End of the Line

I was unconscious all night, and when I woke up, my stomach was still in pain.

I grabbed a handful of painkillers from the nightstand and swallowed more than a dozen pills. My phone was full of messages from Zach.

"I called you so many times, and you didn't pick up. I figured you were sleeping. It's fine, you can come over after you wake up. I'll go greet the guests in the ballroom first."

That was when I remembered that today was our engagement party. Friends and relatives from both sides would be there.

I decided I would go and explain everything, then call off the wedding.

The engagement was lavishly set up. Videos of our love story were looping on giant screens across the city's high-rise buildings.

Even the taxi driver sighed when I got into the car.

"I wonder what kind of woman could be so lucky to have someone so loyal."

I stayed quiet. When I arrived, I could already hear the emcee's voice echoing from the ballroom.

I hadn't even made it inside yet… Why had the engagement ceremony already started?

The servers in the hallway gave me strange looks, and I had a bad feeling about this.

I pushed the door open and saw Jessica onstage, dressed in a wedding gown. On her wrist was my mother's emerald bracelet.

My mom had told me that the bracelet should be given to someone who was truly trustworthy. In my fifth year with Zach, I gave it to him and told him how important it was. Now, that bracelet was on Jessica's wrist.

My heart sank.

Zach looked flustered for a second, then walked toward me.

"Jess and I grew up together, and we're just like siblings. When she heard about our engagement, she cried for days. You know her eyes are damaged. I was worried she would get sick from all the crying, so I agreed to have a fake wedding for her. You understand this, right?"

I looked him straight in the eye, and Zach's eyes darted around. His fingers were cold, and there was a sense of awkwardness on his face.

After a long silence, I nodded.

"Sure. In fact, today's the perfect day to explain everything…"

Before I could finish, Zach's face lit up and he rushed back to Jessica, eager to continue with the ceremony. He didn't even hear the rest of what I had to say. People in the crowd started snickering.

"If she can tolerate this, next thing you know, she'll let Jessica sleep with her husband. Maybe even have kids for her."

"Seriously, how pitiful can you get? It's obvious Zach likes Jessica more. It's all Annie's fault for not letting him go and making everyone's life a misery."

The emcee's voice rang. "Do you take Annie Carter…uh…do you take Jessica Baker as your wife? No matter sickness or health, for richer or poorer…"

Zach cut in before he could finish. "I do."

Onstage, Jessica was looking at me. She had received my mother's corneas… And now, she was looking at me with that conceited look.

A wicked princess and a false knight.

How disgusting.

The so-called fake wedding didn't show signs of stopping. They even started toasting the guests. While Zach was busy toasting, Jessica shoved through the crowd to come stand next to me. She couldn't hide her smug satisfaction on her face.

"Seven years… So what? Just one phone call, and he ran straight to me. You'll never beat me."

"Fine, you can have him. Will that make you happy?" I couldn't be bothered to argue. I moved aside, already thinking about cutting ties with Zach for good.

"I don't care about your charity. He has always been mine, Annie."

Annoyed at being ignored, Jessica's eyes flashed with malice as she stomped on my dress. I lost my balance and instinctively grabbed Jessica's arm.

We both crashed to the floor, and a broken wine glass cut her face, leaving a shallow cut.

There was a commotion in the crowd, and Zach quickly noticed what had happened. When he saw the cut on Jessica's face, he rushed over to help her up.

Jessica lay in his arms and forced out a couple of tears. "I just wanted to tell Annie not to take this wedding seriously, but she pushed me out of anger…"

During the fall, Jessica's knee slammed me right in the stomach. The taste of blood filled my mouth.

I bit down, saying nothing, just quietly watching him.

Zach's gaze darted between me and Jessica. He didn't yell at me for what she said, but he didn't believe me either, even though my eyes were red from holding back tears. He just looked at me with those pleading eyes.

"Annie, I'm not blaming you for this. But… A woman's face matters. I need to take her to the hospital right now. I'll come get you when I get back."

He didn't wait for a reply. Instead, he just picked Jessica up and ran out in a hurry.

My plan was completely derailed as the symptom suddenly hit me. I bent over as I started to cough up violently, blood in my palm.

"She's coughing up blood! What's going on?"

"She's going to die if this continues! Someone! Call an ambulance!"

All around me, the crowd's chatter grew louder as I collapsed on my knees. When I saw the broken bracelet, a sharp pain shot through my chest.

I picked up a shard and clenched it in my fist.

The cut was deep, but I couldn't feel a thing.