My fiancé wants to marry me in a pizzeria. At the same time, he promises to give his true love the rest of his life on a luxurious cruise.

Our wedding is only 48 hours away, but I don't want him anymore.

I was so busy preparing for my wedding to Harold Lawson that my gastritis acted up. Meanwhile, he was busy celebrating his last night being single with his true love, Ivory Frost.

I curled up on the floor, unable to move. I couldn't reach Harold even until I passed out.

I woke up in the hospital and saw his whereabouts on his social media. It turned out he'd changed what was supposed to be his bachelor party to a wedding night just for him and Ivory.

He was about to become my husband, yet I saw from the video how he made her a heartfelt promise. "I'll give you the best I have. She'll only be my wife in name."

They then shared a passionate kiss on a luxury cruise.

To think I would be marrying him in a simple pizzeria in 48 hours.

I calmly turned off my phone. Perhaps there wasn't any need for a wedding anymore.

…

There were 36 hours to go to the wedding. When I got home, I saw that Harold had actually gotten back before I had. He sat on the couch.

When he heard me opening the door, he suddenly ran over and locked me outside. "You're about to become a married woman, yet you had the nerve to stay out all night. How shameless can you be?"

He had the audacity to berate me for that, but right before he locked me out, I saw the bedroom door open. Ivory came out in a loose men's shirt, her hair damp.

I stood at the door, feeling unexpectedly calm. Harold had already given her a wedding—of course he had to follow up with a wedding night.

I doubt he even remembered he had an actual fiancée who had to spend the night at the hospital due to an illness.

As I turned to leave, the door was opened. Harold hooked a finger at me. "Come in. I'm hungry; cook for me."

I'd yet to eat anything thus far; I had no intention of tormenting my stomach. So, I headed to the kitchen without a word.

Ivory was back in her dress, but it was so skimpy that it exposed more of her skin than the shirt had. She clung to Harold's arm and smiled sweetly at me. "I had so much fun last night that I stayed out too late, and Harry was worried about me. That's why he told me to spend the night here.

"You won't get mad at me, will you, Minnie? Harry's just too concerned about me."

I said indifferently, "No, it's fine."

Then, I headed into the kitchen.

Harold's eyes had been darting around diffidently earlier, but he now relaxed when he heard I wasn't mad. He said to Ivory, "Of course she won't get mad. I've already agreed to marry her, haven't I? That means she also has to care about the people I've taken under my wing.

"You don't have to be polite with her, Ivy. Just tell her what you want if you need her to do anything."

I faltered while slicing the vegetables. He made it sound like I was a housekeeper or nanny that he and Ivory could order around whenever they wanted. Even the boiling water seemed to be urging me to get on with my chores.

I was about to season the broth when Ivory suddenly squealed, "Don't use that brand of salt! It's unhealthy to consume too much of that; I'm not going to drink the broth!"

I'd already sprinkled the salt in. She pouted and turned to tug on Harold's shirt. "Look at what Minnie did, Harry!"

Harold immediately stormed toward me. "Did you do that on purpose, Minerva? Make another pot of broth the way Ivy likes it!"

As he spoke, he lifted the pot of chicken noodle soup that was already done. He wanted to pour it away.

My mind was elsewhere, so I didn't move. His hands gave out from the weight of the pot, and half the scalding broth ended up on my arm.

He panicked and turned on the tap, putting my arm under it to let the running water cool down the burn. "Look at what you made me do! Do we have any ointments for burns at home? I'll get it. You continue cooling the burn."

When he found the ointment and unscrewed it to apply it for me, Ivory called his name in grievance from the living room. "I'm starving, Harry. My stomach hurts."

"Let's go eat, then." Harold threw the ointment at me without hesitation. Then, he headed to her and pulled her out of the apartment.

When they reached the door, she suddenly asked, "Wouldn't it be too rude not to bring Minnie with us?"

Harold looked uncaring. "It's her fault for standing there like a mannequin. She wouldn't have gotten burned otherwise. Anyway, she's the one who can't even cook a meal properly. Let's just forget about her and go eat. She can starve for all I care."

The door shut behind them. I stood there, feeling like my stomach was starting to hurt again. The burn on my arm didn't feel any better despite running it under cold water, too.

The sound of the water was all I could hear. Suddenly, I remembered that I'd yet to call off the wedding.

The wedding was 30 hours away. The owner of the pizzeria where it was to be held, Bob Walden, had long since helped me decorate the place the way I wanted it.

When I called him, he cheerily asked whether I wanted to get more flowers to spruce the place further. I smiled bitterly. "I'm canceling the wedding, Mr. Walden."

He sounded relieved. "That's great! You've finally seen sense. No proper man would make his wife settle for a wedding in a pizzeria in this day and age—he's just making a fool out of you!

"You're a wonderful woman, and you deserve a man who's much better than him. You don't have to settle for a bastard like him! I can't believe he said having the wedding here would be memorable. What's so memorable about it?"

I lowered my head and remembered the video I'd seen last night. The pizzeria was indeed a nostalgic place, but the memories created there didn't belong to Harold and me. They belonged to him and Ivory.

That was where they'd first met during college. It was also where they'd last seen each other before Ivory had gone abroad. It was a place that was filled with their memories.

Harold wanted to use our wedding to tell Ivory that he'd always had her in his heart. I was nothing but a pawn he could sacrifice in the grand scheme of things.

"Tomorrow's feast will still be held as planned, Mr. Walden. I just want to change it to a farewell party. Tell the people in the area that I'm treating them to a nice meal," I said.

"Alright."

After ending the call, I headed to the hospital again. Even the nurse recognized me.

"Look at the state you're in—you're alone, too. Are you single? Do you have any friends who can be here with you?" she asked.

I didn't know what to say. I looked up and happened to see Harold holding Ivory's hand as they came out of one of the consultation rooms. He was blowing on a laceration on the back of her hand.

"What would you have done without me watching over you? You can't care for yourself," he said.

"Watch over me for life, then." She swung his arm coquettishly.

He tapped her nose indulgently. Their interactions were so sweet that they became the target of everyone's envy.

Even the nurse tending to me said, "Look at her boyfriend. He's wonderful, isn't he?"

I retracted my gaze indifferently. "Yeah, he is."

…

As I left the hospital, I saw Harold accompanying Ivory as she sat on the children's swing nearby. She held the ropes tightly and giggled. "I'm scared, Harry!"

"You have nothing to fear. I'm right here." He pushed her lightly, keeping his hands by her sides so he could hold her if anything were to go wrong.

I watched them for a while before saying, "The salesperson from the jewelry store just called me, Harold. She said the necklace you ordered has arrived."

"Oh, okay. I'll go collect it later…" Harold's expression suddenly turned diffident. He added, "I bought it for you."

I smiled and didn't expose his lie. The salesperson had already told me the necklace was in the shape of a snowflake and had "Ivory" carved on it.

I turned to leave, but Ivory stopped me. "Harry treats you so well, Minnie. He's even giving you such an expensive necklace. All I have is a ride on a swing."

Harold immediately tapped her forehead. "I would never say no to anything you wanted, silly."

Her pout turned into a smile. Then, she said to me, "Looks like I have a necklace now, too. Do you want to have a go on the swing? Harry's great at this."

She looked smug, but I was unaffected. "I don't like swings."

"Are you mad, Minnie? I was a little upset because of my injury—Harry was only trying to make me feel better," she said.

Harold frowned at me. "Ivy is like a little sister to me, Minerva. Isn't it right for me to care for her?"

I nodded indifferently. "Of course it is. Take good care of her, and have all the fun you want."

He was satisfied with my obedience. "This is the way you should be—level-headed and steady. You're about to become a married woman, after all."

I turned away, blocking Harold's words out. It was time for me to deal with everything else.

I headed to my workplace that afternoon. I'd taken a week off because of the wedding. Only three days had passed since then, but I was back. My colleagues were surprised to see me.

"Why are you back, Minerva? Are you here to invite us to tonight's party? We've already received the invitations; you didn't have to come all the way here."

There was a party that night?

I thought about it and realized it was probably one for Harold and Ivory. Instead of explaining, I smiled and said, "Remember to be there tonight, okay? I have something else to do now."

I headed to my workstation and packed my personal effects into my bag. Then, I prepared and printed my resignation letter before heading to my superior's office.

She was briefly surprised when she saw my letter. After the surprise passed, she looked like she'd expected it. She sighed and said heavily, "I expected this day to come when I heard you constantly talking about Harold.

"Are you going to be a full-time housewife once you're married so you can care for him? If you ask me, all women should still have their careers."

I was taken aback; I didn't expect her to say that. It looked like I'd truly been blinded by love in the past—my superior automatically linked my resignation to Harold.

I forced a smile and shook my head. "No, I'm going to call it quits with him. I want to move somewhere else and start afresh."

She was confused but didn't probe. Instead, she nodded and said, "Everything's good as long as you've made up your mind. A bright future awaits you now that you've made it past this obstacle."

She pulled out a document to show me. "If you're just looking to work elsewhere, here's an alternative—our company's headquarters has plans to set up a branch company in Cordon City. They need people there, so you might want to give it a shot."

I thanked her for her kindness. I needed to think this over.

Harold called me as soon as I stepped out of my workplace. "There are 24 hours to our wedding, so this is my last night as a bachelor. I'm celebrating with my friends tonight, so don't wait up for me."

It was rare for him to keep me posted on his whereabouts. In the past, I would've been delighted by this. Now that I was no longer blinded by my love for him, I realized the dirty things hidden within his words.

This was his last night as a bachelor, and he'd invited everyone—including colleagues I wasn't too familiar with—to celebrate with him. I was the only one he hadn't invited. Ironically, this was the one time he didn't need to tell me what he was doing.

Also, he was wrong about one thing—this wouldn't be his last night as a bachelor.

Harold was confused when I didn't say anything. "Minerva? Hello? Can you hear me? Is your phone lagging or something?"

I still didn't speak. I acted like my phone was malfunctioning.

He lost patience and said, "I told you I didn't need to call her. She wouldn't dare check up on me, anyway."

He was speaking to someone else, seemingly thinking the call had ended. Sure enough, Ivory's familiar voice rang out, sounding sickly sweet. "How can you say that, Harry? You guys are about to be married—Minnie will worry about you if you don't let her know where you are."

"I knew you were the most understanding woman in the world, Ivy. I'll thank the heavens if she turns out to be half as accommodating as you are."

"I'm not that great…"

An unspeakable noise ended the conversation, and I hung up. I headed home and looked around at the rented apartment I'd spent the past decade of my life in.

Did I feel indignant and resentful?

Over the past decade, I'd gone from being a spirited young woman who was bold enough to love and hate with abandon to a cautious, fatigued shell of my former self.

Everything in the apartment reminded me of my time with Harold.

I took down a photo of us that hung on the wall—I'd had to beg him for a long time before he agreed to have it put up. I'd bought matching mugs as a surprise for Harold, but he'd never once used them. They went into the trash.

He'd once promised me he would give me flowers daily, but the vase I'd prepared had already been empty for too long. It was covered in dust, as was the chess set we'd often played in the past.

I packed all of these things into a trash bag. Once it was full, I took it out to be thrown away. The feelings I'd harbored and the memories we'd created over the past decade went with it.

Once I was done, the apartment was as empty as my heart, which I'd wiped clean of all traces of Harold.

I checked my social media to see everyone sharing videos of Harold and Ivory dancing the waltz at his bachelor party. They looked graceful on the dance floor.

He rested his hands lightly on her waist, looking like he was holding a precious treasure. They twirled elegantly, looking like they'd done this a thousand times before. They gazed deep into each other's eyes, looking like they were alone in the world.

Everyone talked about how they looked like a perfect match. I liked the video and commented, "They really do look perfect together."

Shortly after, Harold called me. He snapped, "Why are you being so unreasonable when we're already about to marry? You made Ivy cry with your comment, you know! I was just starting to think that you were finally becoming sensible, yet here you are, acting like you've always done!

"If you really want to marry me, you have to care for Ivy like she's your sister. That's the only way I can marry you without worrying about anything else. Do you understand what I mean? She'll always come first in my heart!"

He was finally owning up to his true feelings. Instead of feeling upset, I laughed. "I'll remember that."

After hearing that, he ended the call. I looked at my phone, which showed the time. I only had 16 hours to go.