The Wedding That Will Never Be

Five days before my scheduled departure, I submitted my resignation to the hospital.

Back then, I'd given up my chance to further my medical studies just to be with Dante. To be near him, I chose to become an attending physician at a hospital in the bustling city of Manshore.

My colleagues were shocked to find that I wanted to resign.

"Why are you suddenly resigning, Nina?"

"You were handing out your wedding invitations just a while ago. Does this mean that you plan on becoming a full-time housewife?" one of them teased.

With a document folder in hand, I smiled faintly and shook my head. "Nope. The wedding's been canceled."

…

When I got back to the house, as soon as I opened the door, I saw Dante and Isobel sitting on the couch. Dante, whom I hadn't seen in a week, was busy in conversation with her.

When he saw the document holder I was holding, he asked, "What's that?"

"Just some unnecessary documents. I brought them back to get rid of them," I lied.

Nodding, Dante looked around the house before remarking, his expression puzzled, "I was only gone for a week. Why do I feel like a lot of things in the house have gone missing?"

After storing the document folder securely in the bedroom, I calmly replied, "I got rid of some unnecessary things lying around."

It looked like Dante had more to say, but Isobel spoke up.

"Nina, Dante really put a lot of effort into accompanying me on his trip. I'm also really thankful you agreed to let him do the wedding photoshoot with me and fulfill a dream of mine."

I detected a hint of smugness in her voice.

"How's this? Why don't I treat you two to a meal as my way of thanking you for everything you've done for me? I'm afraid I'm going to have to take up more of your time for a while. I just hope you won't hate me for it, Nina."

I wasn't keen on engaging in any of these meaningless fights with Isobel. In five days, I would be leaving Dante for good. All I wanted to do now was sort everything out properly and leave as soon as possible.

However, at my prolonged silence, Isobel's eyes reddened with tears.

"Dante, is Nina upset? After all, you two are about to get married, but…"

Upon hearing Isobel's words, Dante frowned and rebuked me in displeasure, "What's with that attitude of yours? Isobel is sincerely trying to thank us! Would it kill you to have a meal with her? It's not like anyone's going to poison the food."

I hadn't even spoken, but Dante had already determined that I was guilty of being unhappy and causing a scene.

I was ultimately dragged to the restaurant by Dante. When the server came to take our order, I started flipping through the menu. However, Dante immediately said, "Avoid all heavily seasoned and raw or undercooked food, and make sure none of the food is cooked with garlic."

Once the food arrived, Dante thoughtfully served Isobel some food before shoving a platter of prawns toward me.

"Isobel can't have any seafood right now. I ordered this for you," he said.

As I stared at the prawns, I lost all my appetite. I set my cutlery down and said, "I'm allergic to seafood."

Dante didn't even remember my seafood allergy, but he knew Isobel's dietary restrictions by heart. He could even recall specific details, such as the fact that Isobel didn't like garlic.

Stiffening, Dante looked at me with a flicker of guilt before ordering a few more dishes for the table. Even so, I didn't pick up my cutlery again. I simply sipped my water in total silence.

After the meal, we were about to leave when I got a call from Julia.

"Nina, Professor Moore wants me to confirm with you whether you're sure you want to fully comply with the project's proposed schedule. This research is part of a classified project, so you might have to spend a year or two cut off from the outside world."

My eyes landed on Dante and Isobel, who were ahead of me. As they descended the steps, he even carefully placed his arm around her waist to support her.

"I'm sure," I responded in an unnervingly calm manner.

"Okay, good," Julia said. "Professor Moore was worried you wouldn't be able to stand being away from your husband."

Withdrawing my gaze, I turned and headed down the other side.

"My wedding has been called off. I've already completed all the arrangements to leave."

As soon as I finished speaking, I heard a puzzled voice behind me asking, "Who's leaving?"