Chapter 2

At one in the morning, I booked the cheapest motel in the city. Right before I paid, my phone popped up a bank alert.

The hotel for my wedding had charged me the second balance payment of 12 thousand dollars for the venue.

Right after that, my mom sent me a voice message. "Good that the money's been deducted. Emily said she wants to wear your wedding dress for a few photos tomorrow. We're all family, so don't make a big deal out of it."

I turned off the voice message and downloaded the wedding contract from the cloud to my phone.

I was the one listed as the organizer on the contract.

*****

When I went through the revolving door of the hotel, Jason was sitting in the lobby waiting for me.

He was still wearing the same gray sweater from last night, with my suitcase by his feet.

The lid wasn't fully closed, and a white sleeve was caught in the zipper, smeared with dust.

"You're finally back." Jason stood up, glanced around, and then lowered his voice. "Last night was a joke. You didn't answer your phone, and you left the team group chat of the wedding planning agency. Your parents didn't sleep a wink all night."

"How do you know if they slept or not?" I asked.

He paused for a moment. "I stayed at your home."

I took the suitcase myself, not letting him touch it.

Inside were the clothes, my meds, and design materials I'd left at my parents' place.

A few pieces of underwear were on top, not stowed in any storage pouches.

At the very bottom was the white shirt I wore when I got engaged. "Who packed this?"

"Emily did," Jason said, frowning. "She said that since you weren't coming back, you should move your stuff out. The wedding planning agency needs the space for a family photoshoot today."

"So you moved all my things to the hotel?"

"You booked a room yourself, didn't you? Your mom did what you wanted."

He made it sound so reasonable.

I pulled the sleeve out of the zipper, but the fabric was already ripped open.

Right then, my phone rang.

Not bothering with small talk, my mom asked, "Did you delete the relative pickup schedule?"

"Yeah, I did," I replied.

"Your aunt and the others don't know how to use ride-sharing apps. Who's going to pick them up from the station? Why did you remove the wedding candy list, too?"

"Those who are holding the wedding should deal with it."

I heard a chair scrape on the floor from the other end of the phone.

"What do you mean by that? Jason went out early this morning to look for you. Emily cried last night, saying she never thought you'd actually get mad. Everyone's giving you a way out. How long are you going to keep sulking?" my mom asked.

I looked up at Jason.

He avoided my gaze and bent down to pick up the suitcase that had fallen over.

My mom kept going, "Be home by eleven. The bridal shop is dropping off the dress, and Emily will help try it on for size. She's about your height, so you don't have to bother coming over."

"Why does she get to try on my wedding dress?" I asked.

"Trying it on isn't going to wear out the dress, is it?" my mom said, her voice dropping. "She's always envied you for getting married first. What's wrong with her taking a couple of photos in your dress?

"You have everything, and she likes to have fun. Let her have this chance."

The air freshener at the front desk sprayed out a sweet scent, making my nose itch. I stepped toward the door.

Jason hurried after me and grabbed the suitcase handle. "Your mom has been running around all morning. Head back, okay? Emily will take off the dress right after trying it on. She's not going to ruin it."

I stared at his hand gripping the suitcase handle. "When I called you to come get me last night, why did you put me on speaker?"

"Everyone was there. What was I supposed to do?" he said.

"You could've turned it off."

"Is it worth making your whole family mad over something this trivial?" he asked genuinely, looking at me.

I took off my engagement ring and slipped it into his coat pocket.

The ring caught on my knuckle, leaving a faint mark.

"Now you don't have to worry about upsetting anyone," I said.

Jason froze for a second and then reached to take out the ring.

I stepped back, pulled my suitcase along, and walked into the elevator.

When the elevator doors were about to close, he finally panicked.

"The wedding's in eighteen days. Don't threaten me with calling it off," he shouted.

I held the door open and sent him the wedding contract. "I'll go to the hotel and cancel it at noon."

*****

After the elevator doors closed, I called Mandy Clark, my coworker.

She was the project lead and the only one who knew about my night blindness.

Half a year ago, when we were out on a field assignment, she noticed I couldn't tell the steps apart after dark. Ever since then, she'd always make sure someone else handled the night surveys.

When the call connected, Mandy was busy typing away. "You're up? Your leave's approved. You don't have to come in today."

I gripped the suitcase handle, paused for a moment, and asked, "Is that shared apartment near the office still available?"

"Yeah, it's still open, but the landlord wants a deposit plus three months' rent up front."

"I'll take it."

Mandy didn't ask what happened with my family. She only sent me the landlord's number and gave me a heads-up.

"I have a client meeting at noon, so I can't help you move. The key is at the front desk. You can pick it up yourself," she said.

"Okay," I replied.

For the first time, when I asked for something I needed, nobody made me prove whether it was worth it.

I opened the side pocket of my suitcase and pulled out an old key. Hanging from it was a red bunny, sewn by my mom when I was fifteen.

Back then, she handed me the key and said, as the big sister, I had to remember to lock the door if I was the last one out.

All these years, it was more than the house key. It was my ticket to walk in whenever they needed me.

I clenched the key in my palm and took a cab to the hotel for my wedding.