Did you really think Id wait for you all ten years? Emily laughed straight in my face. All ten years?
Of course not, I muttered, looking down.
And whats with the complaints now? she asked. Why did you even come back? You vanished for a decade, and nobody missed you!
I came to see my parents, I tried to explain.
So why bother me? Emily pressed. Your sudden flight a week before the wedding, as far as Im concerned, has settled everything.
Emily, try to understand my side, I said, glancing at her with a weary look. You wrapped everything up so fastI barely had time to turn around before the marriage licence was filed and the fee paid.
Youve already started the wedding preparations! Youve roped in our families
Right, you ran off then, and now, ten years later, youve returned to tell me I was too hasty? Emily clicked her tongue. From your behaviour I figured you never intended to be my husband!
I never imagined it would move so quickly, I shook my head.
Fast or slow, it doesnt matter, Emily replied, shaking her own head. Wed been seeing each other for two years already! One would think you were heading for a wedding, not just a fling. Ah, yes thats exactly what you thought!
I didnt plan any of that, I was just scared I wasnt ready to be a husband, I stammered.
So you finally mature after ten years, while the bride is already married? You show up to sort things out?
No, I just knew you wouldnt wait forever
You left without a call, a note, a message, and you expect me to wait? Im not a fairytale prince you can keep under a tower for a decade! Emily snapped. In the eyes of my family youre nothing. Youd better not find out why.
Emily I reached out, avoiding her glare.
What, Emily? What do you want to say now? What more do you expect from me? When you ran off, I crossed you out of my life. No more. Thats that.
And now you turn up, whining that I didnt wait, that I married someone else, that I had a child? Who do you think you are?
Her aggression forced me to answer, though Id rather have had the courage to say what I intended.
Yes, I see Im being blamed for everything, but dont pretend youre some pristine angel either, I snapped. Your marrying was obvious. Yet you did it right after wed set a datejust a week after I left! You found a replacement in record time.
Did you have a backup plan all along? Was there a parallel option?
Emily was left speechless.
Two men at once, then? As soon as one vanished, you rushed the other to the registry office!
She was stunned, and the slap that followed rang out clear. My ear began to swell instantlyshed hit me with the full force of her fury.
I didnt linger on the wet pavement; I straightened up.
Your reaction says it all. If you were sincere you wouldnt have fought back.
Youre lucky ten years have passed. Had I caught you then Id have turned you into mush! Emily hissed. You think you just ran from a wedding, but you set me up!
There was a week left. The dress was bought, the venue paid for, the cars booked, the deposit handed over. The caterer had already taken his advance, and nobody intended to get refunds. The hotel for distant relatives was booked, half the family already arrived and settledincluding your side of the family, James.
I felt a knot tighten.
What was the funniest part? Emily asked. When the guests were seated, glasses raised, your relatives kept asking, Wheres James? Wheres our boy gone? It was a laugh trying to explain that hed bolted! And there was GregGod bless himwho loved me sincerely and offered to be my husband. He accepted, even though he knew I wasnt ready for love. He hoped love would grow. He was a wonderful man, and Im grateful he became my husband. I never regretted becoming his wife. I still cant understand why I chose you over him back then.
Nice bloke, I said mockingly. But you never really know why I left.
It doesnt matter to me, Emily replied, tone unchanged.
I think you ought to know, I said haughtily. Greg gave me the cash to get away, and before that I pulled the plug on my brain, wondering if I was truly ready to marry.
***
Emily had only ever seen runaway grooms and brides in films. Depending on the situation she would either excuse or condemn the heros boldness, but deep down she treated those stories as fairytale nonsense, never imagining they could happen in real life.
From friends she learned how costly wedding preparations could be. When a couple isnt rolling in money, the expenses fall on both families. If a groom ran, his parents would be furious at the waste.
Emily never imagined shed be the bride whose fiancé fled the day before the wedding. She hadnt expected it from James.
She always approached a life partner seriously, never merely following her heart. She fell in love like any girl, her heart tearing apart, yet she didnt rush into serious stages. She knew reputation was like a crystal figurineonce cracked, it never fully mended.
Shed had casual relationships since university, but nothing serious until after graduation. She didnt intend to marry multiple times, following the example of her parents, whod courted each other for seven years, building a solid, dramafree marriage.
She didnt want to be the one who shouldered a whole family alone, nor a mere appendage; harmony had to be there from the start. Yet choosing a partner was hard. She was attractive, educated, and many suitors admired her, so they waited for her verdict.
At twentythree, Emily made her choice. James was an interesting young manactually a man in his midtwenties, three years older than her. He wasnt a dreamer; he was practical, methodical. Sometimes a bit dull, but she recognised that a life with him would be stable, whereas a life with a joker would be just fun.
She and James moved into a rented flat to test cohabitationmost marriages crumble over domestic life. Two years later the trial was, for the most part, successful.
Most of the other admirers accepted her decision, though most was the key word. Greg, however, refused to let go. He and James were friends, both courting Emily simultaneously.
James felt he could offer stability, while Greg was a gogetter. Greg had launched his own business straight out of university, never taking a salaried job, always negotiating deals and travelling for meetings. His relentless drive scared Emily. A life with Greg would be comfortable but chaotic, and he never knew when to back down. He kept sending flowers, gifts, offers of helpnever ceasing his attempts to win her heart.
Greg, youre a good man, Emily said. But Ive made my choice.
As long as Im alive, Ill always have a chance, Greg replied. Nothing could sway him.
Two years with James drew to a close, and wedding talks begannaturally the next step. They filed the notice and started planning. Three months to get everything done!
Greg didnt know what Emily saw in James, but hed known James longer than she had. He could see the doubt in Jamess eyes.
Are you sure youre ready to marry Emily? Ready to take responsibility for her life? Greg probed.
At first James answered, Yes! but soon hesitation crept in, vague replies like, Well see, lets get married and figure it out, feeding Gregs uneasy thoughtswhat if Emily ended up a deserted wife, or with a child?
Greg tried to tempt James. Lets make a bet. Ill give you £100,000 and you walk away from Emily.
Impossible, James replied.
£500,000? Greg raised the stakes.
James thought, then declined.
£1million! Greg shouted. If I gave you a million, would you abandon her?
Greg, what are you playing at? James snapped.
I just want Emily happy, Greg said. But Im not sure youre the right man. Two million?
James waved his hands. Your fantasies are ridiculous.
Greg pulled six bundles of £5,000 notes from his bag. Heres three million, no fantasiesreal money. Take the train and disappear without a goodbye.
James froze. Hed only ever seen three million on the big screen. Now it lay in a bankwrapped bundle before him.
Weve got a wedding in a week, James managed to say.
Ill sort that out, Greg nodded. Your call?
***
He bought you like an object! James shouted. Like a toy! And youre all grateful, blaming me? Hes no saint either! He just paid for everything later. You sold yourself, didnt you? And you still blame me?
I sold myself, he bought me, Emily admitted. And you sold yourself tooran off, never thought about the money already spent on the wedding! The venue, the hotel, the food, the drinkseverything!
Greg had not only settled all the outstanding invoices but also reimbursed Emilys parents for the money theyd given. He even covered the costs when relatives arrived and found James missing.
But you didnt marry for love! James yelled. He bought your love!
No, he earned it. I realised hes confident, reliable, strong, responsible. He fought for me, for my happiness, for my future. He was sure I wouldnt be happy with you, and proved it when you sold me out. Greg would never have sold me, not for three, not for three hundred million, because he truly loves me. I love him, and our family is wonderful. With you, Im 100percent sure nothing like this would have happened.
Jamess face twisted with disgust. Hed returned to settle scores, only to discover he was the villain, the betrayer. He didnt linger in his hometown, intent on exposing his friend and former bride, yet he found himself no better, perhaps worse. They were happy, and theyd done the right thing. The price he paid was three million pounds. And after that, what was he left with?
