Why was she suddenly insisting that I didn’t need to marry her?
Could it be that she was actually angry?
A flicker of confusion flashed in his eyes and he stammered. "Brianna, I..."
Before he could finish, his brothers all coughed in unison, signaling him to backtrack.
He quickly recovered, his voice laced with an edge of desperation.
"Brianna, I always keep my promises."
But I only smiled.
"Hurry up and go be with your girlfriend!"
"I’ll handle the discharge papers now!"
Hearing my calm response, Sebastian’s heart skipped a beat.
There was something different about me today, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
He hesitated as if on the verge of saying something, but his brothers casually pulled him away.
"Enough, stop staring. Eliza will get jealous if you don’t hurry up! It’s the usual act: play the pity card and then pretend to be hard to get. Women always play those games and you’re just too naive to see it!"
"Yeah! Look at the mess you’ve made. You’re no kid anymore. How could you let her bleed so much? Lucky for you, Eliza’s generous and doesn’t fuss about it, unlike some people who donate blood and then start pushing for marriage..."
Their loud words were clearly meant for me, but I didn’t feel the heartache I expected.
Instead, a coldness crept into my bones.
The sunlight outside couldn’t warm me.
Watching them leave, I moved forward with the discharge process.
With Sebastian gone, I called a housekeeper to help pack my things.
The housekeeper froze when she saw the newly decorated wedding home, her voice full of surprise.
"Miss, all of this brand new wedding stuff and you’re just throwing it all away?"
"Hmm, the groom’s gone. It’s all useless now."
The housekeeper’s face softened with regret and she quickly apologized, trying to comfort me.
To prevent me from breaking down, the housekeeper started with the wedding photos and the dozens of albums filled with memories of Sebastian and me.
Within hours, the home I had so carefully decorated lost all remnants of celebration, slipping into an eerie silence.
The atmosphere turned cold and empty and I couldn’t help but feel the same way inside.
The housekeeper sighed softly, shaking her head as she looked at the ten or so bags filled with reminders of love.
"Miss, you need to move on."
I nodded, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.