I watched the video until the end.

Khuong Lam walked toward Chu Tuan beneath a shower of flower petals.

She wore the veil I had chosen.

She carried the bouquet I had spent three weeks arranging with the florist.

And when she reached him, Chu Tuan actually extended his hand.

Exactly the way we had rehearsed.

The host laughed.

“Today our bride is especially beautiful!”

Nobody corrected him.

Not Chu Tuan.

Not his parents.

Not one of those friends who had attended our engagement dinner and called me “sister-in-law” to my face.

Khuong Lam covered her mouth, pretending to be embarrassed.

Then the screen filled with comments.

“Perfect match!”

“Finally looks like a real wedding!”

“Brother Tuan should have married Lam Lam years ago!”

I turned off my phone.

For a long time, I just sat there in the hotel room wearing an ordinary white shirt, while the wedding dress lay folded on the chair.

That dress suddenly looked ridiculous.

So did the twelve years I had spent believing Chu Tuan’s promises.

My phone rang again.

His mother.

I almost didn’t answer.

But after six calls, I finally picked up.

Before I could speak, her angry voice exploded through the speaker.

“Chi Tay, where are you?”

“In the hotel.”

“Then come downstairs immediately! There are hundreds of guests waiting.”

I looked at the clock.

The ceremony should already have been halfway finished.

“Auntie, Khuong Lam is already there.”

She fell silent.

Then said impatiently:

“Stop being childish. Lam Lam is only helping you experience the ceremony first. Afterward, you can change back and complete the official part.”

Helping me?

I laughed.

“Using my dress?”

“She wanted to experience everything properly.”

“My bouquet?”

“It’s only flowers.”

“My groom?”

Silence.

Her voice became colder.

“Chi Tay, a woman should know when to stop making trouble.”

There it was.

The same sentence Chu Tuan had repeated for months.

Be understanding.

Be generous.

Don’t embarrass Lam Lam.

She doesn’t want marriage, so let her experience yours.

I suddenly asked:

“If she wanted to experience a honeymoon too, should I give her that?”

“Watch your words!”

“And if she wants to experience being his wife for a year?”

“Enough!”

I closed my eyes.

“I’m not coming.”

“What?”

“The wedding is canceled.”

Her voice sharpened.

“You and Tuan have been together for ten years! Do you think marriage is something you can cancel because of one little argument?”

“No.”

I looked at the wedding dress.

“I canceled it because for the first time in ten years, I finally understood where I rank.”

I hung up.

Ten minutes later, someone hammered on my door.

“Chi Tay!”

Chu Tuan.

I didn’t move.

“Open the door.”

His voice sounded irritated rather than worried.

That hurt less than I expected.

When I finally opened it, he was still wearing his groom’s suit.

There was a red lipstick mark near his collar.

Maybe from the ceremony.

Maybe from Khuong Lam leaning close.

I didn’t ask.

He stepped inside.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“I already told you.”

“Break up?”

He laughed bitterly.

“You seriously abandoned our wedding over a few jokes in a group chat?”

I stared at him.

“That’s what you think happened?”

“Then what?”

“Khuong Lam took my wedding car.”

“She wanted the experience.”

“She wore my dress.”

“You had another dress prepared.”

“She entered the hall beside you.”

“It was symbolic.”

“You let everyone call her your bride.”

Chu Tuan frowned.

“Why are you calculating every little thing?”

Something inside me finally became calm.

“Because every little thing was mine.”

He paused.

I continued.

“You gave them away one by one until there was nothing left for me.”

His expression softened slightly.

“Chi Tay…”

“No.”

I took the room card from the table and placed it in his hand.

“The room is paid until tomorrow.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving.”

“Where?”

“That’s no longer your concern.”

His face darkened.

“Stop acting impulsively.”

I pulled my suitcase upright.

He blocked the door.

“You think ten years can end because you’re angry for one afternoon?”

I looked at him.

“Ten years didn’t end this afternoon.”

I pointed toward the ballroom below.

“They ended every time you chose her and expected me to wait.”

For the first time, Chu Tuan had no immediate response.

Then his phone rang.

Khuong Lam.

He looked at the screen.

And instinctively answered.

That tiny movement told me everything.

Her crying voice came through immediately.

“Brother Tuan, everyone is asking where you went. Uncle and Auntie said the banquet can’t continue without you…”

His expression changed.

He glanced at me.

Then said softly:

“Don’t cry. I’m coming back.”

I smiled.

Chu Tuan froze.

Maybe because he finally realized what he had just done.

He ended the call.

“Chi Tay, wait.”

But I had already walked past him.

The elevator doors opened.

I stepped inside.

Just before they closed, he grabbed the edge.

“I’ll give Lam Lam an explanation.”

“No need.”

“I’ll make her apologize.”

“No need.”

“I’ll cancel the rest of the ceremony.”

I looked at him one last time.

“You still don’t understand.”

The doors began closing.

“I’m not asking you to choose me anymore.”

His face finally changed.

Not irritation.

Fear.

But it was too late.

That night, while Chu Tuan’s family desperately tried to explain to hundreds of guests why the real bride had vanished, I boarded a train to another city.

I turned off my phone.

Changed my number.

And accepted the overseas position I had rejected six months earlier because Chu Tuan said long-distance relationships were “too troublesome.”

Three days later, I was already preparing my documents to leave the country.

Then my former colleague called from an unknown number.

Her first sentence made me stop packing.

“Chi Tay… have you seen what happened to Chu Tuan?”

“No.”

Her voice dropped.

“Khuong Lam posted the entire wedding video online.”

I frowned.

“So?”

“That isn’t the problem.”

She paused.

“Someone uploaded another video from the hotel surveillance system.”

My hand tightened around the phone.

“What video?”

“The one recorded thirty minutes before your wedding.”

I said nothing.

Then she whispered:

“It shows Chu Tuan and Khuong Lam alone inside the bridal dressing room.”

And suddenly, after spending the entire day being told I was too sensitive…

I realized there might have been something far worse happening behind my back than a stolen wedding.
:::