Chapter 4

On the plane, Julian was distracted, constantly checking his phone.

The flight attendant reminded him several times, but he acted as if he hadn't heard.

Just as the cabin door was about to close, suddenly, Julian's phone rang.

He seemed to have been waiting for this call, answering it impatiently.

A tearful voice came through.

"Son, your dad's hurt."

At that, Julian sprang to his feet and rushed out of the cabin door without a word.

His back view was frantic and anxious.

I withdrew my gaze, feeling no surprise.

After getting off the plane, I was about to tell my parents and the Davis family about calling off the wedding.

But Asher sent me several videos.

In the videos, Chloe had a bandage wrapped around her leg, leaning on Julian's shoulder.

Several of their friends were gathered around the hospital bed.

Someone asked her what happened to her leg.

Chloe said nonchalantly,

"My 'son' was leaving me, so I got too sad and fell down the stairs, I guess. It's just a fracture, nothing serious."

Julian's eyes were slightly red, and he gently squeezed her face, clearly pained.

"If you wanted me to stay, you should have just said so. Is hurting yourself fun?"

"I didn't mean to!"

For some reason, the atmosphere became heavy.

Chloe and Julian seemed to be hiding something, their eyes both red.

Someone sensed the tension and pressed them about what had happened.

Chloe smiled, her eyes red.

"What could possibly be wrong? My 'son' is getting married, so his 'dad' is happy, of course."

"You don't look happy at all, Chloe. Could it be... you like Julian?"

Silence spoke louder than words.

The person's mouth dropped open wide enough to swallow an egg.

"No way, you really like him? What about Julian?"

Julian gently wiped away Chloe's tears, his meaning unmistakable.

That person let out a sharp gasp.

"Since you both like each other, why aren't you together? Julian, did you mess Chloe around?"

"What are you talking about?"

Julian frowned, a bitter smile on his face.

"Do you think I don't want to marry Chloe? My mom only likes Riley. What could I do? I couldn't let Chloe marry into a family where she'd be mistreated."

Chloe patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"It's not your fault. I just wasn't lucky enough."

"But to be in the same wedding as you, I have no regrets."

She took a deep breath, as if to finally unburden herself of a long-held secret.

"Julian and I met in college. For those years, he didn't have a girlfriend, and I was the one who helped him out. Until he got a girlfriend."

"During those years, I made sure he wasn't 'deprived' in *that* area. But with Riley for three years, he was practically dying of frustration. Seriously, how did you even manage to tolerate that?"

"That time in the avalanche, he risked his life to save me, but when he saw it was Riley, he threw her back and cried out my name, begging me not to die."

"He carried me to the hospital and stayed by my side for days. From that moment, I knew he was the one. Now that he's getting married, I thought, even if I can't marry him, wearing a wedding dress for him and walking through a wedding ceremony with him would be enough."

"So I rented a boyfriend and pretended to have a wedding. I never planned on getting married anyway."

So, Julian wasn't the one who saved me.

My fingers trembled. Knowing the truth, I wasn't sad, I was ecstatic.

I knew it! How could my savior have become such a hateful person?

Julian laughed at her, calling her foolish, his eyes filled with undeniable affection.

"Chloe sacrificed too much for me. I hired those guys to ruin Riley, hoping it would stop the wedding."

"If it didn't work, I'd use it as an excuse to never touch her again."

"I couldn't give Chloe marriage, but my body and heart had to be pure for her."

What a deeply devoted pair of star-crossed lovers.

In that case, Julian, don't blame me.

I exited the video, and Asher's message popped up.

"Ms. Hayes, the man you're marrying is not a good person. If you want to escape the wedding, I can help you."

Escape the wedding?

I hadn't done anything wrong, why should I run?

Why should *I* be the one running?

"What exactly do you want, Asher? I don't think we're that close."

Asher, if he was Chloe's rented boyfriend, why was he exposing Julian's true colors to me?

But he didn't reply again.

The night before the wedding, Julian went to his bachelor party.

Asher sent me an address.

By the time I arrived, the party was in full swing.

Everyone was drunk. Julian, in his tuxedo, and Chloe, in *my* wedding dress, were enacting a fake wedding.

His friends were egging them on, urging them into the bridal chamber.

Julian, tipsy, bent down and swept Chloe into his arms.

He looked like he was marrying the woman he loved, a smile stretched almost to his ears.

They went into a room amidst the cheers of his friends, kissing passionately, oblivious to the world around them.

Enjoy this last hurrah. Tomorrow, you will all descend into hell.