When He Delayed Our Wedding, I Called Another Groom

Chapter 2

Julian frowned, irritated.

Then Stella cried out.

The next second, the rosary snapped completely in her hands. The beads scattered across the floor.

One of the beads even rolled into the gap beneath the flower stand.

Stella's eyes immediately welled up.

She crouched down and searched the tiled floor in a panic.

"How did it break again? I was almost done. Julian, help me. We have to find the one that rolled under the flower stand. None of the beads can be missing."

Julian was just about to bend down when the bridesmaid finally snapped.

"Stella, are you ever going to be done? Today is Willa and Julian's wedding, not your personal show!"

Stella froze.

She looked up in tears.

"A show? How can you say that about me? I prayed for this rosary until my knees were bruised, all so they could grow old together."

Biting her lip, she looked at me with a wounded expression.

"Willa, I'm truly doing this for you two. Is it wrong for me to want your marriage to be happy?"

Even the guests nearby could no longer stand by in silence.

Someone tried to persuade her. "Stella, why don't you stop looking for it for now? You can find it after the ceremony. There really isn't enough time."

Stella shook her head.

"How can it be the same? The rosary has to be worn on the wedding day so it can bless their marriage. What if their marriage runs into trouble later because they don't wear it?"

As she spoke, tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I only wanted to bring them good luck. Why does everyone think I'm trying to cause trouble?"

That was enough to make Julian's face darken completely.

He stepped in front of Stella and looked at everyone.

"Enough. Stella means well. Do you all have to be so hard on her?"

Then he turned to me, his tone softening slightly.

"Willa, don't make a fuss. Wait another 2 minutes. Once Stella reties the knot, we'll go in."

"Julian, do you remember our previous weddings?"

He paused.

I continued, "At the last one, we were supposed to enter at 11. But Stella said her ex-boyfriend was outside her house, blocking the door, and that she was terrified.

"You asked me to wait 10 minutes.

"In the end, I stood in my wedding shoes from morning until noon, only for you to text me that things still weren't settled on her end and that the wedding had to be postponed."

Julian's expression shifted slightly as he explained, "That was different. Her ex really was causing trouble."

"At the first wedding, she had a depressive episode, and you left me behind to rush to Willowbrook Counseling Center. But you could have called emergency services. An ambulance would have arrived within 10 minutes. You didn't have to go yourself."

He said nothing.

"The second time, a pipe burst in her home. You could have called building management. One phone call would have solved it.

"The third time, her ex-boyfriend blocked her door. You could have called the police—it would have taken 3 minutes.

"But you didn't. Every time, you went to help her yourself. And every time, you left me behind."

With every word I spoke, Julian's face grew darker.

But Stella began to cry.

"Willa, are you bringing up every single one of those things because you blame me?

"But those were all accidents. There was nothing I could do."

It was 11:51.

"Go ahead and keep tying it. I won't rush you anymore. But today, I will get married."