[No matter how carefully you plan, fate can erase everything with a single stroke.]

The moment I confirmed that Delilah Carter was cheating on me, that post appeared on my phone.

I opened it calmly and scrolled to the comments beneath a thread titled "Unfaithful". Then I added a few lines of my own.

[How unbelievable can it be?]

[A coworker snapped a casual vacation photo and posted it online. Out of thousands of people in the background, my fiancee and my best friend just happened to end up in the same frame.]

[Our wedding is in three days, yet here I am, rushing across the country in the middle of the night to catch them together.]

After posting the comment, I locked my phone. The wallpaper display happened to be our wedding portrait.

Leaning against the white wall of the hotel corridor, I closed my bloodshot eyes in exhaustion.

Only after the intense, frenzied noises inside finally stopped did I raise my hand—still wearing my wedding ring—and knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

Delilah opened the door wearing a silk camisole.

I pushed past her and walked inside.

Marcel Graham froze when he saw me, unsure how to react.

"Cedric Davenport..."

Before he could say anything else, the beautiful Delilah threw herself in front of him. "It was me! I seduced Marcel! Whatever you want to do, take it out on me! Leave him alone!"

They clung to each other like tragic lovers facing the end of the world, desperate to hold on to one another.

I stood silently in the darkness, my expression vacant, as I breathed in the lingering musky scent in the room. I didn't argue or make a scene. I simply committed the moment to memory.

I told myself not to look back or forgive.

Then I opened the invitation to Europe that had been sitting untouched in my inbox for months. On the final day before it expired, I accepted.

From that moment on, the two things I treasured most—love and friendship—became nothing more than illusions.

There was no screaming or hysterics like I thought there would be.

Silence settled over the room.

I slipped the wedding band from my finger and set it gently on the table.

When I spoke, my voice was calm and clear, completely devoid of emotion.

"Keep the ring. I'll have the dowry returned as well. As for the wedding, whether you cancel it or go through with it together, that's up to you."

I turned and walked away without even asking why. Then, something crashed onto the floor behind me.

Marcel tumbled off the bed. Staggering forward, he dropped to his knees at my feet with his fists clenched.

"Cedric, I'm sorry... I'm the one who deserves blame. I forced Delilah into this. You’ve always been the only one she truly loved.

"Hit me. Kill me if you want. Just... don't act like you don't care."

Delilah hurriedly gathered the clothes from the floor and draped them over his shoulders before getting on her knees beside him. Nevertheless, what spilled from her lips wasn't guilt but overwhelming concern for him.

"No, Cedric. This is all my fault. Ever since we were kids, Marcel has always been the person who's cared about you most. I'm the one who seduced him.

"If you want to hate someone, hate me. Blame me. Take it all out on me."

My legs felt as heavy as lead. With a vacant gaze, I turned back numbly and looked down at the two people I'd once treasured most.

I still remembered the first pair of sneakers I ever owned. Marcel had secretly bought them for me.

I'd always been soft-hearted. Whenever people bullied me, I'd just endure it. However, no matter how many people stood on the other side, Marcel would always stand up for me.

He also had a camera he treasured more than anything. Inside were photographs of every important moment in my life: graduation, birthday celebrations, and the day I won first place in a speech contest.

He did all of it for one reason—because I was his best friend.

As for Delilah...

She had initiated our first kiss. Blushing furiously, she'd risen onto her toes and wrapped her arms carefully around my waist.

I had a sensitive stomach, so she’d always sneak little snacks into my bag, and in her phone notes, she kept track of all my dietary restrictions and preferences.

When I failed an interview and got drunk, crying that I was a failure after all, she stayed up all night without saying a word, helping me revise my resume line by line until dawn.

She did all of it for one reason. It was because, in her eyes, I was her hero.

I used to believe I was the luckiest man in the world, but now, the two people I loved most were on their knees before me.

Who was I supposed to blame?

Who could I possibly blame?

The broken sobs filled the room with a cold, heavy silence.

Delilah quietly slid her hand beneath Marcel's bare knees. The faint scrape against the floor seemed louder than anything else in the room.

I let out a strained laugh and reached down to help Marcel to his feet. "It's okay. I don't blame either of you."

Marcel looked up in disbelief. Hope flashed across his face, tempered by uncertainty. "R-Really?"

"Really."

"Then can you still go through with the wedding? I swear I'll disappear. I'll go somewhere nobody can find me and never interfere with your happiness again." His voice was desperate, as though he'd found a lifeline. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me toward Delilah.

However, Delilah, who used to lose sleep over the slightest hint of my unhappiness, simply stared at him in a daze. She didn't throw her arms around me the way she had when I proposed, swearing she’d love me forever.

Instead, she lowered her head dejectedly and gripped my sleeve weakly.

"Cedric, you're the person I love the most. For the sake of everything we've shared these past ten years, can you give me another chance?"

Marcel's chest, which was still covered in fading marks of their session, went rigid. A shadow of sadness crossed his face.

I saw the struggle in both of them and sighed inwardly.

The two people who mattered most to me had betrayed me. Surely it wasn't too much to let them suffer a little for it.

So I forced a careless smile and raised my voice as if none of it mattered, "Come on. I already told you I'm not angry. You're both amazing people, and you've known each other forever. One moment of weakness isn't the end of the world.

"I was just joking earlier. You won't do anything reckless like this again, right?"

After making my joke, I turned away. I picked up the wedding band from the table and slipped it back onto my finger.

The moment the tiny diamonds caught the light and shone brilliantly, tears spilled silently from my eyes.

Delilah and Marcel had chosen this ring together. I hadn't even planned on buying one for myself, but the two of them had competed over who could treat me better, and somehow we'd ended up purchasing the most expensive ring in the store.

"Who cares about money? My best friend deserves the best!"

"Money? That's nothing. My husband deserves the finest diamond ring!"

Back then, all I knew was how to grin like an idiot while basking in their affection.

I never imagined those playful arguments would one day change into something else.

Perhaps, a ring thrown away might still be found again.

Alas, people could never go back to the way they were.

...

On the flight home, I sat between them as I always had.

However, neither of them fought for the seat beside me anymore. Instead, they sat in silence, staring out the window or down the aisle.

Whenever they answered something I said, they carefully avoided meeting each other's eyes.

After we landed, Delilah came home with me.

We sat in the car discussing our wedding three days away as though nothing had happened, tacitly avoiding the subject.

Nevertheless, I could still feel her distracted thoughts drifting somewhere far away.

Pretending not to notice, I continued browsing wedding attire designs, but then my ringtone shattered the silence.

"Hello? Is this Cedric Davenport? Someone's collapsed here. Your number is listed as his emergency contact, so I..."

Before the caller could finish, Marcel's weak voice came through the phone.

"Cedric, I'm okay... You should go home. Tomorrow... Tomorrow I'll go pick out a tuxedo with you. You'll be the most handsome groom in the world..."

The call ended.

The busy tone filled the car.

Delilah sat rigidly through the entire conversation without saying a word, but the fingers resting on her knee tapped anxiously without pause.

Another corner of my heart seemed to cave in, dust settling over the ruins.

Suppressing the ache that was nearly suffocating me, I forced a smile and told a clumsy lie, "Delilah, you'll probably need to grab another ride. I just remembered a coworker invited me out for dinner tonight."

For a split second, her eyes lit up. Still, she tested the waters. "I'll come with you first."

"No need. I'm not a kid. Go home and get some rest. You'll need your energy to try on wedding dresses tomorrow."

I told the driver to pull over, then I opened the door for her and urged her to get out.

She frowned and lingered for a moment, clearly hesitant, but her desire to see Marcel ultimately outweighed her unease.

"Then come home early tonight. Don't drink, and don't walk around by yourself after dark. Call me as soon as you're done. I'll be waiting at home."

"Got it." I waved dismissively and shut the door without hesitation.

Through the rearview mirror, her figure grew smaller and smaller.

At first, she hurried away in quick little steps. Then she broke into a run, her high heels striking the pavement faster and faster.

Only then did my composure finally shatter. Covering my face, I let the tears spill through my fingers.

The direction Delilah was running was the exact opposite of the road that led home.

The path that was supposed to lead us to happiness had ultimately fallen apart because of betrayal.

I got out of the car with swollen eyes and no destination in mind.

Without realizing it, I found myself back at the old house where I'd grown up.

I climbed the damp, weathered wooden stairs. Just as I reached for the door, a familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Marcel, why did you push me away? You know I've always loved you!"

"That was a mistake! As long as Cedric is happy, nothing else matters to me!"

"Really? Then why did you sneak back here in secret if nothing matters?"

The argument came to an abrupt halt.

Through the narrow gap in the door, my tear-blurred eyes took in the scene inside.

White wedding ribbons were draped across the windows.

A handmade patchwork wedding quilt covered the bed.

Scattered across the floor were dried flower petals and keepsakes my mother had prepared for my future marriage.

Everything in the room had been prepared for a newlywed couple starting their lives together—if those things hadn't belonged to my mother.

My mother had crafted those decorations herself before she died. She'd spent two years undergoing chemotherapy while painstakingly sewing that quilt. She'd carefully chosen every wedding memento herself before she passed away.

"Cedric... Delilah, Marcel, after I'm gone... please take care of Cedric..."

Back then, lying in her hospital bed, my mother had used the last of her strength to wrap our hands together with a rosary.

Through tears, they promised they would never betray her final wish.

Sadly, the woman I loved most and my best friend had already become a couple in every way that mattered beneath my mother's portrait.

Even the rosary hanging by the bed had been torn apart during one of their encounters, its beads scattered across the floor.

"You keep saying all you want is for Cedric to be happy. What about me?

"When I planned surprises for him, I wasn't thinking about how happy he'd be. I was thinking about finally seeing you again. When he was hospitalized, I worried about him, but I was even more excited that I'd get to spend time alone with you. When I accompanied him to your performances, I looked calm on the outside, but I spent an entire afternoon choosing flowers.

"Call this a mistake if you want, but in my heart, you're the one who's truly my husband." Delilah's voice broke as tears filled her eyes.

Marcel stared at her. Then, unable to hold back any longer, he pulled her tightly into his arms.

"I never wanted things to end up like this. I really didn't..." Tears streamed down his face.

Clenching my teeth so hard they hurt, I fled as though I were the one who'd done something wrong.

The wind roared in my ears, trying to drown everything out, but only I knew just how deafening the pain in my heart truly was.

I kept running and running, until the emptiness in my stomach twisted into unbearable cramps under the weight of my emotions.

"Sir, a bowl of stew, please."

Cold sweat beaded across my forehead as I staggered into a restaurant.

When the owner brought over the bowl, his eyes lit up with surprise. "Well, if it isn't Cedric! Where are your two guardians today?"

I looked up weakly and recognized the familiar face.

The owner didn't notice anything unusual. Still smiling, he handed me a pair of cutlery.

"Remember the old shop? You three used to come every week for beef stew. Those two kids were always fighting over who got to pick the beef out of their bowls for you.

"One worried you wouldn't grow tall enough. The other worried you wouldn't gain enough weight. Now look at you—all grown up."

More customers arrived, and the owner hurried off to greet them.

I fought to hold back my sobs as I shoveled stew into my mouth between tears.

Through the rising steam, I could almost see the two kids again, always worrying about me.

"Slow down! What if you burn yourself?" Delilah shot me a reproachful look, snatched away my bowl, and patiently blew on the stew.

"Your stomach's already bad enough. And now you're practically drinking tears. Who the hell bullied you this time? Tell me. I'll beat them into the ground." Marcel handed me a napkin. When I refused to answer, he grew so anxious he didn't know what to do.

I stared blankly at the scene before me, wishing I could stay in this moment forever.

Sadly, all it took was one cold gust of reality. The steam disappeared, and so did they.

I set down my cutlery and sat there for a long time.

Then a text message arrived from Human Resources.

[Your application to Europe has been approved. Departure is scheduled for two days from now. Please make the necessary preparations.]

I replied with a single word: [Okay.]

Then I paid my bill.

I left without disturbing the owner, just as I couldn't bear to disturb those memories from years ago.

Standing alone at the fork in the road, I turned back for one final look at the old house.

A faint smile tugged at my lips.

This is where it ends.