Two days before my wedding, I was sorting through some old belongings when I suddenly remembered the time capsules Ethan Shaw and I buried ten years ago.

His expression froze the moment he heard it. He tried to talk me out of going. “It’s been so long. Someone must’ve dug them up already.”

I didn’t think much of it and went back to our old school on my own.

But at the spot where we buried it, I unearthed five metal boxes of different sizes.

Two of them were the ones Ethan and I buried a decade ago, now rusted all over.

The other three didn’t belong there—one was just as rusty, while the remaining two looked brand-new.

The old box had Rose Quinn’s name carved on it.

On top were the words: “My secret crush was a war of myself. Ethan, I wish you happiness.”

I remembered her then—an unremarkable girl who used to sit behind us.

And the two new boxes were engraved with the names Ethan Shaw and Rose Quinn.

The date marked on them was today.

On Ethan’s box, it read: “My greatest regret in life is that I can’t give you a wedding.”

On Rose’s box, it read: “My greatest regret in life is that I can’t openly wish you a happy wedding day.”

I stood beneath the old locust tree that hadn’t changed in ten years, five cold metal boxes cradled in my hands.

I felt like a complete joke.

A gust of wind swept past, stirring a few fallen leaves and chilling me to the bone.

Turns out, in some corner I knew nothing about, another woman’s turmoil had been buried all along.

And my fiancé’s unspoken regret.

His greatest regret was that he couldn’t give her a wedding.

What about me?

What does our wedding, set for the day after tomorrow, even mean now?

A grand lie? Or a belated offering to the woman he truly cared about?

I reburied the three boxes that had nothing to do with me and took only the two that belonged to Ethan and me.

By the time I got home, the sky was pitch-black.

The lights in the living room were on. Ethan sat on the sofa, and the moment I walked in, he shot to his feet.

“Why are you back so late? Where did you go?”

I changed my shoes and answered calmly, “I went back to our old school.”

“Our high school?”

He froze for a split second before forcing himself to appear composed.

“What were you doing there? You didn’t even ask me to come along.”

“Nothing much. I was just passing by, so I went in to see a teacher.”

Relief washed over his face. He walked up and wrapped his arms around me from behind, his chin resting in the crook of my shoulder, his voice soft as water.

“You scared me. I thought you ran off. The wedding’s in two days. You can’t just disappear like that.”

I let him hold me.

Silence spread through the room, thick and suffocating.

After a long moment, I asked quietly,

“Ethan, do you really want to marry me?”

His body stiffened for a moment before his arms tightened around me.

“Of course. It’s been ten years. Who else could I marry but you?

“Autumn, what are you even thinking about?”

Right. Ten years.

Yet the words on the metal box kept appearing in my mind, uncontrollably.

“The greatest regret of my life is that I can’t give you a wedding.”

He let go of me, brimming with excitement as he discussed the details of tomorrow’s wedding rehearsal.

He mimicked the priest reciting the vows.

“For richer or poorer… in sickness and in health…

“To take Miss Autumn Taylor as your wife…

“To be married to…”

But every single word felt like a needle piercing my chest.

“Do you like this bouquet? Or would you prefer white roses instead?”

He held up his phone, eyes full of anticipation as he looked at me.

A surge of unnamed anger flared up from deep within me, scorching all sense of reason.

“Whatever.”

I turned my head away, my tone icy.

“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

The smile on Ethan’s face froze.

“Autumn, what do you mean? How can you say you don’t care? This is our wedding!”

“Our wedding?”

I let out a bitter laugh and couldn’t help but look back at him.

“Is it really ours?”

He froze at my question for a moment, then furrowed his brows.

“What is wrong with you today? You’ve been acting weird ever since you got back.

“I’ve been running around taking care of everything for our wedding, and this is the attitude?”

“My attitude?” I felt a tightness in my chest.

“And you? Is that your attitude…?”

I stopped mid-sentence, almost spilling everything. I was afraid I’d regret saying it.

Ethan’s eyes reddened as he snapped,

“What attitude? Haven’t I been busy preparing for our wedding all this time?

“Autumn, are you crazy? If you don’t want to get married, then just don’t!”

He spun around and slammed the door, the sound shaking the entire house.

I stood alone in the empty living room, tears falling from my eyes without warning.

Ethan and I had been together for ten years, and arguments were an everyday occurrence.

We were both stubborn, neither willing to back down first.

But today was different—him slamming the door and leaving me all alone was a first.

No, not a first.

I remembered another time.

Back in high school, the class held a farewell dinner.

By then, Ethan and I were officially together, at our clingiest stage.

One of the boys had drunk too much and joked that a quiet girl like Rose would never get married.

The words had barely left his mouth before Ethan’s face darkened instantly.

At the time, I didn’t think much of it, assuming he was just upset that the boy had spoken without tact and grabbed his hand to calm him down.

But he yanked his hand away from me and walked off without a word.

I was left standing there, facing a table of bewildered classmates, utterly embarrassed.

That night, his mother said he never came home. His phone was off the whole time.

It wasn’t until the next day that I found him at an internet café.

He only said he was in a bad mood and, in a casual tone, apologized for leaving me behind the night before.

I believed him.

Looking back now, it was laughable.

Inside the time capsule that Rose buried was a diary.

One page recorded that very gathering:

“Today, Victor Grant teased me again, saying no one would ever want to marry me.

It hurt, but I’m used to it.

I never imagined he’d get angry because of me—that he would shake off Autumn and run after me just to comfort me.

He stayed with me on the rooftop the whole night, telling me I was a good girl, that they simply didn’t know how to appreciate me.

In that moment, it felt like the whole world lit up.

Autumn, I’m sorry. I never meant to take him from you, even if it was just for one night.”

So he wasn’t in a bad mood that night—he’d gone to comfort another girl.

While I spent the night sick with worry for him, he was on the rooftop lighting up another girl’s world.

There was also a photo in the box—a group shot from our graduation trip.

Ethan and I stood in the middle, smiling brightly.

Standing in the far corner of the photo was Rose, her gaze fixed on Ethan, eyes filled with quiet longing and sorrow.

On the back of the photo, Ethan had written:

“May you always smile like sunshine.”

He had written the same line in my yearbook on graduation day.

There was also a bracelet—identical to the one on my wrist.

He once said he had searched several stores to find this “couple’s design.”

Turns out it wasn’t for a couple. It was for three.

Ten years, Ethan.

My youth, my first love, all my dreams for the future—

all of it, was nothing but a dream.

From the very beginning, I was never the only one.

I was merely the one you kept in plain sight.

The pain crushed the air out of my lungs.

I curled up on the couch, drained of every last bit of strength.

My phone lit up. Joe Jordan had sent a message — he was Ethan’s roommate back in high school, and they were still on good terms.

I opened it. A photo. The background was a private booth in a bar.

Ethan was slumped in the middle of the booth, holding a bottle of alcohol, his eyes glassy and unfocused, clearly drunk.

Next to him, gently wiping his face with a towel, was a woman. Who else could it be but Rose?

Joe’s messages came in one after another:

“Autumn, I know your wedding is the day after tomorrow, but I really can’t keep this to myself anymore.

“Ethan called all of us out tonight, said he argued with you and wasn’t in a great mood.

“But the moment we got here, he called Rose.

“Those two… they’ve always been like this, all these years.

“We’ve all seen it, but none of us dared to tell you.

“The address is Room 302 at NightSun Bar. I think you should see it for yourself.”

I stared at the photo.

Rose was looking at Ethan with a mix of worry and unmistakable affection.

And Ethan… he wasn’t resisting her at all.

I took a deep breath and rose from the sofa, grabbing my car keys.

Following the address Joe had sent, I found my way to Room 302 at the NightSun Bar.

The door was slightly ajar, and familiar laughter floated out from inside.

I stopped in my tracks, hesitating instead of pushing the door open.

“Ethan, don’t be mad. Autumn’s just got a bit of that spoiled-rich-girl temper. A little coaxing and she’ll be fine. You're getting married in two days anyway,” a man spoke up, trying to smooth things over.

Another voice chimed in right away.

“Exactly, what’s there to fuss over with Autumn’s little spoiled-girl temper?”

“If you ask me, Rose is so much better—gentle, thoughtful, never makes Ethan angry.”

“Right? If it weren’t for back then…”

“Ah, never mind. Ethan, you’re marrying Autumn, and we all feel it’s a pity for Rose.”

“A pity for what? Just look at who Ethan really cares about. He and Autumn are about to get married, but when they argue, the first person he thinks of is still Rose.”

Laughter erupted in the room.

I leaned against the wall, feeling my blood almost freeze.

These voices—I recognized every single one.

Ethan’s closest friends. Friends I had known for ten years.

I had even delivered their wedding invitations myself.

And in their eyes, I was nothing but a spoiled, high-maintenance girl, while Rose was the considerate first love.

And Ethan?

I pressed my eyes against the crack of the door.

Their gestures were so intimate, like a couple madly in love.

He didn’t deny anything. He didn’t say a word for me.

He just sat there, letting their teasing roll off him, while basking in Rose’s tenderness.

At that moment, I finally understood why, for ten years, I had always felt like an outsider in his circle.

Because in that group, I was the one who didn’t belong.

And Rose, she was the one they all naturally treated as Ethan's true love.

I didn’t have the courage to push the door open.

I recorded a short video through the crack and turned to leave.

Just as I rounded the hallway corner, I ran right into Joe.

He glanced at my red eyes, sighed softly, and handed me a tissue.

“You saw everything?”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Joe rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I just feel it’s unfair to you. Ethan, he… Forget it. Just don’t take it too hard.”

I forced a smile. “I’m fine. Really.”

How could I be fine?

Ten years of love, shattered in an instant.

The man I loved deeply had been deceiving me for a decade.

The friends I trusted were laughing at my foolishness behind my back.