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The plane broke through the clouds, and for the first time in a long while, I felt free.
It was as if the howling wind carried away the weight of a love that had rotted, breaking
the chains that had bound me.
By the time the plane landed, it was nearly sunset.
The golden light of the setting sun blanketed the sky, illuminating the path ahead of me.
As I stepped out of the airport, I saw my parents and brother standing in a row, holding a sign that read:
“Welcome Home, Annie!”
Their bright smiles melted away the walls I’d built around my heart.
All the rehearsed lies about how well I had been doing, all the fake bravado–it all
crumbled in an instant.
I dropped my suitcase and ran straight into my mom’s arms.
Tears welled up in my eyes, spilling over as I clung to her.
“My baby! My sweet baby! Mom missed you so much!”
Her voice broke as she started to cry, and my dad quickly pulled her into his arms, gently consoling her.
“Don’t cry, honey. Annie’s home for good this time. That’s the best news we could ask
for!”
“Yes, yes, you’re right!”
Mom wiped her tears and looped her arm through mine.
“I’m not crying–I’m just so happy! Come on, sweetheart. I’ve got a surprise waiting for you at home.”
<
My brother wrapped a scarf around my neck, ruffled my hair with one hand, and picked
up my suitcase with the other.
“Let’s go. It’s time to
go
home.”
Meanwhile, back in Silverhill, chaos had erupted.
The highly anticipated “wedding of the century” had just turned into a public disaster.
The ceremony was halfway through, but the bridesmaid–me–hadn’t shown up.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, Ethan was overcome with a deep sense of panic, as if something precious was slipping through his fingers.
He grabbed his phone and started calling me, over and over again.
The cold, automated voice-“The number you are trying to reach is no longer in service“–
echoed across the wedding venue.
Natalie tugged nervously at his sleeve, her voice trembling.
“Stop calling her. She’s probably still upset with me. If she doesn’t want to come, just let it
go.”
“No! She has to be here today!”
Ethan shook off her hand and kept dialing, his desperation growing with each failed
attempt.
The crowd erupted into murmurs, and the reporters covering the event exchanged confused glances.
“Ethan! Have you lost your mind? Stop this ridiculous behavior!”
Natalie tried to snatch the phone from him, but Ethan pushed her away.
“Get out of my way!”
Natalie stumbled backward crashing into a
Natalie stumbled backward, crashing into a table covered in wine glasses.
her stomach in pain, her face ashen.
But Ethan didn’t even notice.
He couldn’t believe it. The Annie he had known for so long, the one who always bent over backward to please him–why wasn’t she here? Something had to have happened.
As the guests grew restless and the media cameras zoomed in on the unfolding drama, Mrs. Hayes stormed up to Ethan and snatched the phone from his hand. She hurled it to the ground, shattering the screen into pieces.
“Enough!” she shouted.
“Annie left this morning. She’s gone. She’s never coming back!”
Ethan froze, as if struck by lightning.
In an instant, all the strange things about me in recent months flooded his mind–seeing me in the OB–GYN hallway, coming home drunk, the photo album burned to ash.
Every single moment pointed to one undeniable truth:
I had left. I didn’t love him anymore.
A ringing filled his ears, drowning out the sounds of the chaotic wedding around him.
It felt like an invisible hand was shoving him forward, a voice screaming in his head:
“Go after her! If you don’t, it’ll be too late!”
Ethan turned to glance at Natalie one last time, then tore the boutonniere from his chest
and bolted for the exit.
“Ethan! My baby! Help me!”
Natalie’s anguished cry stopped him dead in his tracks.
He turned back to see her wedding dress stained with blood.
ད
09:59 on 3 Feb 4
<
For a moment, he hesitated, torn between two paths.
But after a few seconds, he clenched his jaw, walked back, and scooped her into his
arms.
In the maternity ward, Natalie was still unconscious.
Outside the room, two nurses whispered to each other as they left.
“I could’ve sworn this woman came in a few weeks ago for an abortion. Why is she here again?”
“You must be mistaken. The girl from before just looks a bit like her, that’s all.”
“What did you just say?!”
Ethan shot up from the bench, storming toward the nurses and grabbing one of them by
the arm.
His bloodshot eyes bore into hers as his voice shook.
“The girl who came in before… was her name… Annie?”
The young nurse flinched, startled by his intensity, and nodded quickly.
“I think so. Black hair, really pretty. She came alone that day–didn’t even have anyone
with her…”
Ethan’s hands fell to his sides, his strength completely drained. Tears streamed down his
face as he sank to the ground.
The weight in his chest was suffocating, and he could barely breathe.
Sliding down against the wall, he was consumed by despair. Waves of regret crashed
over him, drowning him in the realization of just how foolish he had been these past two
months.
