< (Fading New Happiness) Chapter 1: C….
“Finding New Happiness) Chapter 1: Cancel the Wedding.
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On the thirty–third day of being ghosted by my fiancee, Bryce Miller, I called off the wedding I’d been expecting for five years. At that time, he was still off in some secluded Buddhist monastery, trying to help his depressed girlfriend, Bella, to find peace. To shield her from the prying eyes and judgement of the outside world, he even shut down the temple, which had usually been bustling with pilgrims, for six months.
When I finally managed to track him down, trekking a thousand miles and scaling that mountain in the dead of winter, what I found was a couple blissfully detached from the chaos of life, hand hand, planting irises in a barren landscape. To avoid any confrontation that might trigger Bella’s fragile mental state, on a frigid winter night, I was unceremoniously kicked down the mountain by Bryce’s bodyguard, my stomach issues flaring up, nearly freezing me to death.
Then, when spring finally arrived, Then, when spring finally arrived, Bryce brought Bella back down. The living room and the wedding suite were overflowing with irises he had arranged. But little did he know, this time, I was set to marry someone else.
While trying on wedding dresses in the store, I unexpectedly ran into Bryce, someone I hadn’t seen in six months.
“Miss Smith, your fair skin makes this gown look like it was tailor–made just for you,” one of the saleswomen gushed.“On your wedding day, you’ll be the most beautiful, the happiest bride in the world!”
The two sales associates buzzed around me, practically urging me to commit to the dress on the spot. But my gaze was fixed on the reflection of Bryce in the mirror, and I found myself momentarily lost in thought.
you
“What are you thinking? If
like it, get
it.” he said, casually stepping closer to me, raising an eyebrow as he took in my entire appearance.“You’ve always had great taste, it really suits
you.”
“Why did you come here alone?” he continued.“I happen to be free today; we could go get the marriage certificate this afternoon.”
As he moved to embrace me, I instinctively sidestepped, my eyes locking onto his.
He had been gone for half a year, but acted like nothing had happened. Did he really think I’d still be waiting for him? After my trip to the temple, I’d called off the wedding. According to the original plan, next Saturday was supposed to be my wedding day with Bryce. But now, the wedding was still on the books. The person I was meant to marry was no longer him.
Yet, it seemed he was blissfully unaware of all this.
The saleswomen, eyes widening at his presence, shifted their focus.“Sir, you must be Miss Smith’s fiancee? The dress she’s trying on is a new custom piece from our store, one of a kind in the entire world. How about we go with this one?”
Bryce calmly pulled out a platinum card to pay. I took a deep breath, about to explain my relationship with him to the saleswomen, when my gaze fell upon his wrist – a string of sandalwood prayer beads.
Yesterday, Bella had made a grand announcement of her comeback on social media. In the selfie she posted, she was wearing the same type of prayer beads. This sparked a frenzy of speculation among her fans. Bella, didn’t respond, but she did like and pin a comment that read, “These prayer beads are exclusive to that temple; I think I’ve figured something out.”
That comment led eagle–eyed internet sleuths to dig up photos of the two of them descending
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Fpting New Happiness) Chapter 1: C…
the mountain together. Even though only Bryce’s back was visible, his unique license plate and limited–edition luxury car made the news blow up within half an hour. But soon after, Bella quickly deleted the post, the related trending topics vanished. Yet, the chatter about “the top–tier starlet about to enter a wealthy family” never ceased.
I thought back to six months ago when Bryce suddenly vanished and blocked me. The paparazzi, having caught wind of something, camped out at my doorstep daily, trying to squeeze out “marital discord” stories, turning me into a topic of gossip and ridicule in the industry. Yet, I couldn’t find a trace of him. I swallowed the bitter taste of betrayal. But thankfully, there was no future for us.
No, thank you.” I said firmly.“I don’t really like this one.”
He barely registered my words, his eyes glued to his constantly buzzing phone.“If you don’t like this one, just try some more.” His distracted demeanor clearly indicated it was Bella calling. “Answer it.” I said, surprisingly calmly.“It might be important.”
Bryce seemed taken aback by my generosity. Who would have believed that six months ago, even the mention of Bella’s name would have sparked a furious fight between us?
L
