Chapter 1

On my wedding day, the boy I used to like, Nicholas Jensen, kicked open the door and crashed the party with a group of his friends.

He said he was going to marry me and that I should leave everything behind to go with him.

However, once we stepped outside, he let go of my hand and grinned lazily.

"Guys, I won again," he said. "Time to pay up."

Then he looked back at me. "I was just joking. You didn't take me seriously, right? You can still go back and finish your wedding."

Nicholas's friends laughed at me, thinking I'd been chasing him for ten years and would do anything for him.

However, neither they nor Nicholas knew that this little stunt was actually part of my carefully planned wedding.

When Nicholas told me it was all just a prank, everyone had been laughing and jeering for ages. Their voices were so loud and cutting, and it felt like my ears were ringing.

"Nora, do you really think you're something? Come on, just wake up."

"Do you actually think Nicholas would marry you? That's hilarious."

This kind of awkwardness was way too familiar.

I gripped my wedding dress so tightly that my fingers ached.

Nicholas lit up a cigarette, a look of clear disdain in his eyes. "Nora, if you're still thinking about chasing after me, just give it up."

The jokes and laughter kept rolling in, filling the whole place.

Normally, I'd end up sobbing my heart out, asking Nicholas why he always did this to me.

However, this time, I didn't. The moment Nicholas finished talking, I just turned around without a word.

He yanked me back by the arm. "Where do you think you're off to?"

"I'm going back to get married," I said.

Nicholas looked surprised for a moment, then sneered. "Nora, you're so pathetic."

I closed my eyes for a second. Even though I tried to brace myself, his words still hurt me.

Yeah, no matter what I did, in Nicholas's eyes, I was always pathetic.

Three days before the wedding, I sent him an invitation.

I got a call by mistake and ended up hearing their whole bet.

"Wow, she's really actually getting married," someone said to Nicholas. "Do you think she actually means it?"

Another guy cut in, "No way. Everyone knows she'd never marry anyone but Nicholas. She's just jealous he has moved on and wants to make a scene."

Nicholas's new flame was Scarlett Levine. He was head over heels for her and had been chasing after her for what felt like forever.

Scarlett snatched up the invitation, gave it a quick look, then tossed it aside with a mocking laugh. "Seriously? If I were a guy, I'd never go for someone like her."

After another round of rowdy laughter, Nicholas put his drink down and said, "How about a bet?"

"Again? Fine, but if we win, you have to dump Scarlett," one of the guys jeered.

Nicholas's voice went cold in a flash. "Don't you dare drag Scarlett into this."

Through the phone, I heard him reduce everything to a game, placing a bet on whether I'd ruin my own wedding just for him.

Scarlett was untouchable, but I was the chip he kept throwing onto the table repeatedly without hesitation.

Almost everyone wanted in.

"Damn, that's a crazy bet. Who'd actually ditch their own wedding? Count me in."

"Nora might be obsessed with Nicholas, but I don't believe she'd go that far."

My hand trembled around the phone. I tried to hang up again and again, but my fingers wouldn't obey.

Somehow, a tear dropped from my chin and landed right on the speaker button.

I freaked out and just shut the phone off.

I stared ahead, totally spaced out, then out of nowhere, I just laughed.

It was ridiculous and pathetic, just like the relationship between Nicholas and me.

Everyone knew I liked him, but nobody realized that Nicholas and I had been close for years.

Before Nicholas went abroad, he asked me to wait for him for three years. He promised that once he made it big, he'd come back and marry me.

However, when I saw him again, he was surrounded by women.

He'd really made it, so I asked if he remembered what he'd said to me back then.

He looked at me like I was a total stranger. "Everyone says dumb stuff when they're young. Are you trying to use that against me?"

No matter how hard I tried to reach him, the gap between us never got any smaller.

Finally, I gave up.

Why? I was getting married, and I'd already given up. Why couldn't he just let me be?

"Nora, you're such an idiot," Nicholas said. "If I were the guy marrying you, I'd dump you the second I walked in. Do you even realize how cheap you look right now?"

Nicholas went off on me, not holding back for a second.

I was completely fed up, so I jerked my arm away. "Is that so? Then just watch."

I hadn't gone far when Nicholas called out, his voice full of impatience. "Fine. Don't come running to me in tears when you embarrass yourself."

I kept walking, not even sparing him a glance.

As I walked back into the chapel, the confetti cannons went off right at the entrance, showering me with glitter and streamers.

Everyone inside started clapping.

"I didn't believe it when they said there'd be a wedding-crash moment, but I guess it was real."

"That was wild."

"Wasn't there some meaning behind it? I mean, after all the drama, the lovers finally get their happy ending."

Expressionless, I stepped back onto the wedding platform and went through the motions, carrying on with the ceremony.

Someone shut the doors behind me, and Nicholas just stood there, frozen, staring in utter disbelief.

We exchanged rings and made our vows.

When it was time for the toast, I finally checked my phone and saw a flood of messages from Nicholas.

Nicholas: [What was that all about? Nora, are you serious about this?]

Yeah, I was.

I was exhausted. I didn't want to be the girl who came running the moment he called.

I wanted him to have enough sense to finally back off.

I ignored his messages and was about to block him when he started calling me.

I hung up, but he called again.

With no other choice, I answered.

Nicholas sounded furious. "Nora, you've got three minutes. Get out of here and explain yourself."