Jack and I had known each other for nine years and had been dating for five. Today was supposed to be our wedding day.
“Jack, if you walk out that door, this wedding is over!”
Last year, on a whim, I decided to visit a quiet old church nestled in the hills.
As I was about to leave, a priest called out to me. “Miss, it seems we are fated to meet, and I have some words for you.
“Your romantic prospects are uncertain. If your hearts truly resonate, you should consider committing soon.
“But if not, you will drift apart, each going your separate ways, never to cross paths again.”
Confused, I wanted to ask more, but the priest simply shook his head.
“May you both find joy and peace in your lives.”
Sunlight poured through the stained glass, illuminating him in a warm glow.
Those words lingered in my mind, as if they were predicting something.
But at the time, Jack and I were deeply in love, and I was sure we would be together forever.
Still, I couldn’t deny that the priest’s words quietly unsettled me over the past year.
Six months ago, Jack suddenly proposed. He knelt on one knee, holding out a sparkling diamond ring.
“I know you’ve been troubled by what the priest said. I’ve felt it too.
“But I’m not asking you to marry me because of him. I want to give you a home.
“A home that’s legally recognized. I want you to be the one who has the right to make decisions if I’m ever critically ill.
“Maya, marry me. I’m putting my life in your hands.”
He spoke with such sincerity that I was overwhelmed with emotion.
From that moment on, we began planning every detail of our wedding together.
We tried on wedding outfits, and I remember Jack couldn’t take his eyes off me.
“You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, Maya.”
At that time, we were truly excited about our dream wedding. We personally handled every detail, from hotel tastings to selecting the gift box designs for the guests.
No matter how busy we were, we made time to do everything together.
In our spare moments, we’d talk about what we’d be like on our wedding day after knowing each other for a decade and dating for five years. I’d joke about whether I’d end up crying during the ceremony.
I would snuggle up in his arms, discussing how many kids we’d have and what we’d name them.
I thought Jack shared the same excitement and anticipation for the wedding as I did.
But I never imagined that he would leave me for a woman he’d only known for a year.
A woman who should never have been part of our world.
“Maya, I’m sorry. She’s in serious condition.”
Jack never apologized for anything. He knew that once I made a decision, I wouldn’t back down.
When he said those words, I knew he had already made up his mind to go to her.
I couldn’t understand how ten years of love and loyalty could lose to a woman like her.
2The dial tone from the disconnected call still buzzed in my ear.
I had just received that provocative call from her – Lucy Carter, a woman who appeared in our lives a year ago.
Jack and I were on a road trip, passing through a small village when Jack got distracted by a phone call.
That’s when Lucy appeared, carrying a large woven bag, stepping into our view.
She was beautiful, with her hair tied in a bun and dressed in a plain shirt.
Her big eyes gave her a youthful charm.
Something about her immediately triggered a sense of unease in me – a woman’s intuition.
But in the end, it was Jack who had accidentally knocked into her, causing a small scrape on her leg, so we took her to the hospital.
Just moments ago, right before the wedding was about to start, I was getting ready to walk through the door that would lead me to my happily ever after with Jack.
Suddenly, my phone rang, making my already anxious heart tremble.
I saw Lucy Carter’s name on the screen. Without thinking, I picked up the call.
The next moment, her smug, taunting voice came through.
“Maya, do you believe I can make your husband drop everything and come to me? Even leaving you, his soon-to-be wife!”
I could picture her on the other end of the line, raising an eyebrow with a satisfied smirk.
Her confident tone sent a wave of unease through me, shaking the fragile sense of security I had been clinging to.
Yes, I didn’t dare to gamble.
If this had been before she started working in our company, I would have confidently told her I didn’t believe her!
But since she recovered from her injury and joined the company, her name had become a regular fixture in his conversations.
She was so helpful during our wedding preparations, always around, like a shadow between me and Jack.
I could see the subtle changes in Jack’s eyes, and I knew – he might have started to like her.
It seemed Lucy didn’t even expect a response from me.
Just as I stood there, frozen with the phone in my hand, Jack burst through the door.
“Maya, something’s come up today. We have to pause the wedding.”
I swallowed my nervousness and asked tentatively, “Is it something serious? You know we’ve been planning this wedding for a long time. Unless it’s something really important, I hope...”
“I’m sorry, but Lucy’s been in a car accident. You know she doesn’t have any family here.”
“Our wedding is about to start! You can’t just...”
Jack interrupted me, not letting me finish.
“I know, but Lucy’s seriously hurt. I need to take her to the hospital myself to be sure she’s okay. She was on her way to attend our wedding when it happened.”
“And what about our wedding?” I asked, my voice trembling.
Jack kept looking at his phone, his eyes filled with concern – for another woman.
“I know, once I’ve taken her to the hospital, we’ll pick a new date and have another wedding.”
At that moment, I realized how much of a stranger the man standing in front of me had become.
Maybe our fate was never meant to last, and we were destined to drift apart.
“Jack, do you remember what that priest said? If you go to her now, we’re over. The wedding is canceled.”
I spoke the harsh words, knowing I was cutting off my own escape.
This was my last gamble to make him stay.
He looked at me with surprise, his brow furrowed, as if recalling the priest’s words.
Or perhaps he was deciding between me and Lucy Carter.
But it didn’t take him long to make his decision. “Stop being unreasonable. You and her are different. Lucy has no one here.
“If you really believe that priest’s nonsense and not in us, then I have nothing to say. But I’m going to Lucy now to take her to the hospital.
“As for the wedding being canceled, do whatever you want.”
With that, he turned and left without a moment’s hesitation, ignoring my cries as I called after him.
“Jack!”
At that moment, the last shred of hope I had for us died.
Do whatever I want? I stood there for a long time, stunned.
In the end, he chose to leave me for another woman.
“Mrs. Harrison, the guests outside are starting to talk… and there are a lot of reporters too,” Jack’s friend, Tom, who was also a shareholder in the company, said as he entered the room.
Jack had run off, and now his friend wanted me to go out and explain the situation. After all, the groom had disappeared, and many of the company’s partners and reporters were present.
If this got out, the damage to the company’s reputation would be huge.
I let out a bitter laugh. “You’re calling the wrong person. Jack’s gone to find your real ‘Mrs. Harrison.’”
Tom’s expression froze. “Mrs. Harrison, you...”
He took a deep breath and continued, “What Jack did was wrong, but there are reporters outside. You know how they’ll twist the story, and the company’s stock will tank. If this gets out, the consequences will affect the entire company.”
Tom tried to persuade me.
I looked at him coldly. “Did Jack know there were reporters outside?”
“He… You…”
His hesitant response stabbed at my heart. It was time to let go.
I slowly removed the wedding ring that Jack had given me and tossed it into the rushing river outside the window.
3Eight years ago, I lost the only family I had left in this world. My mother lay alone on a cold slab.
When Jack arrived at the morgue and saw me, his eyes immediately reddened.
He knelt on the ground, holding me as I sobbed uncontrollably.
“You still have me. You’re not alone!” he said.
The harsh fluorescent lights cast a cold glow on him, but his expression was so earnest.
There were tears in his eyes, and his words felt sincere.
Even in the coldness of the morgue, I could feel the faint warmth of comfort.
At that time, both of us were dirt poor. We worked endless part-time jobs just to scrape together enough money to buy a small plot for my mother’s grave.
The house my mother left me was tiny. When she was alive, I shared a bed with her. It never felt cramped.
But after she passed away and I saved up money by taking in a tenant – Jack – we had to split the bed into two single ones, with a curtain drawn between them for some privacy.
We lived frugally for an entire year before we could afford to buy a small piece of land for my mother in this vast city.
On the day of her burial, I knelt by her grave, crying and apologizing for leaving her in that cold place for a whole year.
When we got back, Jack and I quickly adapted to the fast-paced life we’d been forced into.
We continued to scrimp and save, but at the end of the year, when we did the math, all we could do was smile bitterly at the little we’d saved.
A single glance exchanged between us told me we both had the same thought: we wanted to start our own business.
That night, we sat on the grass, drinking until we couldn’t tell east from west. Jack pointed to the distant high-rise buildings.
“One day, I’ll make sure you live in a place like that!”
Under the stars, Jack turned to me, his eyes shining with determination. “Maya, I like you, but I need some time to sort out other matters. Wait for me. That day will come.”
His eyes sparkled like the stars above us.
I liked him. From the day my mother passed, the warmth Jack gave me made me like him.
It was the fourth year since we had met when I sold the small house my mother left me.
I used that money to start a business with Jack. On the day we moved out, I stood in that tiny house for what felt like an eternity.
I silently made a promise to myself that the first thing I would do once I had money was buy back this house, which was filled with memories.
The early days of starting a business were brutal – so much so that we’d share a single plate of spaghetti while staring at blueprints, dreaming about the future.
The taste of the spaghetti, mixed with our tears, was all we could afford.
When things got a little better and we finally had a bit of extra money, Jack would secretly check out the travel guides I’d made for nearby towns and plan short trips for us.
He would also take me for bike rides by the beach after dinner, helping me unwind.
That’s the kind of man Jack was. If anyone ever bullied me, he’d throw punches without hesitation, no matter the consequences.
I loved Jack. I loved everything about him.
I loved the sense of security he gave me, the way he always tilted the umbrella towards me, making sure I stayed dry while he braved the rain.
So when he finally confessed his feelings to me, I didn’t hesitate to say yes, collapsing into his arms in tears.
That was the fifth year we’d known each other – the first year we were together.
Everyone around us believed we’d stay in love for the rest of our lives.
Until today, I had believed that too. I was sure we’d be together forever, even if the world crumbled around us.
I never imagined Jack would leave me for another woman.
I remember the anger in his eyes before he walked out, telling me that Lucy was different from me.
She had no one here, but how was I any different?
I only had Jack, and yet he abandoned me too.
The day my mother died, he promised me he would never leave me alone, never leave me behind.
But now, my only source of support was gone.
He had left me for someone else.
Today, he shattered every promise he’d ever made.
4I changed out of my wedding dress and bid farewell to my friends.
Sitting alone in a small pavilion in the forest, I gazed out at the still waters of the man-made lake. I opened the wooden box that held the fireflies.
As soon as they were freed, they lit up their emerald tails and soared into the open sky, free at last.
Tears rolled down my cheeks, and when they reached my lips, they tasted salty.
Jack had prepared these fireflies, saying, “When the wedding is over, we’ll release them together. It’ll be so romantic.”
Yes, it truly would have been romantic. But now, I was the only one left to witness it.
We met here, on this very mountain, because of the fireflies. And ironically, it seems our story ends here too.
In the third year of our relationship, our company went public, and everything seemed to be going in the right direction.
As we expanded and opened a branch in another city, we began to spend less time together.
But no matter how late it got, we always made sure to call each other and say goodnight.
We’d remind each other to eat on time during meals.
I thought we were still in a close phase of our relationship – after all, eight years together had forged a bond that felt deeper than just love. It felt like family.
But then Lucy Carter entered our lives, and everything seemed to change.
At first, after we took Lucy to the hospital, Jack only felt guilty.
After all, it was his distracted driving that had caused the accident.
But after Lucy was discharged, she started calling me often. I actually liked her quite a bit back then.
She was like a sweet little sister, always playfully envious of my relationship with Jack.
It felt like I had a small admirer.
But then, at some point, things changed.
She stopped calling me and began calling Jack instead.
At first, Jack would tell me every time Lucy contacted him, keeping me in the loop.
But over time, he stopped mentioning it at all.
I brushed it off, thinking it was probably because I wasn’t in the same city.
Even if Lucy did need me, I couldn’t be there for her right away.
But one day, when I returned to Sacramento for a promotional event, I was shocked by what I found.
The moment I stepped into the office, I realized Lucy hadn’t just “found a job” like she had mentioned over the phone.
She was working in my company.
Not only that, but she was using my office – under the title of Jack’s assistant.
When she saw me walk in, she was momentarily surprised but quickly regained her composure, greeting me warmly.
I wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. All I wanted was to ask Jack what was going on.
Why on earth did an assistant need the office of a general manager?
Just then, Jack walked in. His expression shifted slightly when he saw me.
I asked him what was happening, and he casually brushed it off.
“Lucy buys a lot of snacks, and her desk was too small to hold everything. Since you’re not using the office right now, I let her use it for the time being.”
Lucy playfully stuck her tongue out at Jack, then clung to my arm, pouting, “You’re not mad at me, right, Maya?”
At that moment, I should have realized that something was wrong between us.
Jack had always been strict about not allowing food in the office – not even for me.
He’d always say, “The office is for business; it shouldn’t smell like food.”
Yet now, I was sitting on his office couch, staring at an unfinished bag of chips.
I tried to reassure myself, thinking maybe Jack was just being lenient because Lucy was younger, and he still felt guilty about the accident.
But the doubts kept piling up.
It wasn’t until after we attended the company’s promotional event and Jack placed his car keys on the table that my heart sank.
I noticed something on his keychain – a small, fluffy bunny charm.
I did my best to act casual and asked, “Did you change your keychain? What happened to the one I gave you?”