Drifting Apart, Never to Return

Synopsis

After the wedding rehearsal, Jason Doyle all of a sudden suggested moving the wedding to the afternoon. He said, "Nora, you always get a bit puffy when you wake up too early. Why not sleep in a bit and feel more refreshed? "After the ceremony, we can head up to the hotel rooftop and catch that sunset you love, and I'll snap a bunch of photos for you." He was thinking of me with every word. By all rights, I should've agreed. But then I saw the message Amber Lewis sent him: [Jason, what should I do? The hotel says my graduation party is overlapping with your wedding. But having it in the afternoon just feels off, like it's bad luck.] I was speechless. Seeing me freeze up, Jason grinned and pointed at Amber. "Nora, you really gotta thank Amber for this. "If her graduation party wasn't scheduled at the same hotel, and she hadn't been so generous to give you the afternoon, you'd be up at the crack of dawn, looking all puffy on your big day." Amber flashed him a shy smile. "Jason, you don't have to be so grateful. "Seriously, if you hadn't tutored me this past year, I never would've made it into your school." Just like that, the two of them decided everything in a couple of sentences. It felt like they only asked me out of courtesy. My mom, who'd come to the rehearsal, immediately got anxious. "Jason, we had someone pick the wedding date for us. You can't just change it on a whim." Even my usually easygoing dad couldn't help but speak up. "Back home, only second weddings are held in the afternoon." Jason pressed his lips together, then suddenly smiled at me. "Nora, your parents are a bit old-fashioned. Why don't you make the call?" He said it was up to me, but then under the table, he gave me a little pinky signal and added, "You care so much about your looks. You wouldn't want to look bad on the biggest day of your life, right?" Amber winked at me. "Nora, you're an adult now. It's your wedding, you should totally be the one making the call." After she said that, she shared a secretive smile with Jason. It really felt like they'd pulled this kind of stunt together more than once. Ever since I saw that chat, my heart had been hanging by a thread. But now, it just dropped. "I really don't want to mess up the biggest day of my life," I said. I gave my parents a reassuring smile. "Dad, Mom, let everyone know the wedding's not happening tomorrow morning."