Always the Fiancée, Never the Bride

I didn't take the hefty suitcase I had already packed. Instead, I left the home I had lived in for five years with nothing but my phone.

After that, I found a hotel to stay in. I invited my friends and parents to meals, treating each gathering as the last time I would ever see them.

During that time, Evan never once reached out to me. It was as if he didn't care whether I was dead or alive.

The night before I left, I sat at a dinner table with a few close friends and my parents, chatting over the meal. They were still trying to talk me out of it.

"Your best years are already gone. Leaving Evan now won't do you any good. You've endured it for five years, so you might as well endure it for the rest of your life."

I didn't respond, but when I looked at the graying hair on Mom's head, I actually hesitated for a moment.

I knew that if Evan gave me even the slightest opening to stay, I would probably soften.

To escape the suffocating atmosphere, I used the restroom as an excuse and made one last call to Evan.

But before the call could go through, I ran straight into Evan, who had his arm around Chloe as they took seats at the table next to ours.

His comrades cheered and teased him.

"Hey, where's your clingy little wife? No secret stalking today? I can't believe she let you bring Chloe out alone."

"Usually, she's begging you to take her everywhere, isn't she? If any woman so much as appeared near you, she would raise hell."

Evan gently helped Chloe into her seat, but at the mention of me, his face filled with impatience.

"She's playing hard to get, waiting for me to go crawling back. She's even saying she wants to return to the military. It's just another one of her childish little games.

"If it weren't for the fact that everyone knows we're engaged, and if I weren't worried that calling off the wedding would hurt my reputation, I would've kicked her to the curb a long time ago. It'd save me from having her hovering around like an eyesore every day."

One of his comrades grinned as he pressed, "If you dump her, then who are you going to marry, Evan? Are we going to start calling Chloe your wife soon?"

Evan and Chloe both blushed. Neither of them admitted it, but sometimes silence was as good as an answer.

I took it all in. My chest tightened painfully, and the glass in my hand slipped to the floor, shattering into pieces.

In an instant, everyone turned to look at me. My reddened eyes met Evan's disgusted gaze once again.

"Can you stop following me? Just give me a little personal space! Honestly, just looking at you makes me feel like I'm suffocating!" he snapped. "There are people here, so I won't make things ugly for you. Don't push me to get physical!"

When Chloe saw me, terror filled her face, and she trembled pitifully as tears streamed down her face.

"Lillian, please don't be mad. This is all my fault. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I was the one who asked Evan to come out today. I'm the one who messed up.

"I'll punish myself… I know you hate me, but please don't hit me. I'm scared…" she sobbed, lightly thumping her own chest with her fist.

Evan immediately pulled Chloe behind him, ready to confront me.

But I merely picked up the shards of glass from the floor, threw them into the trash, and said indifferently, "Whatever you do has nothing to do with me anymore. We've already broken up, so you don't owe me an explanation."

The moment I said the words, it felt like I was ripping off a five-year-old scab. All the agony I had suppressed for the past five years came rushing back at once.

Evan went still for a second before storming up to me in a rage.

"You're doing this on purpose in front of all these people to embarrass me, aren't you? I've already agreed to marry you. What more do you want?

"Go home right now and stop making a fool of yourself! My superior is on his way. If you dare cause a scene, you're dead!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

At the same time, I noticed the man Evan had mentioned walking in our direction.

Evan nervously shoved me aside, hurriedly pulled out a chair, and respectfully invited the man to sit. "Secretary Hayes, I wasn't expecting you to join us in person."

Evan eagerly introduced himself. He even pulled Chloe up beside him to introduce her, hoping to use the moment to promote her.

But to his surprise, the man walked straight past him and stopped in front of me.

"Ms. White, your flight has been booked. We can leave now."

Evan went rigid, his eyes fixing blankly on the plane ticket in my hand.