A Saint I Cannot Keep

I tore down all the wedding decorations in the room and notified everyone that the wedding was canceled. The banquet would go on as planned, but we'd be celebrating my single life instead. After that, I turned off my phone to avoid my family bombarding me with calls.

At 11:00 am, Winona still hadn't returned. It seemed there was no need to spare her even the last bit of dignity.

When I arrived at the wedding venue, Margaret Sullivan, Winona's mother, stormed forward to confront me. She was so close that I could feel her spit flying.

"Liam, what is the meaning of this? You turned a perfectly good wedding celebration into some singles party? You need to pay my family another half million for this embarrassment, or Winnie's not going to forgive you."

I frowned and took a few steps back.

Margaret was the type who favored sons over daughters. When we discussed the wedding, she had demanded an outrageous sum of one million in cash. I used to tolerate her crap because I wanted to marry Winona, but not anymore.

"I turned it into a singles party. Isn't that obvious? I'm not marrying Winona, and the engagement's off."

Her eyes flashed with fury. Before she could explode, a tearful voice came from behind her.

"Liam, why don't you want to marry me anymore? Today was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives."

I turned to see Winona in her white wedding dress. Her eyes were red and swollen, like she'd been crying for hours.

With her looking devastated and me standing there calm, it made me look like the asshole who'd broken her heart. If I hadn't known what she did last night, I might have actually been fooled by that act.

"You're here just in time. I'm officially notifying you that the wedding is canceled."

Panic flashed in her eyes. Lifting the hem of her dress, she hurried over and tried to grab my sleeve.

She said, "Are you upset because I didn't come home last night? Let me explain. Julian and I haven't seen each other in years. We were catching up and lost track of time.

"But I went to the salon first thing this morning because I wanted to be the most beautiful bride for you. I came straight here as soon as I got dressed. Please don't cancel the wedding just because you're mad at me."

I looked at Winona in that pristine white dress. She looked exactly how I'd always pictured my wedding day—beautiful, radiant, and practically glowing. But after last night, I'd seen the ugliness hiding underneath all that beauty.

I avoided her hand and handed her the photo from last night.

"Seems like you didn't just lose track of time. You ended up in bed with him."

Her face flushed crimson when she saw the photo. Once she realized I knew, she dropped the act.

"Let me explain. Julian has cancer, and this was his dying wish. We've known each other for so many years, and I couldn't just let him die with regrets. You understand that, don't you?"

She kept getting more confident and righteous, as if she were doing something noble. I'd be a complete asshole for not understanding.

I almost laughed out loud in disbelief. It was the first time I'd heard someone describe cheating as noble and virtuous.

I said coldly, "Winona, I never realized you were such a saint. You're willing to offer yourself up just to fulfill someone's wish? So, if any random person asked you to sleep with them, you'd do that too?"

"Of course not!" she shot back without hesitation.

I laughed bitterly.

"So, Julian's special to you then. You never got over him these past five years, right?"

Winona shouted, "I already told you it was only to make sure he didn't leave this world with regrets. Why are you being so petty about this? Besides, I showed up to the wedding on time today, didn't I? What more do you want from me?"