Leaving Me Alone at the Altar

When I called my biological parents, they were pleasantly surprised.

My mother shrewdly noticed the disappointment in my voice and comforted me. "Joy, I'll say it again. If you're unhappy, don't forget that you have another home. Your father and I will always be waiting for you at home. Always."

"I know. I still need another five days to sort out my resignation and complete the handover. Then, I'll return home!"

"Alright. We'll book your plane tickets for you then. Take the next few days to properly bid farewell to your brother. No matter what, your father and I will always be behind you, protecting and supporting you."

Tears streamed out of the corners of my eyes. Alvin and Theodore had said that they'd always protect me and would always be my safe harbor.

Theodore had even said that he would take me as his wife when he grew older and spend the rest of his life with me. He couldn't imagine being apart from me, not even for a second.

So when my biological parents came looking, I didn't tell anyone. And when they wanted to bring me home with them, I refused.

I grew up in this city, and the people I loved, and the people who loved me, all lived here. How could I bear to leave?

It wasn't until Gwen appeared that I realized I might have made a mistake.

Gwen had grown up in an orphanage in another city and had later enrolled in a university located here. When she first arrived on campus, she was always by herself.

I was worried that she wouldn't be able to adapt to university life while being alone, so I took the initiative and invited her over to my house. Since then, she would always come over for every holiday.

Once, when Alvin and Theodore were celebrating my birthday, Gwen had suddenly burst out into tears. She said that she envied me a lot because no one had ever celebrated her birthday with her or given her presents before.

So, I personally made a birthday cake for her and roped Alvin and Theodore into throwing her a belated birthday celebration.

I took care of her like I would a younger sister.

That was, until I found a love letter that Gwen had written to Theodore in his drawer. I told her that Theodore and I were already engaged and asked her to stop sending those letters.

That conversation ended in a heated argument.

Not long after, Gwen left the country to get medical treatment. She sent all of us an email.

In the email, she wrote about how she envied me for having a brother who doted on me, as well as a boyfriend who treasured me greatly. She, on the other hand, was all alone and unloved. She even said that an orphan like her didn't deserve to love or to be loved.

After reading the email, Theodore lost his temper with me for the first time. "You know full well that Gwen is an orphan, yet you still flaunt your superiority in front of her. How selfish of you!"

Alvin also frowned at me, his gaze full of disappointment. "How could you drive Gwen out of the country, Joy? Are you that unwilling to make space for her in your life?"

Theodore and Alvin agreed that Gwen was more pitiful and more lacking in love than I, so they wanted to give her all the love they used to give to me. They wanted her to enjoy the feeling of being loved.

It had taken me five years to plan my wedding with Theodore.

Each rose used at the wedding had been painstakingly grown by me. Every dessert served at the reception had been created by me and couldn't be found anywhere else.

Now, however, the wedding had turned into a huge joke and a painful memory that I couldn't bear to revisit.