Chapter 1

My boyfriend suddenly told me that our wedding date had to be postponed.

"Melody’s 18th birthday gala is on the same day, and she really wants the Crystal Ballroom. I already canceled our booking and transferred it to her."

It was because of his sister. Again.

In the past, I would have screamed, fought, and cried. But now, all I felt was an overwhelming, soul-crushing fatigue.

Austin glanced at me guiltily after delivering the news. To his surprise, I just smiled.

"Of course Melody’s birthday is more important. It doesn't matter if we have a wedding at all."

He froze for a second, then quickly wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

"I knew you’d understand. Honestly, I’ve always thought weddings are just a waste of money anyway. Saving that five thousand dollars means we can use it for something else."

"Don't worry, even without the ceremony, I'll make sure you get everything you deserve."

With that, he turned around and immediately called his sister to share the good news.

I put down the half-folded wedding invitation in my hand, picked up my phone, and texted my mom.

"Mom, the wedding is off. I'm done."

After hanging up the phone, I stood on the balcony, staring blankly at the city lights.

From the living room, Austin’s voice drifted over. "Chloe? What are you doing out there? Come here and help me look at something."

I took a deep breath, turned around, and walked back inside.

He was lounging on the sofa, his phone screen glowing as he scrolled through a luxury jewelry website.

"What do you think of this necklace? It's six thousand dollars, and the design is so elegant."

He held the phone up to my face.

"Melody likes simple things. I think this one is perfect."

I stared at the screen. It was a solid gold necklace with a delicate crown pendant.

It really was beautiful.

We had been together for five years.

Over those five years, through every birthday, holiday, and anniversary, the only thing he had ever given me was a single lipstick. It was a free sample he got from buying a skincare gift set for his mother.

At the time, I had been thrilled for days, thinking he had finally remembered to get me something.

It wasn't until I found the receipt in his bag weeks later that I saw the words "GIFT WITH PURCHASE" printed clearly in bold letters.

"It’s nice," I said, my voice flat.

He didn't notice the lack of warmth in my tone. He kept scrolling.

"Or this one? It's seven thousand. Which one do you think is better?"

"Either is fine."

"Come on, help me choose," he frowned, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice. "This is Melody’s 18th birthday. It has to be perfect."

I watched him obsessively compare the two necklaces, his fingers sliding across the screen with absolute dedication.

Just last week, we went to look at wedding rings. He sat in the jewelry store, staring at his phone the entire time. The sales associate brought out five or six rings for me to try on, but he didn't even look up once.

In the end, I chose the cheapest set of plain silver bands. They cost three hundred dollars.

When he swiped his card, he muttered, "Rings are just a formality anyway. You’ll get tired of wearing them in a couple of weeks."

"You're buying her a six-thousand-dollar necklace," I said quietly. "Don't you need to discuss that with your parents first?"

"Why would I? It’s my own money." He shrugged. "Besides, my parents already got her a whole matching gold jewelry set. As her older brother, adding a necklace is the least I can do."

I thought back to the night we picked our wedding date. He had told me we needed to keep the entire wedding budget under five thousand dollars. "We have to save wherever we can, Chloe."

He also suggested we skip the honeymoon. "We'll go somewhere nice when we have more money later."

A five-thousand-dollar wedding was too expensive for him, but a six-thousand-dollar necklace for his sister was a no-brainer.

I sat down on the sofa and picked up one of the half-folded invitations.

The pastel pink card had our names printed on it, with the date set for the sixteenth of next month.

I had spent a whole week picking these out. They were the cheapest ones online, only fifty cents each. I had bought fifty of them.

"You can stop folding those," Austin said, barely glancing at me. "We won't be needing them anyway."

My hands froze.

"Austin," I called his name.

"Yeah?"

"Melody’s birthday gala is more important than our wedding, isn't it?"

He finally took his eyes off his phone and looked at me. His eyes flickered with a brief moment of guilt, but he quickly recovered his usual self-righteous attitude.

"It’s not like I had a choice, Chloe. The venue coordinator said the Crystal Ballroom only had one slot left that weekend, and Melody absolutely had to have it."

"We're just postponing our wedding. It's not like we're canceling it."

"Next spring will be better anyway. The weather will be nice, and we can do an outdoor wedding."

Next spring.

I let out a soft, humorless laugh and said nothing.

Thinking I had agreed, he went back to his phone. "Let's go with the seven-thousand-dollar one then. It's pricey, but Melody will love it."

"I’m taking tomorrow off to pick it up from the store. You should take the day off too and come with me."

"I can't. I have to work tomorrow."

"Just request a day off. Don't you have a bunch of paid time off left?"

"I don't want to."

He finally sensed something was off. He put his phone down and turned his body to face me. "What is wrong with you? Are you throwing a tantrum again?"

"No."

I stood up. "I'm going to take a shower."

He grabbed my wrist. "Don't be like this, Chloe. I know you feel slighted. But I swear, this is the absolute last time."