The wedding was 30 hours away. The owner of the pizzeria where it was to be held, Bob Walden, had long since helped me decorate the place the way I wanted it.
When I called him, he cheerily asked whether I wanted to get more flowers to spruce the place further. I smiled bitterly. “I’m canceling the wedding, Mr. Walden.”
He sounded relieved. “That’s great! You’ve finally seen sense. No proper man would make his wife settle for a wedding in a pizzeria in this day and age—he’s just making a fool out of you!
“You’re a wonderful woman, and you deserve a man who’s much better than him. You don’t have to settle for a bastard like him! I can’t believe he said having the wedding here would be memorable. What’s so memorable about it?”
I lowered my head and remembered the video I’d seen last night. The pizzeria was indeed a nostalgic place, but the memories created there didn’t belong to Harold and me. They belonged to him and Ivory.
That was where they’d first met during college. It was also where they’d last seen each other before Ivory had gone abroad. It was a place that was filled with their memories.
Harold wanted to use our wedding to tell Ivory that he’d always had her in his heart. I was nothing but a pawn he could sacrifice in the grand scheme of things.
“Tomorrow’s feast will still be held as planned, Mr. Walden. I just want to change it to a farewell party. Tell the people in the area that I’m treating them to a nice meal,” I said.
“Alright.”
After ending the call, I headed to the hospital again. Even the nurse recognized me.
“Look at the state you’re in—you’re alone, too. Are you single? Do you have any friends who can be here with you?” she asked.
I didn’t know what to say. I looked up and happened to see Harold holding Ivory’s hand as they came out of one of the consultation rooms. He was blowing on a laceration on the back of her hand.
“What would you have done without me watching over you? You can’t care for yourself,” he said.
