Chapter 1

Raymond Weiss owned a parrot that could say "I love you."

But I'd moved into his house six months ago—bought it toys, sat in the sun with it, even studied bird care.

It still refused to say those words to me.

Raymond always laughed at me for being childish.

"What does a bird know? You're really going to bicker with it?"

I thought it was just the bird's nature.

Until a week before the wedding, when my best friend Simone came with me to try on wedding gowns.

The moment she stepped into the living room, the parrot flapped its wings in a burst of excitement.

"Simone, I love you! Mommy, Mommy!"

Simone paused for a second, then fed it nuts like an old hand.

"Oh, this little guy—still such a sweet talker."

An unnatural look flickered in Raymond's eyes, and he cleared his throat to explain.

"That bird stayed over at Simone's place for a few days once."

"It's just squawking nonsense—don't take it to heart."

But I clearly remembered him bragging that he'd trained this parrot himself.

On the way to the bridal shop, Simone sat in the passenger seat.

The first thing Raymond did after getting in was crank the seat heater to its highest setting.

"Simone's on her period these days and can't take the cold, so bear with her a little."

"We grew up together. If it really bothers you, you'll have to get used to it after we're married anyway."

In that moment, I suddenly let it all go.

I took out my phone, quietly unsent the wedding invitations, and booked a flight to Seattle.

Raymond, your love is too crowded. I'll make room for myself.

...

The car came to a smooth stop in front of the bridal shop.

Raymond went straight around to the passenger side.

He opened the door for Simone.

He even carefully shielded the top of the doorframe so she wouldn't bump her head.

Only once Simone was safely out

did he circle back to my side and reach out his hand to me.

"Mercedes, be careful."

I looked at that hand.

I turned slightly, dodging his touch.

Raymond's hand froze in midair, a trace of helplessness crossing his eyes.

"Mercedes, are you jealous?"

There was a note of reproach in his tone.

As if I were just a child making a fuss over nothing.

"Simone is your best friend, and she's my old neighbor. We grew up together."

"Isn't it only right that I look out for her a little more?"

The moment he finished, Simone lowered her head in guilt.

She looked nervous and uneasy.

"Mercedes, please don't be angry, okay?"

"Raymond and I really are innocent."

"We've known each other for over a decade. If we'd wanted to be together, there'd have been no room for you at all."

Raymond rubbed my head and chimed in with a smile.

"Exactly! If the two of us wanted to be together, no one else would even factor in!"

"Mercedes, don't be so petty."

Anyone else?

I repeated those words in my head.

And found it utterly absurd.

In this relationship, there was only one outsider.

From beginning to end, it was me.

They were childhood sweethearts, old friends with over a decade of memories.

And I was nothing but a stranger who'd wandered in halfway.

I reined in my emotions and spoke, my face calm.

"You're overthinking it. I'm not angry."

When you no longer care, of course you don't get angry.

When you stop loving someone, there's no ripple left.

Raymond visibly let out a big breath of relief.

He stepped forward and draped an arm around my shoulder as if it were the most natural thing.

"I knew it—you wouldn't be that petty."

I didn't fight it, just let him hold me.

The three of us walked into the bridal shop side by side.

The staff at the entrance had been waiting a long while.

Seeing us, one of them hurried over to greet us.

"Mr. Weiss, Miss Carter, you're here!"

Her gaze swept past me and went straight to Simone.

"Miss Carter, the gown you had custom-made is finished."

"You have such wonderful taste, designing such a beautiful gown yourself."

"Once you put it on, you'll absolutely be the most beautiful bride..."

The staff member noticed nothing wrong.

She just kept chattering away.

For a moment, the scene turned awkward.

Simone coughed lightly, cutting her off.

"You've got the wrong person—I'm not the bride."

"This is Miss Swanson. She's the bride."

The smile froze on the assistant's face.

Her eyes filled with embarrassment.

The air went still in an instant.

Raymond glanced at me and quickly spoke up to explain.

"On the day we ordered the gown, you couldn't get away."

"I figured Simone's build is about the same as yours, so I asked her to try on the sizes for you."

It was a watertight explanation.

But on the day we ordered the gown, I'd cleared my schedule three days in advance.

It was Raymond who messaged me at the last minute, saying an urgent project meant he couldn't leave.

That was how he'd forced me out of the way.

So it turned out the "couldn't leave" was a lie.

The truth was that he'd taken Simone to secretly pick out the gown.