Running Bride

I’d chased after Ethan Blake for ten years before I finally realized it was pointless. I gave up on him and started dating Aaron Taylor, who'd had a crush on me forever. Aaron lit up the whole city with fireworks the night he proposed, even bought a private island just for the occasion. But then, right before the wedding, he vanished. I finally tracked him down, only to overhear him laughing with some buddies. "I only chased after Hailey Carson to piss off Ethan Blake," he sneered. "Now that I’ve got her, it’s boring." "But I’m not letting her off easy. Think of the humiliation! Skipping out on the wedding? Priceless." So I beat him to it. I was the one who disappeared, leaving him to become the laughingstock of the city. Later, I heard that the proud Taylor boy, with all his family’s resources, turned the whole of New York upside down looking for his runaway bride.

One month before the wedding, Aaron vanished. I searched everywhere, but he was gone. Seven days later, I got a tip that he was in Chicago. I flew there immediately. I finally found him on a yacht. Just as I was about to knock, I heard him scoffing, "I only went after Hailey to get back at Ethan Blake." "Got her, and frankly, it’s dullsville." My hand froze on the door. He didn’t sound drunk; he sounded cold and calculated. Then came the real gut punch: “And, between you and me, once you’ve had her, there’s really nothing special.” A chorus of knowing laughter followed. "You’re the man, Aaron! Bagged yourself the ice queen!" Aaron seemed to relish the praise. He went on, "You wouldn’t believe it. She chased Ethan for years like a lovesick puppy, but she’s surprisingly… vanilla." "Vanilla how?" someone asked. Aaron took a drag of his cigarette. "Vanilla like, sure, I’m her first, but I'm not her first love. She spent ten years pining for Ethan. Who knows if she’s really over him?" "If it wasn’t for the fact that Ethan’s my sworn enemy, and the thought of stealing Hailey away from him was so damn satisfying, I wouldn’t have bothered with the whole ‘devoted, patient lover’ act." Someone quipped, "You’ve been with her for three years, Aaron. Why the sudden existential crisis?" Aaron’s face darkened. "Because I wasted so much damn time on her, that's why. Now I feel like I’ve been played." Another voice chimed in, "Heard she's losing her mind looking for you. You’ve been gone for days. Aren't you worried?" Aaron chuckled, exhaling a plume of smoke. "Nah. Ditching her at the altar? That's the real payoff." There was no guilt in his expression, no remorse, no love. Just… triumph. Like he’d finally gotten his revenge. My nails dug into my palms. My heart felt like it was being pierced with needles. I thought Aaron was my escape, my happy ending. I’d made absolutely sure my feelings for him were genuine before saying yes. He’d been ecstatic, setting off fireworks across the city. After three years together, he proposed with my name spelled out in sky lanterns over a private island he’d bought...