The Promise I Never Got

Aria and I had a promise. The day we graduated, we would get married. Wed invite all our friends to witness it.
But on that day, she married her first love instead.
Clutching my chest, I asked her why. Annoyance flashed in her eyes. Marrying Danny was just to fulfill a childhood promise. I'll divorce him in a month. You've waited this long for me, can't you wait one more month?
It was a joke. A cruel, twisted joke.
I had loved her for eight years. In that single moment, the idea of her rotted away in my heart.

1.
I watched Aria and Danny emerge from the courthouse, holding their freshly signed marriage certificate. Their faces were radiant with joy as Aria's friends snapped photos, celebrating.
Danny had the decency to look sheepish. "Asher, you're not mad, are you? It's just for a month. I'll give her back to you, I promise."
Aria tugged on his sleeve, her face a mask of indifference, showing no remorse. "Danny, don't feel guilty. I can marry whomever I want. It's my choice."
The person standing next to her should have been me.
I had loved her for eight years, and we'd been together for four. From the very beginning, shed made a vow: "Asher, the day we graduate, let's get married. It'll be the perfect end to our perfect college life!"
She had been so sure, so sincere.
I had held onto that promise for four years, counting down the days. My friends all knew how much this day meant to me. I'd been eating clean for a month, just to have the perfect skin for our marriage certificate photo.
I arrived at eight o'clock sharp and saw her immediately. She was wearing a flowing white dress, a delicate veil in her hair, her makeup flawless. It was the scene I had replayed in my mind for four years.
But she was with Danny. She had forgotten our promise. On the very day I had yearned for, she gave me a "surprise."
A sharp pain lanced through my chest. I clutched it, my eyes stinging as I looked at her. "Aria, you're my girlfriend. You promised you'd marry me today. I've waited four years for this!"
My voice, usually so steady, broke.
Arias face hardened with impatience. "Marrying Danny was just to fulfill a childhood promise. I'll divorce him in a month. You've waited this long for me, can't you wait one more month?"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was marriage a game to her?
I knew she had a first love, a whirlwind romance from her past. They had promised that the first thing they'd do after getting married was travel the world together. But I thought four years with me had erased him from her heart.
Clearly, I was wrong.

2.
"Come on, Asher, don't be so dramatic," one of Aria's friends chimed in. "She said it's only for a month. Danny's a good friend to all of us. I can vouch that he won't cross any lines with her."
"I can't accept this," I said, my voice hoarse and trembling. I hadn't slept at all the night before, buzzing with anticipation, and now I felt a cold coming on. "Aria, you're my girlfriend. You should be my wife. I don't care if it's a promise you plan to break. I won't accept it."
Rage flared in Aria's eyes. "So you won't listen to reason? I hate it when you're so possessive!"
I knew this tactic. She was trying to bully me into submission. Whenever she didn't like something I did, she'd say things like that, and I would panic, terrified of losing her, and immediately back down.
But not today.
"That's right. I'm possessive," I said, my voice firm. "I can't accept my girlfriend marrying someone else."
Danny looked distressed. "Aria, maybe we should just go back in and get a divorce. Asher seems really upset."
"Forget him," she hissed, her voice low and soothing to him, then turned a venomous glare on me. "Asher, I'm telling you right now, you'll accept this whether you like it or not. I'll divorce him in a month, and that's final."
She took Danny's hand and led him away. As they drove off in her convertible, I saw Danny glance back, a triumphant smirk on his face. Her friends melted away, leaving me alone.
My chest felt tight. What should have been the happiest day of my life was a complete disaster.

3.
I stood there for a long time before I finally left. The drive back felt surreal, like a nightmare. Just yesterday, we were happy, studying in the library. She'd propped her chin on her hands and said, "We're getting married tomorrow. I'm so excited."
I thought she was excited to marry me.
Now I knew the truth.
Back at campus, Aria was in the middle of her graduation photos, proudly waving her marriage certificate.
"I'm married!" she announced to everyone. "Tomorrow, I'm going on a trip around the world with the love of my life. It's the bravest thing I've ever done!"
"Congratulations, Aria! You look so happy," a classmate said. "But where's Asher?"
Everyone knew we were a couple.
Her smile vanished. "Who says I have to marry him? I married the boy I loved when I was younger."
Just then, she saw me. She walked over, her expression cold. "Have you come to your senses?"
I couldn't believe she had the audacity to ask me that. She was the one who broke her promise, who betrayed me.
When I didn't answer, she frowned. "Fine. Stop looking so miserable. I'll marry you as soon as I get back, okay?"
I used to think we were soulmates. That we understood each other, shared the same values. But now I realized we were on completely different paths.
"Aria," I said, looking her straight in the eye, "do you really think you've done nothing wrong?"
Her gaze flickered. "I already explained everything," she snapped. "It's a fake marriage. Can't you just let it go?"
"Fine," I said, nodding. There was no point in arguing. We were speaking different languages.

4.
We didn't speak a word to each other during the rest of the graduation photos. Our classmates kept stealing glances at us, whispering. Before today, we were inseparable, the couple everyone assumed would last forever. But nothing is absolute. Clear water can turn murky, food can spoil, and love... love can rot.
As I walked out of the university gates, I saw Danny waiting with a suitcase. Aria was right behind me, dragging her own. So eager to start their new life together.
My fists clenched, a bitter rage rising in me.
"Don't cause a scene," Aria hissed, bumping into me as she passed. Then her face transformed, a bright smile appearing as she walked toward Danny. "Ready to go?"
Danny hesitated. "But Asher's right here. He looks angry."
"Don't worry about him," she said dismissively. "You and I are married now."
She was right. They were husband and wife. What was I? Just the boyfriend. I had no right to question her anymore.
But I couldn't let her go. Not like this. I walked over, making one last attempt.
"Aria, please don't go." For four years, I'd always been direct with her, wanting to avoid the misunderstandings that plagued characters in novels.
Her face contorted with annoyance. "Are you deaf? I've explained it a dozen times. Why are you being so difficult, Asher? I never realized how insufferable you could be. Get out of my way."
In that moment, something inside me died. The girl who had been my sunshine, my everything, was gone. Replaced by this cruel, rotten stranger.
Before I could say another word, she was gone, leaving with Danny.
A short while later, I saw her post on social media. A photo of a detailed travel itinerary.
The caption read: "Waited four years for this. Planned for four months. Finally fulfilling my childhood dream today."
A tear splashed onto my phone screen. I started to laugh. A hollow, broken sound.
Laughing at myself for four years of foolish hope.

5.
Aria's father called me. He wanted to know if we'd gotten married yet.
I first met Aria at a business gala. She was the daughter of the wealthy Lin family, a slender, poised sixteen-year-old who delivered a speech on behalf of her family's company. I fell for her instantly.
Born into a powerful family, an arranged marriage was my destiny. When my parents told me to choose a bride from a list of eligible heiresses, I chose Aria. We got to know each other, went to the same university, and slowly, a real love grew between us. Our parents knew of our plans to marry after graduation.
"Mr. Lin," I said into the phone, "Aria and I won't be getting married."
"What happened?"
"She married her first love. I'm planning to call off our engagement. I'm very sorry, sir."
He knew who her first love was. He also knew his daughter. After a long pause, he said, "Asher, don't do anything rash. Let me handle this. I'll get you an answer."
After we hung up, I saw Aria was live on social media. She and Danny were embracing on a vast, grassy plain.
"It's so beautiful here," she said to the camera. "You have to come here with the person you love."
Danny was grinning from ear to ear. The sight was a knife in my gut. Aria was supposed to be mine. Now I was just an outsider watching their life unfold.
I spent the night drinking, the memories of our time together replaying in my head. Every moment, every shared laugh, was a part of me, and now I had to carve it all out.
The next morning, my phone shrieked, waking me from a drunken stupor. It was Aria.
"Asher, I can't believe how low you've sunk!" she screamed. "Running to my dad to tattle on me? You're disgusting! But let me tell you, it won't work. Nothing you do will stop my plans with Danny. I wouldn't come back now even if you were dying."
The line went dead before I could respond.
A moment later, a text from an unknown number. "Aria is mine. She'll never love you again."
Attached was a photo of Aria and Danny in matching jackets, kissing at the foot of a snow-capped mountain. I recognized the location immediately. A place I'd always dreamed of visiting.
"Aria," I had told her once, "they say you have to go there with the person you love most in the world. Let's go after we get married."
"Okay," she had agreed.
The memory hit me with the force of a physical blow. The pain in my chest was unbearable.
Maybe we were never meant to be. If that was the case, why was I torturing myself like this?
As the sun rose, I knew I had to move on.
In the days that followed, I battled my grief. While I was wallowing at home, they were watching the Northern Lights. "There's an old legend," she posted, "that any wish made under the aurora will come true. I wished that the boy by my side and I would never be parted."
While I was sleepless with sorrow, they were sharing secrets under the stars. With every new destination, the unknown number would send me photos, rubbing their happiness in my face. I was a rat in the sewer, watching their perfect love story from the shadows.
It was pathetic. Utterly pathetic.
A month later, I finally pulled myself together. I told my parents I was ready to join the family business. I also told them I would marry anyone but Aria. The only constant in the world is change. I should have known that. It was time to build a better version of myself.
Today was my first day taking over the company. I wore a black suit and held a press conference. It was also the day Aria was due back. She called and texted, but I ignored her.
After the press conference, the new fiance my parents had arranged for me was waiting by the door. She was beautiful, and she waved when she saw me. I walked over to greet her. Just as I was about to help her into my car, Aria appeared.
A month hadn't changed her. She was as stunning as ever. But now, her eyes were blazing with a furious, disbelieving rage.
"Asher, I'm your girlfriend! What the hell are you doing?"

6.
"What?" I asked, my voice flat, my expression calm. "Don't you have a husband?"
Her pupils contracted, as if I'd struck her. "I told you I'd divorce him after a month! It's been a month!"
She saw my hand on the other girl's arm and lunged forward, prying us apart. "Don't you touch him! He's my boyfriend!"
The girl I was with was no pushover. She laughed. "Honey, our parents arranged our engagement. Who the hell are you?"
SLAP!
Aria struck her across the face. I moved to intervene, but it was too late. They were already a tangle of flying fists and hair. The end result was both of them in the hospital.
Aria's father rushed in, apologizing profusely. "Asher, I'm so sorry. Aria was completely out of line."
He had always been kind to me, so I just said it was fine.
Aria lay in her hospital bed, her eyes red with fury. "Dad! He's already found a new woman, and you're apologizing to him? You're supposed to be on my side!"
Her father's face darkened. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Where have you been for the past month?"
"I was just fulfilling a promise with Danny!" she snapped.
Just then, the other girl's parents arrived. Seeing the unresolved mess between me and Aria, they quickly called off the engagement.
Aria leaped out of bed and grabbed my shirt, tears streaming down her face. "Asher, you heartless bastard! If I hadn't come back, you would have married her, wouldn't you?"

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