I looked at our bedroom. My amazing wife
was in there. The past didn’t matter, it was
my present that I was living. I didn’t mind.
6.
Sarah and I started planning the wedding. We
went to look at dresses and suits and had to
keep rejecting Tiffany’s calls. But she
wouldn’t stop texting, always with these long,
rambling messages. She used to go a whole
month without texting me.
“Tao, I didn’t say you could leave! You’re
going to regret this! What are you even
doing? You never took this long to respond
before.”
My phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. I grabbed it in the dressing room and replied, “I’m helping
Sarah with her wedding dress. Stop it.”
My phone went silent for a second, then went
ballistic again. It wouldn’t stop ringing, like
<
she had gone completely nuts. I finally had to
answer it, “Tiffany, if you keep this up, we
won’t even be friends.”
She acted like I hadn’t said anything. “What’s
so great about her?” she demanded. “Tao,
being married and dating are two totally
different things!” She took a deep breath.
“Tao, just listen to me. Do your parents even
approve of this marriage? Just wait for me to come back and I’ll talk to them…”
I just cut her off, “Tiffany, just stop.” I continued, “Tiffany, I’m really getting married. We grew up together. We understand each
other. We are perfect for each other.”
Tiffany started to say something, but I cut her off again, “If you do this, Chad is going to be
upset.‘
<
She went quiet, her breathing became heavy
and uneven. I sighed, “I told you I grew up in
an orphanage. I don’t have parents. Why can’t
you remember this?” Then, I hung up. Tiffany
didn’t call back.
Meanwhile, Sarah waited patiently outside the
dressing room, not even questioning why I
was taking so long. When I finally walked out,
she just held me for a long time, “I love you,
Tao.”
I hugged her back tightly. “Thank you for
being you.”
We had both grown up in the same
orphanage. We knew what it was like to hold
on to the little things in life. It was nothing
like Tiffany, a rich spoiled girl. It was
inevitable that she’d freak out if her ex was
L
about to get married. I was sure with enough
time, she would move on.
7.
I had completely underestimated Tiffany’s
ability to cope. A few days later, the night
before our wedding, Tiffany called again, drunk. “Tao, you’re really something.” I was
about to block her when she spoke again, her voice low and hoarse. “I should have just
looked at a picture of her back then. If I had
just looked, I’d have known something was
up.” Her voice was full of hurt and anger.
“But I didn’t! I even brought her back from the
warzone, nursed her back to health, and
handed her over to you myself. How did I
never just look at a picture? I made my own
enemy.”
<
She was shaking with rage. She lowered her
voice, trying to control her emotions, but she
couldn’t stop her voice from trembling. “Tao,
are you using me as a substitute?”
I went silent. And so did she. Finally, she
yelled, “Answer me! Why won’t you say
anything?!”
Then I thought about the past. Chad had been
seeing another girl. So Tiffany had put a
photo of me on her Instagram. I was wearing
the designer clothes that Chad wanted. It was
the only time I had worn any of her gifts. She
had made me wear it that day, and had taken
a picture. That was the first time she had ever
posted about me. Lots of people had liked it,
and lots of her friends were asking who I was.
Tiffany pulled me close to show me and
called me “honey, they are asking who you
く
are.” She had said, “I told them you are my
husband, they’re so jealous.” She wrapped her
fingers in her hair, her mood changed
instantly. I glanced over and saw Chad had
commented, “I want to check out this
concert, wanna come?” A second later,
Tiffany’s hand was shaking. She suddenly took out a credit card. “Let’s go buy some
new shoes,” and stood up and headed for the
door. I reached out and grabbed her sleeve, without thinking, “Tiffany, just stay in, okay?”