Love Story1 - Chapter 1

"Mr. Wilson, is that overseas branch position you mentioned last time still available? I've made up my mind, I want to go."

Hearing that I agreed to the overseas training, my boss's voice was full of relief.

"Alright, I'll submit your information right away. But I heard you're getting married soon..."

"It's fine, the wedding's off. Don't worry about it."

My voice had a slight tremor.

To prevent him from noticing, I hung up the phone immediately after speaking.

My eyes were fixed on the thousands of photos of a girl on Lucas White's computer, lost in thought.

After graduation, we joined the same company, working in different departments.

Tonight he went to attend a bachelor party thrown by his friends, with his phone turned off.

His manager couldn't reach him but urgently needed a proposal, so the call came to me.

That's why I turned on his computer for the first time, only to discover these photos.

In an instant, eight years of memories flooded my mind.

In all our time together, he never had any photos of me on his phone, nor did he keep any records of our relationship.

No matter how much I cried or complained, he always said that since we saw each other every day, there was no need for mementos.

It wasn't until this moment that I understood it wasn't unnecessary; I just wasn't necessary to him.

For eight years, I made every excuse for his indifference.

My stubborn behavior now seemed like a joke.

The words his friend accidentally let slip when he learned about our wedding suddenly echoed in my ears:

"Wow, I thought you were going to stay single forever because of Annie Hall! You're really getting married? You're not just being impulsive, are you?"

At the time, I didn't notice Lucas's awkward expression, and I confidently patted my chest, saying:

"We're doing it for love!"

Now I understand why he asked that question, and I no longer have the confidence to say those words.

I took a few deep breaths and closed the computer.

I opened my phone, wanting to text Lucas about breaking up, but saw that he hadn't even replied to my message about choosing a wedding dress from a day ago.

I opened his WhatsApp Moments, seeing a blank black background without any updates.

Only a single word under his profile picture.

[Waiting.]

I pulled my lips into a bitter smile, collapsing powerlessly onto the sofa.

Before, I didn't know he was hiding someone else in his heart; I just thought he was introverted and not good at expressing himself.

Now that I think about it, I was naive to the point of ridicule.

I had asked him many times about his WhatsApp bio, but he never answered.

At this moment, I finally knew the answer.

There were only three days left until our simple wedding. I had set the countdown as my phone's dynamic wallpaper to remind myself daily.

Looking at the numbers ticking away on the screen, I rubbed my sore eyes, suppressing the overwhelming fatigue.

Just as I was about to book the ticket, Lucas's friend called me.

"Grace, Lucas is drunk. Can you come and take him home? I'll send you the address."

Through the receiver, I faintly heard Lucas's familiar voice calling "Annie!"

My heart was unexpectedly gripped.

The caller quickly covered the phone and hung up.

I shook my head to clear away emotions I shouldn't have, changed my clothes, and walked to the entrance. Only then did I see that Lucas's half of the couple's keychain I had carefully chosen was carelessly thrown on the cabinet.

This was a custom design I had ordered from an original store based on our experiences.

He said it was too childish and never wore it.

After some thought, I picked up the keychain and threw it in the trash.

Looking up, I caught sight of the unopened couple's mugs under the coffee table.

They seemed to be silently mocking my one-sided play.

A wave of powerless frustration welled up, and I picked up the trash can and threw all the couple items into a bag.

After disposing of the garbage, I took a taxi to the address his friend had sent.

As I reached the door of the private room, I heard playful questions from inside.

"Annie, why did you come back today? You didn't regret it after hearing that our Lucas is getting married, did you?"

I took a deep breath, pulled my lips into a smile, and pushed the door open to enter.

The laughter and chatter inside stopped instantly, and everyone's faces were awkward.

The man who was supposed to marry me in three days was lying in a woman's arms, his face full of tender affection.

That woman's face, I had just seen countless times on his computer.

Chapter 2

Lucas's friend didn't expect me to arrive so quickly and hurriedly tried to pull him away from Annie.

Unfortunately, Lucas seemed to have drunk quite a bit and remained completely unmoving.

He muttered unclearly, "Get lost! Don't touch me!"

This was the first time I had seen him this drunk.

His friend leaned close to his ear and said, "Grace is here to pick you up! Wake up! You're about to get married..."

The others, seeing the situation, also came forward to help. It took a great effort to finally pry Lucas's hand away from Annie.

His body fell heavily onto the sofa, his face flushed red.

His friend finally let out a sigh of relief and introduced me.

"This is our high school classmate Annie. She went abroad in her sophomore year and just came back today. She happened to join our gathering. Lucas drank too much, don't overthink it..."

If it were before, I might have lost control and asked them right there.

Knowing that Lucas and I were about to get married, why did they let Annie come? Why didn't they stop it?

But now I just smiled indifferently.

Annie looked at me with a hint of playful curiosity in her eyes.

Until Lucas's friend started to introduce my identity.

When he said the words "fiancée," Lucas, who had been silent on the sofa for a while, angrily spoke up:

"She's a friend!"

In that instant, my hand tightened under my sleeve.

My palm stung from my nails digging into it, trembling slightly.

The people around changed their expressions, looking at me with difficulty in their eyes.

This wasn't the first time Lucas didn't want to acknowledge my identity.

Earlier, when he refused to post on social media, refused to appear with me at the company, and refused to invite both families' elders and friends to the wedding, I had already guessed our fate.

I was just unwilling to accept it, wanting to bet on our eight years of feelings one last time.

But I still lost.

I still maintained a smile, nodding to Annie.

"Hello, I'm Lucas's friend Grace. You look even better than in the photos."

After I finished speaking, the room fell into complete silence.

Everyone looked at each other with various expressions.

Annie smiled nonchalantly and reached for the fruit platter on the table.

However, Lucas, who had just fallen down, suddenly sat up straight again.

"Annie, you're allergic to mangoes, you can't eat that!"

Annie's outstretched hand paused in mid-air, looking at his serious expression with amusement.

She said softly, "How are you still the same as ten years ago, silly? This is watermelon. You're drunk."

At that moment, something seemed to explode in my mind.

The fragments pierced my heart, leaving it bloody and torn.

So it wasn't that he couldn't remember, he just didn't care about me.

For eight years, I had reminded him countless times that I was allergic to seafood, but his first choice for dates was always seafood restaurants.

I went from being angry at first, to compromising later, and even deceiving myself.

I told myself he was just too tired from work, his mind couldn't hold anything else.

But today, reality once again slapped me awake.

Every detail was revealing the fact that he didn't love me.

I expressionlessly helped him up from the sofa. As we were going downstairs to get a taxi, Annie chased after us.

Her gentle eyes smiled warmly at Lucas's face.

She carefully instructed me:

"Lucas can't hold his liquor well, and he's allergic to the ingredients in hangover medicine. When you get home, make him a cup of honey water, but the water temperature can't exceed 60 degrees. He'll be fine soon, otherwise he'll have a headache when he wakes up in the morning."

Lucas had never told me any of these things.

I bit my lip and didn't say anything, turning to get into the car.

But she called out to me again.

"Oh, why don't I add you as a contact? If he feels unwell tonight, you can ask me."

"Lucas doesn't sleep well after drinking. You'll need to keep an eye on him all night. If he kicks off the blanket, cover him immediately, otherwise he'll definitely have a fever tomorrow."

My nails were digging so hard into my palms they almost drew blood. My eyelashes trembled uncontrollably.

I stared at her innocent eyes for a while, and finally nodded.

We added each other as friends, and that's when I discovered her WhatsApp Moments background was actually a photo with Lucas.

In the photo, the two of them from ten years ago looked young and naive, their eyes determined, fingers tightly intertwined.

As the car door closed, tears silently slid down my cheeks.

I had only heard others talk about the power of a first love before, and I had scoffed at it.

I believed that persisting with true love would always be reciprocated.

But at this moment, my belief wavered.

Chapter 3

On the way, Lucas's phone vibrated several times. They were all messages from Annie asking if he had gotten home safely.

I unlocked the screen, originally intending to politely reply.

But then I saw his chat history with his friend.

[This fake wedding is my last chance. If she still doesn't come back, I'll really have to give up.]

[Post the news about my wedding in the class group chat, but don't say much to others.]

My finger froze on the screen, and I abruptly closed the phone.

But I couldn't help my breathing becoming rapid.

It felt like no matter how much I tried to open my mouth, oxygen couldn't enter my lungs.

Tears flowed more freely and violently along the corners of my eyes.

No wonder he suddenly proposed to me three days ago.

No ring, no marital home, no bride price.

Just one sentence: Don't tell our families.

I thought he felt guilty for not giving me enough ceremony, thought my dedication had finally moved him.

But I never imagined that the wedding I had been looking forward to for eight years was just his bargaining chip to stimulate Annie to return to the country.

The last bit of attachment I had for this relationship in my heart was finally completely exhausted.

I could only keep comforting myself.

Since I had already decided to leave, their affairs no longer had anything to do with me.

After we got home, Lucas had sobered up a bit. He went straight to the bathroom to wash up.

I prepared honey water for him as Annie had instructed.

For these last three days, I didn't want to leave any regrets for this relationship.

I had just sat down on the sofa when my boss called.

He talked about handing over my work before leaving.

As the call ended, Lucas's irritated voice suddenly rang out:

"Leaving? Where are you going?"

He was wiping his wet hair with one hand, his face expressionless as he questioned me.

I handed him the honey water and said calmly:

"It's nothing, just going on a business trip."

He couldn't be bothered to think more about it, or perhaps he simply didn't care about anything concerning me.

He took the cup and was about to drink when he noticed the honey added to it.

His brows immediately furrowed.

He angrily questioned me:

"Who taught you this?"

"Don't just randomly look things up on the internet. Things on the internet aren't suitable for everyone!"

He slammed the cup heavily on the table and turned back to the bedroom.

A bitter smile involuntarily spread across my face.

Sure enough, the methods of a first love weren't something I could imitate.

The next day was originally scheduled for our wedding photo shoot.

Lucas woke up acting as if nothing had happened, his attitude towards me as cold as ever.

Having seen his tenderness towards Annie, I would never again think this was just his nature.

After finishing breakfast and preparing to leave, he looked at his phone.

Suddenly he said, "Let's not take the wedding photos in the park. Let's go to the school instead. I saw online that it's trendy lately."

My hand paused as I was clearing the dishes.

"Mm, whatever you say. It's up to you."

I knew why he suddenly changed his mind.

Because Annie had posted on her Moments about visiting their school this morning.

I didn't expose his childish lie to his face. I just didn't want to embarrass myself as the relationship was coming to an end.

With only a day and a half left before I left the country, I wanted to leave some dignity for both of us.

Before leaving, I had already guessed what would happen today, so I deliberately chose a wedding dress that was easy to walk in.

The photographer took us to the playground. Lucas looked around for a while, and finally saw a familiar figure in the corner under the trees.

Without saying a word to me, he immediately turned and went to find Annie.

I smiled awkwardly at the confused photographer.

"Sorry for wasting your trip. Let's end it here today. We'll pay you in full."