Chapter 6
My father’s attitude had shifted dramatically, holding Jerome’s hand and laughing warmly.
But Jerome simply withdrew his hand with a calm expression, leading me to my grandmother.
Grandma smiled happily as she took both our hands.
“Sara, I want you to be happy.”
Jerome knelt on one knee in front of my grandmother, listening patiently as she rambled on, not the slightest hint of impatience on his face.
The guests all offered their blessings to us.
“The bride and groom really are a perfect match, so well suited to each other!”
“Who was it just now who said they were going to set the bride up with someone? What a joke. Look, her husband is already here.”
Arnold, Peter, Tyler, and the rest of the group looked so dark and menacing that it was almost frightening.
After the ceremony, Jerome and I smiled as we saw the guests off.
But Arnold grabbed my arm and pulled me into the hallway.
“That’s enough, Sara. How long are you going to keep this up?
“You just wanted me to feel jealous, right? You want me to care about you, don’t you?
“Do you really need to go this far? Is this what you wanted? Are you happy now?”
I shook off his hand and took a step back.
“Arnold, don’t take yourself too seriously.
“I’ve said it so many times already. I’m marrying today, and whether you believe it or not, it’s got nothing to do with me.”
Arnold laughed in anger. “Don’t even try to say you weren’t planning to marry me!”
He pulled over the welcome poster and looked at it. Then, his face paled instantly.
It clearly read: [Groom: Jerome Emmerson.]
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10:48 PM J
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“Jerome…”
“Yeah. It’s Jerome. He was the one I was supposed to marry from the start. What’s the problem with that?”
Arnold seemed to struggle with the idea, his eyes narrowing sharply.
He pulled out the wedding invitation, which also listed Jerome’s name and featured cartoon drawings of me and Jerome.
He’d been so sure that I couldn’t live without him, that he hadn’t bothered to notice these details.
He gripped my shoulder tightly. “This can’t be! You were planning to marry me! When I called you that day, you were so happy!”
That day, when I got the call, I really had been happy.
I thought Arnold had finally seen me.
But after a moment of calm reflection, I asked myself whether I should trust him again.
I had once believed in Arnold with all my heart, believing that he would marry me.
But one lie after another had worn me out.
On my birthday, he brought Tyler and Peter along with a huge bouquet of flowers, setting up heart–shaped scented candles in front of my building.
He handed me the flowers, and I thought it was the confession I’d been waiting for.
Amidst the teasing of the crowd, he pushed me aside.
“Esther loves attention. I only called you to give her a surprise. Did you think I was going to confess to you?”
I was laughed at for being so full of myself.
In reality, it had just been another one of his schemes to entertain Esther.
That was why I was prepared from the start.
I wouldn’t change the date for the wedding, so the next day, I went on a blind date.
It was a surprise. Jerome, who I’d only met once, agreed to marry me. He even worried I might change my mind, so we went to get our marriage certificate that very day and picked out wedding dresses.
“What made me happy wasn’t marrying you. It was the fact that I was finally getting married.”
