On New Year's Day, eighteen bodies washed up in the downtown river. My girlfriend, a forensic pathologist, dropped her half-eaten dinner and disappeared into the precinct for the autopsy. She was buried in work, completely off the grid for seven days straight, and our wedding had to be postponed for the ninety-ninth time. When I heard the case was finally solved, I went to the precinct to bring her home. But when I pushed open the door to the morgue, I found her on the autopsy table, tangled in the arms of her junior colleague. “Sera… the case is closed,” the young man murmured, his voice laced with possessiveness. “Does this mean you have to go back to him?” She let out a soft, breathy laugh. “What are you worried about? Even if I marry him, I’m always available whenever you want me.” “Then… can we postpone the wedding? Just one more time? I don’t want to let you go.” Before the last word left his lips, my phone buzzed. A new message lit up the screen: “Another case just came in. We’ll have to push the wedding back again.” A bitter, hollow smile stretched across my face. I turned away and dialed a number. “Dad,” I said, my voice flat. “I’m ready to come home and take over the family business. The arranged marriage… I’ll do it.” … Not far from me, Wyatt and Seraphina were still wrapped around each other. “I’m so jealous of Cole, Sera,” Wyatt whispered, his voice thick with desire. “Why does he get to marry you? I should punish you for it.” Seraphina’s cheeks were flushed. “Why would you be jealous of him?” she purred. “What I give you… is so much more than he’ll ever get.” “I’ll let you have me any way you want. Any position you can dream of. But him? He still thinks I’m some kind of germaphobe. He wouldn’t even dare to touch me…” My blood ran cold. Seraphina was right. In the seven years we’d been together, she’d always claimed to have a severe aversion to physical intimacy. Because I loved her, I never pushed. I thought that as long as I could be with her, a lifetime of platonic love would be worth it. But the scene unfolding before me was a knife twisting in my gut. “But you’re still going to marry him,” Wyatt pouted. “Sera, can’t you just leave him?” “I can’t.” Seraphina sighed, a hint of frustration in her voice. “He did three years in prison for my father. I have to repay that debt.” She leaned in, pressing a placating kiss to his lips. “But don’t you worry. I’m yours.” “These past seven days? I took a leave of absence. I went home with you, met your parents, had New Year’s dinner with them. We had a wedding. We even signed the marriage license.” “As for Cole Donovan? He’ll never touch me. He’ll be the fool living out his life with a fake marriage certificate.” “A sham marriage. That’s how I’ll repay my debt to him. Anything more… he can forget about it.” The words struck me like lightning. I was frozen to the spot. So that’s what she thought of me. Years ago, her father had committed a serious crime. She had come to me, crying, begging me to take the fall for him. Seeing her so heartbroken, I’d agreed. My father, one of the wealthiest men in the country, was so furious that he disowned me. I became a pariah, my name and face dragged through the mud online. I spent three excruciating years in prison, and when I got out, I had lost everything. But Seraphina had promised she would be eternally grateful. She said she would always love me, that she would marry me. I thought it was all worth it. But then, every time we were about to get married, she’d get a call from the precinct. A new case, an emergency. She had to go. And now, after the ninety-ninth postponement, I finally understood. I had been a fool to think she was just a dedicated professional. She was lying to me. She never wanted to marry me. She was postponing our wedding for Wyatt. In fact, while I thought she was consumed by a major case these past seven days, she had secretly married him. She had been playing me from the very beginning. My body trembled, my vision blurring with rage. My heart, piece by piece, turned to ice. It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that Seraphina stumbled through the door, her steps unsteady. When she saw me sitting there, not immediately jumping up to get her slippers as I usually did, she frowned. “What’s wrong with you?” “You saw my text about the wedding, right?” Her words were a fresh stab of pain. Seeing the look on my face, her voice sharpened. “Cole, don’t tell me you’re getting mad again!” “Every time I mention postponing, you get like this! Do I owe you something? Can’t you be more understanding? My job is demanding! You think I want it to be this way?!” Her face was a mask of irritation, as if I were the one being unreasonable. “I’ve been doing autopsies all day. I’m exhausted. I don’t have the energy for your drama.” I glanced at the fresh, angry red marks on her neck and let out a cold snort. “An autopsy, huh? You must have had a very… strenuous day.” A flicker of unease crossed her face, but it was quickly replaced by righteous indignation. “Exactly! Cole, just look at yourself!” “You don’t have a job. You live in my apartment, eat my food, and all you do is obsess over this stupid wedding! You’re like some bitter, neglected housewife!” Her words were a thousand tiny needles, piercing my heart. She was right. I didn’t have a job. But that was her doing. After my release from prison, her father, who had attempted suicide to evade justice and ended up paralyzed, was moved from a care facility into our home. She’d taken my hands, tears in her eyes, and said: “Cole, you probably won’t find a good job with your record. Why don’t you just take care of my dad?” “You know how much he sacrificed to raise me. I can’t trust him with anyone else.” “Don’t worry about work. I can support you. I don’t want you to struggle.” “You took the fall for him for my sake. You can take care of him for my sake too, right?” Looking into her tear-filled eyes, I had agreed. Seraphina seemed to think my days consisted of simple caregiving. The reality was a living hell. Her father, bitter and broken, took out all his humiliation on me. He would hit me, scream at me. He was completely dependent, and I was the one who had to clean him, feed him, deal with his bedpan. On top of that, every household chore fell to me. I was on my feet from dawn till dusk. Because I loved her, I endured it all. I never once complained. And now, she had the audacity to call me idle. “You should think about it, Cole. Without me, you’d have starved to death by now.” “Yes, you did a few years in prison for my dad, but that was your choice! Stop holding it over my head!” “I let a useless freeloader like you take care of my father. You should be grateful.” “So I’m warning you, stop throwing these tantrums. If you actually manage to piss me off and I leave, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.” Listening to her arrogant, self-righteous tirade, I started to laugh. What Seraphina never knew was that the “useless freeloader” she looked down on was the sole heir to the Donovan family fortune. Countless heiresses were lining up for a chance at an arranged marriage with me. In fact, I had recently reconciled with my father. He had agreed to let me inherit the family business and to welcome Seraphina into the family. I had been planning to surprise her on our wedding day. But now, I realized, there was no point. I looked up at her. “You’re right. I do need to think things through.” “Seraphina, we’re done.” She stared at me for a second, then burst out laughing. “Getting bold, are we, Cole? You’re so desperate to get married you’re actually threatening to break up with me?” “Go on then. Get out. Without me, you won’t even have a roof over your head.” The disdain in her eyes was a cold hand, squeezing the life from my heart. “Sera? Are you guys fighting?” Wyatt’s voice suddenly drifted from the doorway. “Did I come at a bad time?” He shot me a provocative grin and held something out to her, his voice dripping with insinuation. “You’re so careless, Sera. You left this… in my car.” My eyes followed his hand. For a few seconds, my mind went blank, then a wave of violent nausea washed over me. It was a piece of her lingerie. Seraphina blushed, giving him a playful glare. “Why didn’t you just give it to me at work tomorrow?” “I was worried you might need it tonight. I mean, being with Cole… it’s not like being with me…” He trailed off, his gaze flicking to me with malicious amusement, feigning a slip of the tongue. “Oh, sorry, Cole. I didn’t mean it like that…” My fists clenched. A cold, humorless smile touched my lips. “You don’t have to worry about my performance.” “Seraphina,” I said, my voice flat, “I’m being serious. We are over.” With that, I turned to leave, not sparing either of them another glance. “Cole!” Seraphina lunged, grabbing my arm, her face a mixture of exhaustion and a flicker of something that looked like panic. “Stop this, okay?! It’s the middle of the night! Where are you going to go?” She took a deep breath, her tone shifting to one of placation. “I know, you just want to get married. Fine. I promise. We’ll do it next week. No more postponements, okay?” She pulled out her phone, showing me a chat history. “Look. All the arrangements, the guest list, I’ve already booked everything.” “I was going to surprise you, too.” “Let’s just talk about this tomorrow. Don’t cause a scene in the middle of the night.” I looked at the photos on her screen, and another wave of pain washed over me. I had made all the wedding arrangements myself, months ago. I didn’t need her to lift a finger. The photos she was showing me… they were probably from the secret wedding she’d had with Wyatt just a few days ago. The audacity of her, to use that to lie to me now. But she had a point. It was late. It wouldn't be convenient to have my father send a car. I took a deep breath, forcing down the rage, and went back to my room. Seraphina must have thought I’d given in. She didn’t even bother to follow me.
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