Chapter 7
I packed up everything and left the home Emmett and I once shared.
Mom had invested in the company from the beginning.
She held 30% of the shares, but she’d already transferred them to me.
Now, I owned the majority stake.
After dividing up all our business interests, I left Emmett with just a third.
Everything was handled through lawyers.
He never even saw me–he was forced to take his share and leave, striking out on his own.
After that day, he called me every single day.
I blocked his number without hesitation.
VAR
But Paulina started flooding their friends‘ group chat with endless updates about her and Emmett’s daily life.
Buried among countless work threads, I didn’t notice until two weeks later.
Paulina had changed her profile picture to a photo of her and Emmett, fingers intertwined.
“Hey everyone, I just launched a new Instagram account to try my hand at content creation. Go support me!”
I clicked on her profile.
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Her bio was glaringly clear.
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“Twenty years of friendship—accidentally married my best buddy. Sweet everyday moments.”
Pinned at the top was a vlog from the day they got their marriage license.
It was also the day I lost my pregnancy.
Turns out, that day Paulina had been dumped by her boyfriend.
She sat alone in a restaurant, crying, and called Emmett on camera.
“Hey guys, I feel like getting married today. Do you think my childhood friend, who’s played with me for over a decade, would say yes?
“Yeah, we’re all just good friends. Don’t make a big deal out of it. We’ve been close since we were kids; it doesn’t matter if it’s a guy or a girl. He’s got a girlfriend, though–almost 30.”
She was livestreaming at the time.
S
The chat scrolled by with comments like “This is wild,” “Fake family drama.”
Paulina laughed, her cheeks flushed, playfully scolding the viewers.
Half an hour later, my boyfriend showed up with the ring I’d loved for ten years.
Paulina’s tears hadn’t even dried before she threw her arms around him and kissed him right there.
In front of thousands watching the stream, Paulina made her move.
“Emmett, your best friend’s in trouble. I want will you?”
you to marry me right now-
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Chapter 7
“Come on, don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not! Just treat it like a game–let’s get divorced in a month. I just don’t want my ex to look down on me.”
“Alright.
“For the sake of friendship.”
Emmett smiled, pulled her close, and kissed her back.
Next, they were speeding down the highway together.
To get their marriage license, they drove 100km to a neighboring city— Paulina loved the ocean, and that city had a beach.
The whole way, Emmett’s phone kept lighting up.
I watched in a daze.
That was my call for help, lying on the ground.
“It’s Marina. Is she going to be okay?”
Emmett glanced at the screen, sounding a little worried.
“What could possibly happen? I’m just borrowing you for a day–she’s so clingy.”
Paulina stepped barefoot on the phone, pressed hang up, and grabbed Emmett’s hand, placing it over her heart.
“Doesn’t it feel empty here, buddy?
“If you keep thinking about Marina, I’ll get jealous. Who’s the real bride here?”
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Chapter 7
Paulina pouted.
Emmett could only laugh.
“You are.”
A raindrop blurred their faces together.
“When will I finally get to be your bride, Emmett?”
I’d asked him that question thousands of times.
I always thought once we got married, I’d finally have a home.
Every time I worked late into the night, when the landlord kicked us out and we ended up on the street, when I lost all my savings and had to hand out flyers just to split a boxed meal between us, I’d ask him that question.
That winter, the snow was heavy. I slipped while bringing him dinner and broke multiple bones.
He took care of me for half a year, cleaning up after me, never complaining.
When we couldn’t afford food, we could only buy two loaves of bread–he gave both to me.
Emmett was so hungry that he survived on nothing but tap o water.
That year, New York saw a blizzard.
He spent all night delivering food, his legs bruised and battered, just to save up enough to take me to my favorite restaurant for my birthday. restaurant for my birthday.
On my birthday, I blew out the candles, closed my eyes, and asked the same question I’d asked a thousand times.
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“When will I finally get to be your bride?”
He answered for the 100th time, “Rina, tough times won’t last forever. Once I save up a million dollars, get a house and a car, I’ll marry you and make you my bride.”
Back then, Mom didn’t approve of him and refused to let us be together.
I moved to New York alone to support his startup, to struggle alongside
him.
He always felt he wasn’t good enough for me–no house, no car, so he wouldn’t marry.
Later, when Mom got sick, she finally relented, investing in Emmett for my happiness.
Ten years.
Now we have a house. We have a car.
But what now?
I don’t want to get married anymore.
I miss Mom.
I have nothing left.
I turned off my screen, and all I could see was a face–hollow–eyed, streaked with tears and snot, a complete wreck.
