When He Skipped Our Wedding for Blue Tears, I Perished

The day Sophie Shaw discovered the "Blue Tears" cave, I was revising the wedding invitation design. My phone rang. It was Ethan Gray. "I'm taking Sophie to try on wedding dresses tonight, so just handle the guest list however you think is best." After a brief pause, he added, "Oh, and Sophie loves the dress you picked out. She said she wants her brother to see her in it." I stared at my phone, my finger hovering over the screen. That was the main wedding dress I'd designed myself. I'd made the final adjustments just yesterday, because Ethan said, "You've been diving a lot lately. It looks like you lost a little weight. Might need to take in the waist." Turned out I hadn't lost weight at all. He was taking another woman to try it on. My nails dug into my palm, but I barely felt the pain. I replied, "Ethan, that's my wedding dress." And it was our wedding. But Ethan was already impatient. "Calm down, Lena. You know I can never say no to her." Of course, I knew. Sophie's brother, Simon Shaw, was also Ethan's best partner. Three years ago, during an underwater rescue mission, he told Ethan to exit the narrow passage first, then use his own body to block a falling rock. He never made it back to the surface because his tank leaked. Ever since, Sophie had become an inescapable part of Ethan's life. When we went out to eat, Sophie sat next to Ethan. When we took a walk after dinner, it was Sophie whose hand he held. Even when we met his parents, he had to bring her along. Ordering food, Ethan double‑checked with the waiter that nothing had nuts—Sophie was allergic. I sat staring at a table full of spicy dishes I couldn't eat. My mom asked why my taste had changed so much. Ethan, busy putting food on Sophie's plate, left me to swallow all my grievances in silence. Ethan always wore his guilt on his sleeve. "Lena, you know, when Simon was alive, his sister was his whole world." "Lena, I think of Sophie as my own sister. Don't make this harder for me, okay?" "Lena, for my sake, just don't pick fights with her." But why did I have to swallow every bit of hurt just to ease his guilt? I put down the design draft, feeling nothing but absurdity. When I spoke, my voice was thick with bitterness. "So what? Because you can't say no to her, do I have to keep getting hurt? Ethan, we've been together for almost seven years. What have I even been to you all this time? She wants to try on a wedding dress? Fine, over my dead body. Then you might as well marry someone else!" Ethan's voice turned cold. "Lena, I need you to be reasonable. It's just a dress fitting. And don't forget, I own half that bridal shop. If you're going to make a big deal out of something this small, then maybe we should postpone the wedding." We left it there, and I thought it was just another argument. But the next day, my mom called. She demanded to know why I hadn't told her the wedding was postponed. My heart seemed to skip a beat. Still, I couldn't quite believe it. "Mom, what are you talking about? Postponed?" She was angry—angry that I was being so careless about marriage. "Ethan called me last night. He said you made a scene over nothing and even talked about canceling the wedding..." I don't remember how I felt at that moment. Suddenly, the whole world went silent. My heart felt like it had been slammed with a hammer. All my love lay shattered. Only then did I truly understand: Ethan and I were really, finally over.