Do you really think Ill wait for you? Emily laughs straight in Jamess face. All ten years?
Of course not, James drops his gaze.
Then why are you complaining? Emily asks. And why did you come back at all? Youve been gone a decade; nobody missed you! No one even thought about you!
Im here to see my parents, James starts, trying to explain.
And what do you want from me? Emily presses. Your sudden flight a week before the wedding, as far as I can tell, already settled everything!
Emily, understand me! You spun everything so fast then, James says, looking at her with a sigh. I hadnt even turned around before the notice was filed at the registry and the fee paid.
Youve already started planning the wedding! Involved the families
Right, so you ran off, and now, ten years later, you show up to tell me I was too hasty? Emily clicks her tongue. From your act I figured you never intended to become my husband!
I didnt expect it to move so quickly, James shakes his head.
Fast or slow, Emily shakes her head. Weve been seeing each other for two years already! You could have thought it was heading toward a wedding, or that you only wanted a fling. Ah, yes! Thats exactly what you thought!
I didnt think like that, I just got scared I wasnt ready to be a husband, James mutters.
So you suddenly mature after ten years, while the bride is already married? Emily laughs. Come now to sort out our relationship?
No, I just knew you wouldnt wait forever
You vanished without a call, a note, a message, and you expect me to keep waiting? Emily exclaims. James, youre not a fairytale prince to be kept in a tower for ten years!
Youre basically nobody! In my familys eyes youd better not find out!
Emily, James says, avoiding her stare.
What, Emily? What are you trying to tell me? she snaps. What more do you want? When you ran, I crossed you off my life! Thats it! No more you!
And now you turn up, accusing me of not waiting, of having married, of having a child. Who do you think you are?
Emilys aggression pushes James to answer, though he only wants the courage to say what he meant.
Yes, I get that Im to blame for everything, but youre not some pristine snowflake! James says harshly. It was obvious youd get married!
But you did that the very week we had set our datejust a week after I left! You found a replacement in a flash!
Did you already have a backup plan? Or was there a parallel option all along?
Emily freezes, stunned.
You were juggling two men at once! As soon as one vanished, you hurried the other to the registry!
Emilys hand slaps, the sound ringing. Her grip isnt gentle. Jamess ear swells instantly. Why the ear? Because Emily slammed him with the full force of her heart!
James doesnt linger on the wet pavement; he straightens up.
Your reaction says it all! If it werent true, you wouldnt have fought back!
Youre lucky ten years have passed! If Id caught you then, Id have smashed you flat! Emily snarls. Do you even realise you didnt just run from a wedding, you set me up!
A week was left! The dress was bought, the venue booked, cars reserved, deposits paid! The caterer had already been paid! No one was going to get any money back!
The hotel for outoftown relatives was already settled, and half the family had arrived and checked in! Including Jamess own relatives!
James winces.
You know what the funniest part was? Emily asks. When all the guests were seated, glasses raised, your relatives kept asking, Wheres our James? It was a nightmare explaining that hed fled! You fled! And thank heavens Oliver loved me sincerely and deeply! He agreed to become my husband, just like that!
He knew I had no love to give yet, but he hoped it would appear. A wonderful man, and Im glad he ended up my husband! I never regret marrying him! Still, I cant understand why I chose you over him back then!
What a good man, James says mockingly. But youll never know why I left!
Im not interested, Emily replies in the same tone.
I think you deserve to know, James says arrogantly. Oliver gave me money so I could leave! And before that I pulled the plug on my brain, wondering if Im really sure I want to get married!
***
Emily has only seen runaway grooms and brides on the big screen. Depending on the situation, she either excuses or blames the heros boldness. Deep down she treats the plot like a fairy tale, a writers fancy, not something that could happen in real life.
She watches her friends weddings and sees how costly and stressful the preparations are. When it isnt an aristocratic budget, the expenses fall on both sides, parents included. If a young couple bailed, their own parents would be furious over the wasted money!
And Emily could never have imagined shed become the bride whose groom ditches her the day before the ceremony. She never expected that from James!
Emily has always approached choosing a partner seriously, not just following her heart. She falls in love like any girl, heart tearing apart, but she doesnt rush into serious stages. She knows reputation is like a crystal figurineonce cracked, it never fully repairs.
Her attitudes toward relationships have varied since university. After graduating, she starts looking at suitors with an eye on a lifelong partner, but still without haste. She never planned to marry several times, following the example of her parents, whose courtship lasted seven years and was a model of patience and mutual respect.
She refuses to be the one who drags a family along, yet also wont be a mere accessory. Harmony must be built before marriage.
At twentythree, Emily makes her choice. James is an interesting young man, three years older, practical, downtoearth. Sometimes hes a bit dull, but she knows a lively joker is fun for a night, while a steady type like James is worth a lifetime.
She moves in with James in a rented flat to test cohabitationmany marriages crumble over everyday life. The twoyear trial goes surprisingly well.
Most of her other admirers accept her decision, but not Oliver. He and James are friends and both pursued Emily at the same time. Olivers relentless ambitionhe became an entrepreneur straight after his degree, always closing deals and never idlescares Emily. A life with him would be comfortable but chaotic. He never gives up, constantly sending flowers, gifts, offers of help, never stopping his attempts to win her heart.
Oliver, youre a fine man, Emily says. But Ive chosen.
As long as I live, Ill have a chance! Oliver replies.
Nothing sways him.
Two years later, the wedding planning starts. They have three months to sort everything. Oliver doesnt know why Emily chose James, but hes known James longer and sees doubt in his eyes.
Are you really sure you want to marry Emily? Ready to take responsibility for her life? Oliver asks.
James first says Yes! but later hesitates, offering vague answers like Well see, which fuels Olivers worries: What if Emily ends up a deserted wife, maybe even with a child?
Oliver tries to tempt James with money.
Imagine I give you £100,000, you ditch Emily, he suggests.
Nonsense, James replies.
£500,000? Oliver ups the ante.
James thinks it over, refuses.
£1,000,000! Oliver pushes. Would you leave her for that?
Oliver, what are you playing at? James snaps.
I just want Emily to be happy, Oliver says. But Im not convinced youre the right man. Two million!
Your fantasies are James waves his hands.
Oliver pulls six bundles of £5,000 notes from his satchel.
Heres three million, no fantasy, real cash. Take the train and disappear, no goodbye letters!
James freezes. Hes only ever seen that kind of money on screen. Now it sits in a bankwrapped packet.
Our wedding is in a week James manages.
Sort it out, Oliver nods. Your decision?
***
He basically bought you! James shouts. Like an object, a toy! And youre thanking him! You blame me, but hes no saint! He bought you, and you sold yourself!
My parents said he paid for everything afterward! So you sold yourself, right? And you still blame me?
He bought me, I sold myself, Emily admits. And you sold yourself, ran away, never thinking about the money already spent on the wedding! The venue, the hotel, the food, the drinks!
Oliver not only covered the remaining bills, he refunded my parents every penny theyd given for the wedding! He even paid back my family when the relatives were waiting and he showed up.
But you didnt marry him for love! James yells. He bought your love!
No, I earned it! I realized what a man he isconfident, reliable, strong, responsible! He fought for me, for my happiness, for my future! He knew I wouldnt be happy with you, and proved it by selling me! Oliver would never have sold me, not for three, not for three hundred million! Because he loves me, genuinely! I love him! Our family is wonderful! With you Im now 100% sure that it could never have been any other way!
Jamess face twists with disgust. He came back for revenge, to destroy everything, yet he ends up the villain, while Oliver and Emily thrive.
James leaves his hometown without delay, intending to expose his friend and exfiancée, only to discover hes no better, perhaps worse. But theyre happy, so they must have done it right. And the price he pays is three million pounds. Who is he now?
