Chapter 3: Breaking the Cycle

But when Julian learned I agreed to Savannah’s request, he immediately came to find me. He deliberately avoided Chris and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"Is it such a big deal for a little sister to be the bridesmaid at her brother’s wedding?"

Julian looked into my eyes and said, "But you don’t have to."

I found it strange. "You never cared about these details before."

Julian pondered. "This isn’t a detail."

"After the engagement, when will the real wedding be?"

Julian said vaguely, "Maybe at the end of the year, maybe next spring, summer is possible too."

I grinned and asked, "You’re so hesitant, do you not love Savannah anymore?"

In that instant, Julian’s pupils widened, as if he had been struck by something.

I was stunned.

"Mariah, I should love her." Julian looked very tired.

"Of course you should, you’ve loved her for a long time."

Julian said slowly, "But I feel she’s changed. I can’t say what’s different, but everything is different. She seems to be acting."

I blurted out, "Julian, you jerk."

Julian, after being scolded by me, suddenly covered his face and laughed.

"Yeah, no one is worse than me."

When Savannah was picking out wedding dresses, I was there too.

She always intentionally or unintentionally mentioned the sweet details between her and Julian, like how he bought her jewelry for forty-five grand, or how they drank until dawn and kissed in the morning. After saying it, she would look at me apologetically.

I was rather calm about it.

I smiled kindly. "Julian is a good guy, you two will be very happy."

Even though Julian didn’t come to pick out wedding clothes today, saying he had an important meeting.

Savannah was stunned, her face changed, and she actually asked me, "Mariah, aren’t you sad at all? I always feel sorry for you, I don’t know how to make it up to you."

"Just give a bigger bridesmaid gift card, the bigger the better." I gestured.

When Julian called Savannah, I was still texting Chris saying this batch of wedding dresses wasn’t good.

Chris replied: "Then let’s wait for the next batch and pick slowly."

Me: "?"

I didn’t notice at all that Savannah’s knuckles were purple from gripping her phone too tightly, and her face was turning blue.

"Mariah Jennings." Savannah called me through gritted teeth.

"What?"

Savannah lost her composure: "Was it you? Did you talk nonsense to Julian again? He actually wants to break off the engagement. What did you say?"

Clearly a master at catfights, but at this moment my tongue seemed frozen, and I couldn’t say a word in rebuttal.

I was dumbfounded.

The Savannah on the pedestal, always tolerant like an angel toward my clownish acts, now seemed like a different person, furiously confronting me.

I suddenly wanted to touch her hand and calm her down. As soon as I reached out to touch Savannah, she brushed me off without thinking.

Savannah’s smile was cold and mocking. "If Julian doesn’t marry me, you won’t get anywhere either."

"You’re only fit to cling to him, begging for another look." Savannah said.

I quietly looked at Savannah.

"You can pretend for a while, but not forever," Savannah bit her lip. "I want to see how you can seduce Julian while stringing along Chris, and end up with nothing."

I really hated anyone dragging Chris into this.

Chris was never a bargaining chip in my battle with Savannah.

More importantly, when Julian told me that Savannah had changed, I didn’t believe it. Until today, when she showed the same darkness I had, I lost interest in her.

But Savannah seemed to care a lot about my opinion, yet also seemed not to care at all.

Because at this moment, her gaze at me was very strange, like looking at a disobedient NPC.

She really seemed like a female protagonist.

I was different—I had long accepted the mindset of a villainess.

After I went back, I excitedly told Chris this gossip. Chris seemed a bit surprised, but patiently listened to my chatter.

After I finished, Chris asked, "Mariah, how do you feel?"

"It’s all pretty miserable."

"Marriage is a big deal," Chris raised his hand and patted my head, "Let’s not be like them, changing all the time."

"Are we getting married too?"

Chris smiled slightly. "I agree."

Damn.

Digging a hole for me to jump into.

"People will laugh at you," I analyzed with Chris, "when I was chasing Julian, it was well known."

Chris suddenly became full of sass: "It’s easier to be laughed at without a title."

I thought that made sense.

When the marriage news was announced, Julian was surprised. He asked me, "Why is it Chris?"

"Who do you think it should be?"

Julian shook his head. "I’m not qualified to guess, just… don’t force yourself."

"If you say that, you’ll get me in trouble."

Julian surrendered: "I won’t say more, take care."

"What about Savannah?" After the day of trying on wedding dresses, she deleted me and moved away.

"She came to see me, that’s all." Julian changed the subject. "Mariah, happy wedding."

Happy wedding, Chris.

When I said this to Chris, he said: "Mariah Jennings," Chris looked into my eyes, "Our first decade down, here’s to the next."

I had imagined countless times that my ending would be being cast out for repeatedly doing bad things. But I never expected that in the end, I would embrace the purest love and prepare for our eleventh year with Chris—wondering, just a little, what the future might bring.