The Day I Stopped Waiting

Before our honeymoon, my husband secretly canceled our tickets behind my back.

He switched to a flight for a solo trip with the girl he grew up with.

He even booked a romantic hotel.

Even his buddies couldn't stand it and tried to talk him out of it:

[Isn't this going too far? Jasmine has been looking forward to this for so long.]

But Frederick just brushed off their advice without a care.

["It's Lily's birthday wishone last solo trip together before the wedding."]

["Jasmine always makes a fuss over these little things. It's getting annoying."]

["This time, it'll teach her a lesson."]

The Lily that Frederick mentioned was the delicate girl he'd known since childhood.

And I was Jasmine, the one who apparently got on everyone's nerves.

I didn't argue or make a scene. I pretended to know nothing.

Quietly, I canceled the honeymoon, bought a one-way ticket to another country.

My phone lagged as the ticket cancellation page kept loading.

Meanwhile, on the pink tablet, the group chat named ["Snow White and Her Seven Dwarves"] kept lighting up with notifications.

I opened the chat. Lily's profile picture immediately dominated the entire screen.

[Princess]: What's your problem?

[Princess]: Every single one of you is taking Jasmine's side. Someone who didn't know better would think you'd all slept with her.

[Princess]: Right, right, it's all my fault.

[Princess]: I'm the bitch. I shouldn't have a birthday, and I definitely shouldn't have wished for Frederick to go on a solo trip with me.

[Princess]: I should be like all of youJasmine's loyal dogs.

[Princess]: You're the real family. I'm just the outsider. Happy now?

Frederick, who'd been radio silent in my messages for two days claiming he was "busy," replied instantly in the group.

He tagged the other six guys with a single [?]

A row of dwarf avatars immediately backpedaled: [Our bad, our bad.]

[It's just a solo trip, isn't it? If Princess Lily asks, forget Frederick going]

[All six of us will tag along as bodyguards.]

Lily cursed them out: [Get lost. Jasmine is your real master.]

Dwarf: [Jasmine? She's nothing. They had a wedding but never registered the marriage.]

[Getting dumped is practically guaranteed at this point.]

I blinked, staring at this chat that was far too lively without me in it.

If Lily hadn't left her tablet in Frederick's car, I wouldn't even have had the privilege of witnessing this joy.

I'd still be foolishly planning our itinerary, excited for our honeymoon.

My phone buzzed. Finally, the cancellation confirmation popped up.

I stared at the empty itinerary, silent for a long moment.

Returning to the main screen, I entered a new destination and made a call.

"Mom, I'll go to Australia with you."

On the other end, Mom immediately sensed something was wrong.

After all, she'd only turned down the opportunity to go abroad because of me.

"Mom, I know you have a lot of questions."

But right now, I didn't have the emotional capacity to explain this sudden turn of events.

"I've already made up my mind. Once I finish work and get my visa, I'll go with you."

"I'll explain everything then."

Mom went silent for a few seconds but ultimately didn't press further.

After hanging up, I collapsed on the couch, trying to calm the emotions surging inside me.

Frederick's buddies were right.

We'd only had a wedding ceremony, never legally registered the marriage. Everything could change easily.

Just like nowI didn't need to wait for him to come home to discuss a divorce.

I suppressed the churning emotions and forced myself to start packing.

In the closet, the neatly pressed matching outfits seemed to mock me with their grins.

I'd designed them myself for our honeymoon photoshoot with Frederick.

I'd stayed up countless nights, revising them over and over, and only received the finished pieces today.

Just half an hour ago, I'd been eagerly waiting for Frederick to come home so we could try them on.

Now, I yanked months of hard work off the hangers and shoved everything into the trash.

By the time I finished packing and wheeled my suitcase out the door, it was already midnight.

The elevator doors opened. A familiar voice echoed down the hallway.

"Frederick, say it!"

"You're a dog!"

"Bark for me!"

Through my blurred, stinging vision, I saw Frederickwho hadn't come home in three dayscarrying Lily on his back.

Her face was flushed red. One hand grabbed his ear while the other pulled at his hair.

She was forcing him to bark like a dog.

Frederick reached up to control Lily's flailing hands. The designer heels hooked on his fingers slipped and clattered to the floor.

The sound echoed. All the lights flicked on.

Frederick saw me. His hand loosened slightly, and Lily slid off his back.

"Lily's drunk," he said with a frown.

Actually, I didn't know why he felt the need to explain.

After all, when he moved in with me, Lily bought the unit right above ours the very next day.

When she showed up at our door with a grin, pulling Frederick into playful roughhousing and declaring,

"I'll always be one step ahead of you, Frederick. I'll always be the woman who matters most to you!" Frederick didn't explain then either.

All he said was, "Jasmine, you know what our relationship is."

After all, they grew up together. Their families had watched them grow up. Once upon a time, they were everyone's dream couple.

Until Frederick changed his mind in college and actively pursued me for three whole years.

He thought that was proof enough of his innocence with Lily.

I'd spiraled countless times beforeworrying, caring, arguing.

But now, whatever happened between them had nothing to do with me anymore.

I glanced away indifferently and simply said, "Yeah, understandable."

Then I started to push my suitcase toward the exit.

It was clearly the answer he wanted, yet Frederick seemed displeased.

He grabbed my wrist. His voice carried a trace of barely concealed mockery.

"What did you say?"

"I said"

I exhaled and looked at Frederick calmly. "We're done. I'm breaking up with you."

The air fell silent for a few seconds.

A low laugh escaped Frederick's throat. "So you're just going to keep making a scene?"

"Besides... Jasmine, don't forgetwe had our wedding just last week."

"Even if you want to throw a tantrum, you should at least say divorce now."

To Frederick, both "breakup" and "divorce" seemed like joke words.

He looked at me lazily, like he was indulging a petulant little girl throwing a tantrum.

I had no intention of arguing with him. I tugged at the corner of my mouth. "Whatever you say."

But I couldn't leave.

A black leather shoe blocked my suitcase. My wrist was gripped tightly. He wouldn't let go.

We'd only been at a standstill for a few seconds when Lily couldn't take it anymore. She stumbled and fell to the side.

Her voice, which had been sweet and coquettish moments ago, turned into a shriek. "Enough! I can't stand you two anymore!"

Frederick instinctively reached out to steady her, but she shoved him away.

"Don't touch me! I really can't take this anymore! Every time she sees me, she threatens to break up, run away, get divorced. What am I, trash? Does she hate me that much?"

"Frederick! Let's end our friendship! I'm sick of living under her scrutiny!"

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have appeared in front of you two. I shouldn't have known you since childhood or grown up with you!"

As she spoke, she frantically started slapping herself.

"I should just die! At least it's better than being treated like this every time!"

The warmth on my wrist disappeared. Frederick lunged forward and grabbed Lily's flailing hands.

He used both hands and feet to forcibly restrain her in his arms, stopping her movements.

It all happened in just a few seconds.

Lily's eyes were bloodshot red. Both sides of her face had swollen up.

Frederick held her face and looked at me with dark, heavy eyes.

"Are you satisfied now?"

It was always like this.

The moment I showed even a hint of resistance, Lily's depression would flare up and she'd start hurting herself.

Couldn't say anything. Couldn't touch her. Couldn't even avoid her.

Before, Frederick would coax me into appeasing her.

"Jasmine, you've had this condition yourself. You know that at times like this, you can only go along with it."

Out of basic human decency, I compromised every time, avoiding confrontation.

But later, I realized something.

Lily's "condition" only flared up when Frederick didn't side with her because of me.

Her so-called depression was just possessiveness in overdrive, forcing him to choose between us.

I looked down at the smug expression on Lily's face.

I nodded. "Yeah, pretty satisfied. You just moved too fast. Didn't hit hard enough."

"Your acting's a bit rough. Work on it next time."

Shock flashed through Lily's eyes. She froze, about to lash out again.

But Frederick beat her to it. He stood up with her in his arms and stepped toward me.

His tall figure loomed over me, casting everything into darkness.

The shoulders that once shielded me from the rain now carried another woman, physically blocking my way out.

"Jasmine, I've been far too lenient with you."

Frederick's voice was low and cold. "Lily, slap her back."