I Called Off the Wedding the Night Before

The wedding prep was going perfectly. That was until my fiance, Sarah, brought her childhood guy friend, Oliver, into our brand new home.

What pushed me entirely over the edge was finding out Oliver spent the night in our custom ordered master bed.

The next morning, Oliver posted a short video that instantly blew up online. The caption was completely sickening.

In the video, he smirked at the camera. "Huge thanks to Sarah for setting this up. This hundred thousand dollar mattress is insane. Especially the vibration feature. George really has a killer eye for this stuff. smirk emoji"

Sarah's comment under his post was basically pouring gasoline on a fire. "If you like it so much, I will make him buy you one too."

Seeing that, I was shaking with pure rage. I called a junk removal company overnight and had that expensive mattress dragged straight to the city dump.

When Sarah found out, she called me immediately. Zero apologies. Instead, she screamed at me. "Are you out of your mind? If you did not want the bed, you should have just given it to Oliver! Throwing it away is such a waste!"

I did not say a single word. I just quietly deleted every single wedding post from my social media.

If she could not even maintain the most basic boundaries, this wedding was off.

But not long after, Sarah was on her knees in front of me, crying her eyes out and begging me to take her back. She swore she could not live without me.

"George, what the hell is your problem?! Why did you delete all the wedding announcements?"

When Sarah finally tracked me down, I was busy directing a crew inside our newly renovated penthouse.

She came in hot, opening her mouth just to scold me.

"Do you have any idea how many people are messaging me right now? Are you intentionally trying to humiliate me?!"

I refused to even look at her. I just motioned to the movers handling the bed frame. "Guys, pick up the pace. Do not worry about scratching the walls. Just get it all out of here."

The movers gave a quick nod and kept working.

Sarah glanced at the busy clean up crew. The realization finally hit her. Every single piece of furniture they were hauling out was something I had spent months tracking down, specifically catered to her tastes.

A flicker of genuine panic crossed her face, but she quickly forced it down.

"George, why are you having them move all this stuff?"

I finally turned around, locking eyes with her. My voice was dead.

"I am canceling the wedding. Is that not obvious enough for you?"

Her eyes widened. She finally realized I was completely serious. When she spoke again, her tone was significantly softer.

"I know you are mad. But I can explain this. Absolutely nothing happened between Oliver and me! He was literally just testing the mattress for us!"

Thinking about that disgusting video still trending online, I let out a harsh, bitter laugh.

"Yeah, people who know the truth think he was just sleeping on the bed. Everyone else on the internet thinks he was sleeping with you!"

"The entire comment section is mocking me for being so generous. They are saying if I let another guy test out my wedding bed, I probably let him test out the bride too!"

Sarah stayed silent for a long moment. When she finally answered, it was just a lazy excuse.

"Oliver did not do it on purpose. Stop caring so much about what random people online think. The internet will forget about it by tomorrow. If it really bothers you that much, I will just tell him to delete the video. Okay?"

Watching her act like she was making some massive sacrifice, I scoffed out loud.

"You think deleting a video fixes this? Sarah, listen to me. This is not over."

Her temper flared right back up.

"George, are you ever going to drop this? Nothing I do is good enough for you! We are supposed to get married in a few weeks. Can you stop throwing a tantrum over nothing?"

I twitched a tight smile, pointing at my own chest. "I am throwing a tantrum?"

She crossed her arms. "Obviously! How many times do I have to say it? Oliver and I are completely platonic! If I was actually into him, do you honestly think I would be marrying you?"

A sharp pain twisted in my chest. My eyes burned.

"Is that right? So according to your logic, I should be thanking him?!"

"Do you think I am an idiot? If you two really did nothing wrong, then why was the entire set of bedsheets completely replaced this morning?!"

Suddenly, the electronic lock on the front door beeped.

Oliver rushed into the living room and immediately dropped to his knees on the hardwood floor.

"George! I am so sorry! This was all my fault! Please do not be mad at Sarah!"

Before I could say a word, he raised his hand and started violently slapping his own face.

Sarah looked completely heartbroken.

"George, that is enough! Oliver grew up incredibly poor. He got overly excited experiencing a luxury bed for the first time and made a stupid video. You cannot blame him just because it went viral!"

"We are getting married soon. Can you just be the bigger person? It is just a dumb internet trend. Why are you being so petty?"

It was always like this.

No matter how inappropriate or shameless Oliver acted, in her eyes, it was never a big deal.

She unconditionally took his side, completely blind to the pain she was causing me.

If that was how she felt, why did she even agree to be my girlfriend? Why did she agree to marry me?

My chest felt completely hollow.

"Sarah, what the hell am I to you? You even gave Oliver the passcode to our private home. Are you seriously trying to follow the internet comments and make me give up my spot for him?"

She rolled her eyes, looking totally annoyed.

"If you were not the heir to the Kensington empire, no one would even care about our wedding. This whole thing only went viral because of your status! You brought this on yourself!"

"So what you are saying is, because my family has money, I deserve to be publicly humiliated? Sarah, when did you turn into this person?"

Looking at the woman standing in front of me, she felt like a total stranger. I closed my eyes, fighting back the dampness gathering in my lashes.

Noticing the shift in my mood, Sarah bit her lip and reached out to grab my sleeve.

"George, I came here to explain things and figure this out. I do not want to fight with you. Let us just calm down."

I coldly yanked my arm away.

Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

"You always do this! You get mad and refuse to listen to a single word I say! I came here to fix the internet drama, and you just yell at me and threaten to break up! How am I supposed to not get defensive?"

"What exactly do you want me to do to make this go away? Just give me a straight answer!"

I knew at least half her tears were completely fake.

But after three years together, seeing her cry was still my ultimate weakness.

The veins in my forehead throbbed. Finally, I let out a heavy sigh, giving in one last time.

"Fine. Tell Oliver to delete the video and post a public apology. Then we drop it."

I locked my eyes entirely onto hers.

"I am willing to let this slide because of everything we have been through. But Oliver has to leave New York. I will personally find him a job in another state, but you two are cutting all contact."

Sarah was nodding along at first, but the second half of my demand made her freeze.

"He just moved to the city. If you force him to leave, what if something bad happens to him out there?"

I let out a cold scoff and turned toward the door.

"Then we have nothing left to talk about. If you cannot do it, we are done."

Sarah panicked and rushed to block my path. She struggled internally for a few seconds before biting her lip and lowering her head.

"Okay! We will do it your way. I will keep my distance from him. We can move forward with the wedding."

After that, she dragged a very pathetic looking Oliver out of the apartment, claiming she needed to find him a cheap hotel before having him post the apology.

I let them go.

Thinking the nightmare was finally over, I pulled out my phone, ready to draft a new wedding announcement to do some damage control.

I was halfway through typing when a text popped up from one of my buddies.

"Bro, your girl and her friend got entirely wasted at my club. They are practically glued together on the couch. You better come pick her up before this gets worse."

"...Alright, I am on my way."

I forced the words through gritted teeth, swallowing down a tidal wave of fury as I hung up the phone.

I drove like an absolute maniac. By the time I kicked open the doors to the VIP lounge, Oliver and Sarah had basically stripped off half their clothes and were aggressively making out on the leather sofa.

My vision went completely red. I grabbed an ice bucket from the bar, marched over, and violently hurled the freezing water and cubes directly onto them.

"You shameless animals! Keep kissing, I dare you!"

The freezing water jolted them completely awake. They shrieked, scrambling up in a panic.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! What are you doing to my friends?!"

A drunk guy sitting at their table started shouting, heavily swaying as he grabbed an empty beer bottle to swing at me.

Before he could even raise his arm, my bodyguard stepped in, grabbing the guy by the back of his neck and slamming his face directly into a massive fruit platter on the table.

Sarah was shivering violently from the ice. She wiped her eyes, saw it was me, and immediately exploded in anger.

"George, are you psychotic?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Oliver cowered, hiding completely behind Sarah's back like a terrified child.

"L-George. Do not misunderstand. Sarah and I just get a little physical when we drink. It is a habit, we are used to it..."

I let out a dark, furious laugh.

"Sarah, what exactly did you promise me this afternoon? You said you would keep your distance. Is this your version of keeping your distance?!"

Pure rage boiled over. I kicked the heavy glass table, sending it crashing sideways.

"You are practically having sex in the middle of my friend's club! Should I have arrived a little later? Do you guys need me to book you a hotel room?!"

Sarah looked guilty for exactly three seconds before her defense mechanisms kicked in. She lifted her chin, completely unapologetic.

"Oliver is leaving the city tomorrow! It is totally normal for us to grab a few drinks to say goodbye! You go out drinking with your friends all the time. Why is it a crime when I do it?!"

I roared at the top of my lungs.

"I drink with my friends?! Do I make out with my friends?! Do I take my clothes off and roll around on a couch with them?!"

"Do not forget who you are! If my buddy had not ordered his staff to delete the security footage, you and Oliver would be trending on Twitter again by tomorrow morning!"

Sarah glared at me with freezing resentment.

"Who I am? What does that even mean? Does being your fiance mean I lose the basic human right to have a drink with my best friend?!"

"Friend? This is what you call a friend?"

I reached out, grabbed a half naked Oliver by the collar, and violently yanked him out from behind her. My hands were literally shaking with anger.

Oliver immediately dropped to his knees again.

"I am sorry George! I am so sorry! This was all my fault! I pressured Sarah into drinking! Punish me, but please do not be mad at her!"

Before I could blink, he grabbed a heavy glass liquor bottle from the floor and violently smashed it against his own forehead.

Blood instantly poured down his face.

"I know I messed up! I am paying for it right now!"

Sarah looked completely horrified. She dropped down, sobbing hysterically.

"Oliver! Stop hurting yourself! This is not your fault!"

Looking at the two of them crying together on the floor, anyone walking in would think I was the evil villain tearing apart two star crossed lovers.

"Are you done putting on a show?"

I kicked Oliver straight in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards, and ordered my bodyguard to pin him down.

Then I grabbed a heavily swaying Sarah by the wrist and dragged her out to the car.

"This is the absolute last chance you get. When you sober up tomorrow, we are going to have a very serious conversation about whether this wedding is actually happening."

Sarah fought me the entire way, screaming curses and calling me a monster, until the alcohol finally took over and she passed out in the passenger seat.

The very next morning, the absolute first thing she did when she opened her eyes was ask for Oliver.

"George, you bastard! You just left him bleeding in that club?! I have to go find him!"

She grabbed her purse and rushed to the front door. But the second she pulled it open, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

I stood up and walked over.

Oliver was kneeling directly outside my front door. His hair was matted with dried, dark blood. He looked like a literal ghost out of a horror movie.

I closed my eyes. A massive wave of pure, unfiltered exhaustion washed over me.

Oliver's face was completely pale. He forced a weak, tragic smile at Sarah.

"Sarah, I just came to say goodbye. Thank you for taking care of me all these years."

He slowly turned his head to look at me, his voice trembling with fake desperation.

"George, I really know I messed up. I knelt out here all night to reflect on my actions. Please, just forgive her."

Sarah lunged forward, desperately trying to pull him up from the floor. Oliver gripped her arms, shaking his head.

"Sarah, just listen to me. Please treat George well. You guys are getting married. Do not let me ruin things between you."

What an incredibly generous speech.

If a stranger heard this, they would assume he was her loyal boyfriend and I was the abusive millionaire stealing his girl.

He was acting pathetic, but every single word out of his mouth was a calculated flex. He was rubbing it in my face that he was the only man Sarah truly cared about.

And Sarah completely fell for it. She grabbed his arm, trying to drag him toward the elevator.

"Stop talking! I am taking you to the hospital right now!"

Oliver struggled against her grip.

"No, Sarah! Do not treat me this well. I do not want George to misunderstand us again!"

My eyes were dead cold. Before I could even open my mouth, Sarah spun around and delivered a stinging slap directly across my face.

"George! Do I need your permission to take my bleeding friend to the ER now?! He is in this condition because of you! You have the nerve to be jealous?!"

The slap was incredibly heavy. My head actually snapped to the side.

I pressed my tongue against the inside of my aching cheek. A dark, hollow laugh escaped my throat.

"You actually hit me?"

Sarah spat a curse, grabbing her car keys from the console.

"Yeah, I hit you! You think having a little money makes you a god?! Without the Kensington fortune, you are absolutely nothing! Nobody wants to deal with your entitled rich boy temper!"

A flash of smug triumph crossed Oliver's eyes before he went right back to begging.

"George, I promise! As soon as I get checked out, I am leaving the city! You will never have to look at me again!"

"He has no right to kick you out of this city! Do not be scared. I will make sure you stay right by my side!"

Sarah pulled him toward the elevator without giving me a single backward glance.

I stood in the doorway, watching their silhouettes disappear. My heart felt like it was encased in solid ice.

Whatever deep, unforgettable love I used to have for this woman completely died in that exact moment.

I closed my eyes, pulled out my phone, and dialed a number.

If Sarah wanted to choose Oliver over me, then I was done showing mercy.