Running Bride
I’d chased after Ethan Blake for ten years
before I finally realized it was pointless. I gave
up on him and started dating Aaron Taylor,
who’d had a crush on me forever. Aaron lit up
the whole city with fireworks the night he
proposed, even bought a private island just for
the occasion. But then, right before the
wedding, he vanished. I finally tracked him
down, only to overhear him laughing with some
buddies. “I only chased after Hailey Carson to
piss off Ethan Blake,” he sneered. “Now that
I’ve got her, it’s boring.” “But I’m not letting her
off easy. Think of the humiliation! Skipping out
on the wedding? Priceless.” So I beat him to it. I
was the one who disappeared, leaving him to
become the laughingstock of the city. Later, I
heard that the proud Taylor boy, with all his
family’s resources, turned the whole of New
York upside down looking for his runaway bride.
One month before the wedding, Aaron vanished.
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I searched everywhere, but he was gone. Seven days later, I got a tip that he was in Chicago. I flew there immediately. I finally found him on a yacht. Just as I was about to knock, I heard him scoffing, “I only went after Hailey to get back at
Ethan Blake.” “Got her, and frankly, it’s
dullsville.” My hand froze on the door. He didn’t sound drunk; he sounded cold and calculated. Then came the real gut punch: “And, between you and me, once you’ve had her, there’s really nothing special.” A chorus of knowing laughter
followed. “You’re the man, Aaron! Bagged
yourself the ice queen!” Aaron seemed to relish the praise. He went on, “You wouldn’t believe it.
She chased Ethan for years like a lovesick puppy, but she’s surprisingly… vanilla.” “Vanilla
how?” someone asked. Aaron took a drag of his cigarette. “Vanilla like, sure, I’m her first, but I’m
not her first love. She spent ten years pining for
Ethan. Who knows if she’s really over him?” “If
it wasn’t for the fact that Ethan’s my sworn
enemy, and the thought of stealing Hailey away
from him was so damn satisfying, I wouldn’t
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have bothered with the whole ‘devoted, patient
lover‘ act.” Someone quipped, “You’ve been with her for three years, Aaron. Why the sudden
existential crisis?” Aaron’s face darkened.
“Because I wasted so much damn time on her,
that’s why. Now I feel like I’ve been played.”
Another voice chimed in, “Heard she’s losing
her mind looking for you. You’ve been gone for
days. Aren’t you worried?” Aaron chuckled,
exhaling a plume of smoke. “Nah. Ditching her
at the altar? That’s the real payoff.” There was
no guilt in his expression, no remorse, no love.
Just… triumph. Like he’d finally gotten his
revenge. My nails dug into my palms. My heart
felt like it was being pierced with needles. I
thought Aaron was my escape, my happy
ending. I’d made absolutely sure my feelings for
him were genuine before saying yes. He’d been
ecstatic, setting off fireworks across the city.
After three years together, he proposed with my
name spelled out in sky lanterns over a private
island he’d bought. I thought it was love. I
thought it was romantic. Turns out, it was all a
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