Groom Swap at the Wedding

I felt a little awkward and laughed. "We're friends. You don't need to go through all this trouble."

My friend smiled, "Close friends take care of each other, right?"

For some reason, his words sent my mind drifting back a few years, to when Rose had asked me to give up a high-paying job and start a company with her. She'd simply sent me an address, and I lugged my bags through a maze of streets to reach a small, obscure apartment, sweating from the effort.

When I arrived, she was in pajamas, gaming with her friends.

She didn't say anything, but I could tell from her expression that she thought I'd come at the wrong time.

Once she finished the game, I teased, "Why didn't you come pick me up? Weren't you worried I might run into trouble?"

Rose glanced at me, scoffing. "You're a grown man, aren't you? What could happen? Besides, we've been together forever. You could come on your own, so why should I bother?"

In hindsight, all the talk about us being together for a long time was just a pretense. The truth was that I didn't matter to her.

That afternoon, my friend showed me potential apartments. Once I had a place lined up, he rounded up a few friends and took me to a luxury hotel for dinner.

When we arrived, he went to park the car while I headed upstairs first.

But as I stepped through the revolving door, a familiar voice rang out.

"Huh? Isn't that Marcus?"

I instinctively turned and saw Rose and Zachary at the front desk, hands entwined, leaning in close.

Rose reflexively pulled her hand back when she saw me.

Zachary's face flickered with irritation, but he quickly masked it with a casual smile as he approached. "Marcus, I just heard from the HR department that you wanted to reach Rose. Why come all the way here yourself? You could've just called."

Rose frowned, as if realizing something. "Did you follow me here? What's this? Don't trust me now?"

I stifled a laugh, not bothering to explain. "I wasn't following anyone. I came to see a friend."

She clearly didn't buy it. "Cut it out. Don't you think I know you have no friends here? If you were following me, just admit it—why lie?"

Her sneer suggested she already thought she had me figured out.

I stayed silent, unsure what to say.

Rose knew me better than anyone. She knew I was far from home and had hardly any friends, yet she still left me alone in that city to "cool down" after the wedding. I remembered last year, though, when she claimed she was going back to her hometown for the New Year, she actually spent it with Zachary.

Her excuse had been that Zachary was lonely and in a bad place—he had no friends there, and she didn't want him to do anything reckless.

"Rose, since Marcus is here, you two go ahead and talk. Right, give me the card for the room." Zachary reached out toward Rose with a grin on his face.

Rose opened her bag and passed him the card. "Wait for me upstairs."

"Okay."

Before leaving, Zachary shot me a triumphant glance. The implication was clear—they were sharing a hotel room.

For a moment, Rose seemed to catch on, her eyes flickering with a brief panic.

"The front desk said there was only one room left. Don't overthink it. It's a suite, and he's sleeping on the couch," she said.

But I remembered her habits. Whether it was a business trip or a vacation, she always planned ahead and booked hotels in advance.

I didn't bother confronting her. Instead, I pulled the divorce papers I'd prepared from my bag. I had originally planned to sign them after sorting out the new job—but since I'd run into her here, this was as good a time as any.