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01:23Fiona, I've already made the decision. It will be good for Daphne to stay with us. You two can keep
01:29living close to each other.
01:30I nodded, agreed. It was their home after all. I would never live there. Nolan relaxed. Daphne dabbed at the
01:37corners of her dry eyes and smiled again. I turned back to my packing.
01:40Behind me, Daphne asked, So I really can change the curtains to pale pink? Whatever you like.
01:47That afternoon, I went to the headquarters of the Hayes Group, which Nolan controlled. On paper, the building housed shipping,
01:53hotel, and security companies. Every one in the city knew what it really belonged to.
01:58I packed the access card to the Hayes estate, the key to Nolan's private office, and several files concerning the
02:04family's legitimate businesses that he had asked me to organize. At the reception desk, the woman immediately straightened when she
02:09saw me.
02:10Miss Bennett, shall I notify Don Hayes?
02:12Or I placed the bag on the desk.
02:13No.
02:14Just give him this.
02:15Then I turned to leave.
02:16As I reached the dark carpeted staircase, Nolan's voice drifted through a half-open door. Two armed guards stood outside,
02:22and I slowed without meaning to.
02:24You want me to take you to your bridal manicure on Saturday?
02:26My fingers stiffened. A moment later, his amused voice carried through the doorway.
02:33Alright, you want to look your best for the wedding, so I'll take you. I'll explain it to Fiona.
02:37I gave a bitter smile. I had already decided to let go. What was I still hoping for?
02:41Before the wedding, Nolan and I had planned to do one thing we had never managed during our relationship. To
02:47watch the sunrise together.
02:48He had been postponing it since winter, always saying he was busy and that we would go next time. At
02:52last we had chosen this Saturday. Now he had postponed it again. But this time, I no longer cared.
02:58I pushed through the glass doors and drove straight back to Hartwell, the small coastal town in Maine where I
03:02had grown up.
03:03The next morning, I was cleaning the house my parents had left behind in Hartwell. Aunt Claire and Uncle Robert
03:08lived nearby, and Claire came over early.
03:11Fiona. Fiona, take a break.
03:12I shook my head and told her I was almost done. Claire took my hand and patted it gently.
03:17All these years, you've always been the one expected to be mature. The one expected to give in. You've suffered
03:23far too much.
03:24She sighed, as if turning over years of memories in her mind.
03:27Daphne may have been adopted by your parents, but you always treated her like your own sister. You gave her
03:33everything.
03:35That child never learned when to stop taking. The relatives all knew, but they were afraid you'd feel uncomfortable, so
03:42no one dared say anything.
03:44Now you're both grown, and you're about to start a family of your own. I thought you would finally be
03:50free from taking care of everyone else.
03:52I smiled, but said nothing. After a while, I said,
03:54Aunt Claire, you and Uncle Robert should move in. An empty house doesn't stay in good shape for long. Claire
03:59looked startled.
04:00What do you mean, empty? You'll still come back after you're married?
04:04She smiled.
04:05I know you and Nolan will live at the Hayes Estate, but you'll need somewhere to stay when you visit
04:09us.
04:09I agreed, yet continued insisting that they move in. Claire thought I was only being polite and refused several times.
04:15I did not explain. I only thought that once I left, I might not return for many years.
04:20That evening, Nolan arrived for the pre-wedding family dinner, as arranged.
04:24Three black sedans stopped outside. His guards remained by the entrance, while Daphne stayed at his side like the hostess.
04:29They both looked surprised when they saw me.
04:32Fiona, what are you doing here?
04:33Nolan asked, as if I had no reason to be there.
04:36But I was the bride, and the family dinner had been arranged at my uncle's house.
04:39Wasn't I exactly where I was supposed to be?
04:41Oh, he was probably used to it by now.
04:43Whether I was present did not matter, as long as Daphne was.
04:46Fiona, good. You're here.
04:49Nolan said he was coming to see Uncle Robert, and I had nothing else to do, so I came along.
04:53I said nothing.
04:54Daphne had never liked Hartwell and rarely returned to the seaside town where we had grown up.
04:58I was genuinely surprised she had come so close to the wedding.
05:01Whether she had come for me or for some other reason no longer mattered.
05:04In the living room, Uncle Robert exchanged a few words with Nolan.
05:07Even with Nolan deliberately restraining his presence,
05:09the lieutenant standing behind his shoulder made the small room feel tense.
05:13Daphne sat beside Nolan, poured his coffee, and answered questions for him.
05:16As though she were the woman being introduced to the inner circle of the Hayes family.
05:19I sat there like an unnecessary piece of furniture.
05:22No one spared me a second glance.
05:24I checked my phone.
05:25Nolan had sent a message.
05:27I've been busy with the family and the wedding these past few days, so I neglected you.
05:31But why didn't you tell me you were going back to Hartwell?
05:33Neglected me.
05:34His tone sounded less like an apology,
05:35and more like an accusation that I had behaved irresponsibly by leaving on my own.
05:39He was always active in the group chat, joking with everyone.
05:42He even replied to Daphne between family meetings.
05:44Yet he rarely messaged me privately to ask whether I had eaten,
05:47what I was doing, or whether I was happy.
05:49That was why he did not know I had gone to headquarters.
05:51That was why he did not know I had come home.
05:53He did not know because he had never asked.
05:55My fingers moved.
05:56I know you are busy.
05:57Whatever occupied you no longer had anything to do with me.
06:00When the dinner ended, Robert stood to see them out.
06:02You two shouldn't see each other for the next few days.
06:04Let the anticipation build before the wedding.
06:06Nolan agreed.
06:07Robert turned to me.
06:08Fiona, go back to Boston with them.
06:10Stay in the bridal seat before the wedding so you don't have to travel back and forth.
06:14You can return for the family brunch after.
06:16I wanted to refuse, but when I saw the hope in his eyes, I swallowed the words.
06:20I went back to the old house to collect my suitcase and make sure I had left nothing behind.
06:24But by the time I stepped outside, Nolan's car was already gone.
06:27I stood in the doorway for two seconds.
06:29Then I looked at my phone.
06:30Daphne wanted to check the venue security and setup, so I took her ahead.
06:33I forgot you were still there.
06:34Have the guards drive you back.
06:36Forgotten.
06:36Again.
06:36How many times had Nolan forgotten me now?
06:38I drove away, but I did not return to Boston.
06:41I went somewhere far, far away.
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07:14We're with the Hayes wedding party.
07:16We're here to take the bride to the church.
07:18Nolan gave the room number.
07:19Room 302.
07:20The bride is Fiona Bennett.
07:21The receptionist checked the system.
07:22I'm sorry.
07:23The room was reserved, but Miss Bennett never checked in.
07:26At my final bridal fitting, I stepped out of the dressing room to find my sister Daphne.
07:30Straightening my fiancé Nolan's bow tie, Nolan Hayes, the mafia don feared throughout Boston's
07:36underworld.
07:36I had just opened my mouth to say, I'll do it, when the makeup artist smiled and walked
07:40toward Daphne.
07:41Right this way, bride?
07:42I stopped short.
07:43Nolan did not correct her.
07:45The black-suited guards stationed outside the door kept their eyes forward.
07:48Daphne only smiled shyly and leaned against him.
07:51Meanwhile, Miles, my childhood friend, raised his camera and began taking pictures of him.
07:56I stood frozen like an outsider.
07:58Nearly every photo on Miles' camera was of Daphne and my fiancé.
08:01There wasn't a single shot of me, the actual bride.
08:04Daphne spoke as naturally as though she were the one getting married.
08:08Fiona, bring me that bouquet.
08:11When Nolan noticed I had not moved, he came over and gently took the flowers from my hands.
08:15Those eyes of his, eyes that had terrified countless men across negotiating tables, held
08:20a rare trace of warmth.
08:21Fiona, what are you staring at?
08:23Go choose the invitation design.
08:25I'll come over when we're done with the photos.
08:28Fiona, move a couple of steps to the side.
08:30You're blocking the light.
08:31I moved without a word and stood in the corner.
08:33At that moment, I finally understood how unnecessary I was.
08:37If this wedding had no need for me, then I wouldn't be there.
08:40I quietly picked up my bag from the bench and pushed open the door.
08:43The bell above it chimed once.
08:45No one called after me.
08:46I looked back, Daphne was twirling in front of the mirror while Nolan stood behind her.
08:50Adjusting the bow at her waist, Miles held up his camera.
08:53Yes, yes, that's the angle.
08:56The shutter clicked five or six times in quick succession.
08:59I turned away and walked out of the boutique.
09:01As I got into my car, the two black sedans assigned to protect me fell in behind me without
09:06a sound.
09:07My phone lit up with a message from the wedding planner.
09:09Miss Bennett, the wedding is coming up.
09:12Have you chosen the invitation design?
09:13Before I could answer, another message arrived.
09:16Or you could let your sister choose.
09:19She has excellent taste.
09:20The car was so quiet that I could hear every breath I took, one after another, as though
09:25I were counting something.
09:26What was I counting?
09:27How many times I had been forgotten in this relationship.
09:29I typed three words.
09:31Let her decide.
09:31I meant it.
09:32Let Daphne decide.
09:33Nolan would listen to her in the end anyway.
09:35The reply came almost instantly.
09:37Got it.
09:38I stared at those words and imagined the planner breathing a sigh of relief.
09:41Every decision the bride made was always changed afterward.
09:45They were probably tired of revising the plans over and over.
09:48It was easier to let my sister make the decisions from the start.
09:51Before I could put my phone down, notifications began pouring in.
09:54Miles was uploading photos to the group chat one by one.
09:57I opened one.
09:58His composition was excellent.
09:59The light fell perfectly across their faces.
10:02Nolan stood in a sharply tailored black suit, and the two of them looked like the stars of
10:06a bridal campaign announcing the future wife of the haze dawn.
10:09I had poured everything into this wedding, as though doing so could prove that I was not
10:13always the one who got forgotten.
10:15I never imagined that, in the end, I would still be pushed out of the frame.
10:19My phone lit up, went dark, then lit up again.
10:21Miles kept filling the group chat.
10:23I did not respond.
10:24No one noticed.
10:25I dismissed my escort detail and drove alone to the apartment I had been renting.
10:29A note was stuck to the refrigerator.
10:31Seven days until the wedding.
10:32I peeled it off, crushed it into a ball, and dropped it into the trash.
10:35The next morning, I checked my phone.
10:37The wedding planning group chat showed 99-plus unread messages Daphne had tagged me only once,
10:42in a voice message.
10:44I tapped it.
10:44Fiona, I changed the wedding song.
10:46The song you picked was too groomy.
10:48The wedding should feel lighter.
10:50Nolan replied immediately beneath it.
10:52Agreed.
10:52The original song doesn't suit the occasion.
10:55Half the family will be there.
10:56Choose something lighter.
10:57The original song did not suit the occasion.
10:59I had spent an entire month choosing it.
11:01It was the song my parents had played at their wedding.
11:03Hearing it always made my eyes burn.
11:05They had died far too young, and I had wanted them to be present in some small way.
11:09Nolan knew that so did Daphne, yet they still thought it was too gloomy.
11:13Daphne continued in the chat.
11:15Fiona never likes making decisions.
11:17We can just choose these things for her.
11:19Nolan replied with one word.
11:21Agreed.
11:21I stared at it without moving.
11:23Mass streamed past one after another.
11:25No one noticed that Fiona was in the group chat.
11:28No one noticed that Fiona was silent.
11:30I had no role in my own wedding.
11:31I opened my private conversation with Nolan.
11:34The last exchange was still from yesterday's bridal shoot.
11:37I had written,
11:37I'm a little nervous.
11:39He had replied with a head pad emoji.
11:41After that, nothing.
11:42He had not even messaged me privately after I left early to ask what was wrong.
11:46The only thing he had done was tag me in the group the night before.
11:49What happened?
11:50Did you get so nervous you left early?
11:52No one answered.
11:53No one cared.
11:54Daphne posted a photo with the caption,
11:56Fiona, today's shoot went perfectly.
11:59The dress is officially confirmed.
12:00And just like that, the matter was forgotten.
12:03Then they went back to discussing flowers,
12:05invitations, and the ceremony backdrop.
12:07Suddenly, I realized I was not merely unnecessary.
12:10Being unnecessary would at least mean I had once existed.
12:13I felt as though I had never been there at all.
12:15While I was packing, Daphne suddenly video called me.
12:19Fiona, you're moving way too slowly.
12:21The makeup team still isn't confirmed, so I booked one myself.
12:24I'm testing them out for you first.
12:26I looked at Daphne in front of the mirror and wanted to say something,
12:29but I no longer knew what.
12:30Two weeks earlier, I had told her my friend would personally do my bridal makeup,
12:34but it was as though my wishes never reached her.
12:36She simply made every decision for me.
12:38Had I never confronted them, had I never been unhappy,
12:40had I never stood my ground, I had.
12:42It always ended with the same line.
12:45Fiona, you're more mature than she is.
12:47Don't make a big deal out of this.
12:48Miles had known me longer than anyone, yet he always took her side.
12:52Then Nolan entered my life and pursued me relentlessly.
12:54The man known throughout the underworld for his ruthlessness and decisiveness
12:58would personally drive me home late at night and tell me my quiet,
13:01absent-minded ways were adorable.
13:03I thought he liked me that way.
13:04But after he met Daphne, his preferences seemed to change.
13:07Without realizing it, he began saying that women should be lively and decisive.
13:11One day, I finally said,
13:12Can you stop being so close to Daphne?
13:15You need better boundaries with her.
13:16I thought he would understand.
13:17Instead he laughed, ruffled my hair, and dismissed it.
13:20Boundaries.
13:21Once you marry me, Daphne will be part of the Hayes family too.
13:24Do you expect me to treat her like a stranger?
13:26I fell silent.
13:27Of course I didn't want them at each other's throats.
13:29But the words,
13:30You are more mature, so you should be more understanding,
13:32had weighed on me for years.
13:34For the first time, those words felt heavy enough to suffocate me.
13:37They had forgotten that I was only two years older than she was.
13:40I wanted gifts too.
13:41I wanted someone to ask me,
13:43Do you like this?
13:43But no one ever cared.
13:45I called my landlord and told him I was moving out that day.
13:47I'm moving out today.
13:48Are you sure?
13:50You've lived there more than four years.
13:51Four years.
13:52When Nolan and I first started dating,
13:54he had wanted me to move into the Hayes estate,
13:56a heavily guarded compound where his most trusted family members lived.
14:00Daphne said I should keep some private space before marriage
14:02and suggested I live alone.
14:04So I rented this apartment near the family's downtown headquarters,
14:07hoping I would see Nolan more often.
14:10He agreed,
14:10and every now and then,
14:11he would slip away from his security detail and spend the night.
14:14These rooms had witnessed the sweetness of our early love.
14:17Then the arguments.
14:18The silences,
14:19and the countless times he left in a hurry because of family business.
14:23Yes,
14:24I'm moving today,
14:25but now I had finally reached the end of my patience.
14:28The landlord sighed and told me to leave the keys in the mailbox.
14:31Not long after I hung up,
14:32the door opened from the outside.
14:34Nolan and Daphne walked in,
14:35laughing together.
14:36Daphne glanced back at him with a smile.
14:38You promised that when my lease ends I can stay at your estate for a few weeks after the wedding?
14:44I want the room with the bay window in the east wing,
14:46and I want the curtains changed to pink.
14:48I stood in the middle of the living room,
14:51convinced I had heard her wrong.
14:52She spoke so naturally,
14:54as though she had every right to decide how long she would stay,
14:56and how our future home would be decorated.
14:58Nolan did not object.
14:59He smiled indulgently.
15:01As long as Fiona doesn't mind.
15:02Fiona always takes care of me.
15:04Of course she won't mind.
15:05Something loosened inside my throat.
15:07What if I do mind?
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