Chapter 1

The rehearsal was the day before the wedding.

One of the wedding staff called my mother down off the stage.

"The bride's mother can just sit in the audience when the time comes."

Then she pointed at my best friend's mother.

"The groom has already chosen the wedding host."

I rushed forward.

"That's impossible. The host we booked is my mother."

I turned to look at Cornelius Henson.

There had to be some mistake.

Before the wedding, I had told Cornelius.

My mother was the most important person to me.

She had to be part of my happiness.

But now Cornelius's face was calm.

"Kay Lyons, your mother lost her husband young. It's bad luck."

My body went rigid.

My mother's face filled with embarrassment.

She gave my wrist a small tug.

"Kaykay, Neil is right. I'm bad luck. I'll come down now."

I was trembling all over.

"Cornelius, didn't Teresa Swanson's mother lose her husband too?"

Cornelius suddenly clamped down on my palm.

He said in a low voice.

"Kay! Teresa's father died of illness. Don't provoke them!"

"And she's your best friend. I'm just looking out for them. It's one wedding-host spot. Don't make a scene."

Teresa's eyes went red.

"Kay, I only wanted my mom to share in the luck of the day. If you don't want that, then forget it."

"Fine."

I took off the veil and the wedding ring.

If the host wasn't going to be my mother.

Then the bride didn't have to be me either.

...

The wedding coordinator's voice carried across the whole hall.

"The bride's mother, you don't need to stand here. Tomorrow, at the actual ceremony, you can just sit in the audience and watch."

My mother froze at once.

She stood there stiff and at a loss, not knowing what to do with her hands.

"But I'm the wedding host. Is it all right if I don't go on stage?"

The coordinator hesitated for a moment.

Then she raised her hand toward Teresa's mother, standing a little way off.

"The thing is, the groom's side told us the wedding host they'd settled on is that lady."

The moment I saw it, my heart dropped like a stone.

I gathered up my skirt without thinking and hurried forward, stepping in front of my mother.

I said firmly.

"That's impossible. The host we settled on before the wedding, from start to finish, was my mother."

"The groom knows that. You must have heard wrong."

I turned my head toward Cornelius at my side.

I had told him countless times.

I lost my father when I was young, and my mother and I had leaned on each other for half a lifetime.

My mother was the one soft spot and the one anchor of my whole life.

Back then I had even told Cornelius, seriously.

If he wanted to marry me, my mother had to be the wedding host, had to watch me married off with her own eyes, had to be part of the happiest moment of my life.

Cornelius had held me then and sworn he would grant every single thing I asked for.

So it had to be a miscommunication among the staff.

Every staff member in the hall had stopped.

The air in the room went still.

My mother stood beside me in the wine-red gown I'd had made for her, standing uneasily at my side.

"Kaykay, I'm fine."

But right now Cornelius's face was calm, whatever flicker of guilt there might have been gone in an instant.

"Kay, your aunt lost her husband young. Her fate brings death to a husband. It's bad luck for her to be the host."

Hearing that, the blood froze in my veins and my scalp prickled.

I couldn't believe words this cruel had come from Cornelius's mouth.

Beside me, my mother's face went suddenly bloodless.

Her eyes were full of shame.

But so I wouldn't be put in a hard spot, my mother gently lifted her hand and took hold of me.

Her voice was hoarse.

"Kaykay, Neil... is right. Your father went early. It's my fate that's bad, that I'm bad luck... I'll come down now. I won't hold you up."

My chest was choked with bitterness and anger, furious and aching at once.

I stared hard at Cornelius, holding down the tremor in my voice.

"Cornelius, didn't Teresa's mother lose her husband young too?"

The room broke into murmurs, every gaze turning toward Teresa and her mother off to the side.

Cornelius's face went cold at once.

Ignoring all the watching eyes, he suddenly gripped my palm tight.

Cornelius lowered his voice, his tone full of blame.

"Kay! Don't be difficult! Teresa is your best friend. That's the only reason I agreed to this!"

"And Teresa's father died of illness. It's not the same as your mother's situation. Don't deliberately provoke the two of them!"

Not the same?

Where was it not the same?

Since when did dying come in ranks, some noble and some low?

Teresa came rushing over, holding up her skirt.

Eyes red, she caught hold of Cornelius.

"Neil, don't fight with Kay over me. It's my fault. Kay's temper isn't good. If this really turns into a fight, that would be bad."

"It's just the one host spot. Uncle Lyons died in a car accident years ago. If Aunt Lyons really does bring death to a husband, wouldn't that be awful? I only meant it for your own good. If Kay doesn't want it, then forget it."

Cornelius's face darkened.

"Kay, it's one host spot. Do you have to nitpick every little thing? If you won't give up this host spot today, then our wedding gets postponed!"

My heart trembled without stop in that instant.

For a moment the words caught in my throat.

Teresa's father had died of illness years ago, leaving a widow and child with no one to look after them.

My mother pitied them, since our families had been through much the same thing.

Every day she had me quietly help Teresa out.

And Teresa and I had grown into best friends.

She had once said.

"Kay, someday you have to find someone who loves you. If he ever mistreats you, I'll teach him a lesson for you, no mercy! I'm your family, after all!"

Yet today she stood shielded behind my fiancé, facing off against my mother and me.