Emily glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. She had noticed me long ago. She lit a cigarette in the restroom and leaned against the corner, waiting for me. "You saw everything, right? Your boyfriend... No, your fiancé has always been thinking about me."

My heart couldn't help but sting, but I quickly steadied myself thanks to my years of experience at business dinners. "Why are you doing this?"

"To take back what's mine," Emily said. "Oh, by the way, the wedding is designed just how he and I envisioned it when we were together. When he cried, he was looking at me. When he expressed his gratitude, it was for me."

I remembered the red stain on James' collar during the rehearsal as I watched her lips move. It was the same shade as her lipstick.

She crushed out her cigarette and leaned close to my ear. "Let's make a bet. No matter how much you have suffered with him, or no matter how many things I have done to let him down, as long as I come back, there will be no place for you."

I said inwardly, "Fine, let's bet. Who says you'll win?"

I returned to the apartment alone in the early morning, torn about whether tomorrow's wedding was worth continuing. Could I really leave my parents to face this mess? Could I just accept that these six years were wasted?

I was lying in bed when my phone buzzed twice with a message from James: [Are you asleep? I'm already at the hotel.]

He had suggested staying at a hotel so I could rest well in the apartment. What once seemed considerate now made me question his true intentions.

I looked around the small apartment, recalling how, when James' startup failed and he couldn't afford rent, his original partners had scattered, leaving him with nowhere to go. I had helped him move into this apartment.

To protect his pride, I never mentioned that my parents had bought it. I told him it was rented and that I had him move in to help with rent. I covered the rent for the first few months, telling him to pay me back when he could.

This apartment had witnessed his confession, his proposal, and his promises. Now, it also witnessed his betrayal.

Maybe he didn't change. Perhaps that was who he really was all along. The tears I had held back all night finally fell.

When I woke up the next day, my eyes were swollen. The makeup artist knowingly said, "Were you too excited to sleep well last night?"