heart to blame him.

The door swung open. Chloe and Zach hurried in, out of breath. “What happened? Why’d she have an attack out of nowhere? Is she okay?”

Wendy forced a smile. “Chloe, Zach, I’m fine.”

Over the next few days, Ethan handled Wendy’s discharge and booked two tickets to an island resort. They surfed, and somewhere down the beach, a couple was having the kind of wedding people dream about. But Ethan couldn’t take any of it in. That same nameless feeling surged up in his chest again, and he shot to his feet.

The messages he’d sent Iris still hadn’t gotten a reply. She’d gone silent, as she’d vanished off the face of the earth. She’d even quietly left the group chat the four of them had started

together.

Chloe tagged them in the chat.

Chloe: [Iris still isn’t picking up for you guys either?]

Ethan rubbed the spot between his brows, agitated. This was the first time Iris had gone more

than forty-eight hours without reaching out to them.

He couldn’t take it anymore, and he booked a flight home.

Wendy’s voice went soft. “Ethan, but we still have one more day…”

He looked up, irritated. ‘Wendy, I’ve given you more than enough of my time. Don’t get greedy.”

Wendy froze.

When he landed, Chloe and Zach met him at the airport, Both of them looked grim, and they ran through the places Iris might be. Ethan had someone drive Wendy home, and he told the other two, “Her office first. Then the hospital.”

She’d fought tooth and nail to stay in Southport for the three of them. There was no way she’d leave that easily. And with her mother still in the hospital, she’d never bring herself to go.

At the office, the receptionist’s face soured at the sound of Iris’ name. “She was fired ages ago.”