Chapter 1

The night before our wedding, the planner suggested using AI to generate a personalized set of vows.

He said that all it needed was ten years' worth of chat history between Lawrence Croft and me, and it would write vows that understood us better than anyone.

I had been looking forward to it. Because over those ten years, I had written more than three thousand unsent notes.

Notes about the cities I wanted to visit with him, the flowers I dreamed of growing, and the words I hoped to say on our wedding day.

But when the screen lit up, the first line the AI read was, "Lawrence, thank you for always making me the most important person in your life."

The signature at the bottom was Sienna Vane.

Lawrence's childhood friend. The woman who, at every gathering over the years, had always been seated on his right.

The room fell silent.

With reddened eyes, Sienna hurried to explain, "I was just worried your wedding would feel too quiet, so I added a little of my chat history with Lawrence."

Lawrence frowned and looked at me. "AI doesn't understand things like this. Don't take a machine so seriously."

I did not say a word.

Then the planner quietly asked him, "Mr. Croft… should I restore Ms. Lind's notes? You said they were too personal for the wedding, so I deleted them."

A smile slowly spread across my face.

So the love I had hidden for ten years had not even been worthy of being read aloud in his eyes.

I slipped off my engagement ring and canceled the wedding livestream.

I no longer wanted a love story trained on someone else.

Chapter 1 The Vows That Weren't Mine

The diamond ring rolled across the table before Lawrence caught it with his hand.

He stared at me, his expression dark. "Jasmine, the wedding's tomorrow. Are you trying to embarrass both families by shutting off the livestream now?"

Sienna stood behind him, tears clinging to her lashes.

Her voice trembled. "Jasmine, this is all my fault. I just thought the ten years you and Lawrence shared were too important. If the AI only looked at your messages as a couple, the vows might've felt too shallow.

"I grew up with Lawrence. I know so much about his past, so I only wanted to help fill in the gaps."

Fill in the gaps.

What a beautiful way to put it.

As if the past ten years Lawrence and I had shared were somehow incomplete without her.

The AI kept reading, "Lawrence, I know you hate letting people see you at your lowest. So, every time you couldn't hold on, I was willing to stand in front of you."

The name beneath the words was still Sienna.

I stared at those words, my heart sinking a little deeper with every second.

Six years ago, Lawrence's startup had failed. One of his business partners cornered him outside his office and dumped a bucket of red paint all over him.

I had stepped in front of him.

I was the one who got shoved into the glass doors and ended up needing seven stitches in my arm.

That night, I wrote in my phone's notes, "Lawrence, I know you hate letting people see you at your lowest. It's okay. I'll stand in front of you."

I never showed it to him. And now those words, read aloud by the AI, belonged to Sienna.

I lowered my eyes to the ring on the table.

Lawrence had bought it for me when he was nineteen, after saving an entire month's living expenses.

When he paid for it, he came up twenty dollars short.

I dug through the pocket of my school uniform and covered the difference with my spare change.

His ears had turned bright red, but he still slipped the ring onto my finger with complete sincerity. "I can't give you the best right now. But one day, I'll make it up to you."

I believed him for ten years.

In the end, I was the one who became too old and inconvenient to put on display.

Lawrence stepped forward and wrapped his hand around my wrist.

"Jas, I just don't want the guests hearing all of that. It's enough that we know what happened. We don't need to lay everything out for everyone else."

His voice softened, the way it always had when he was trying to calm me down. "Tomorrow, I won't use the AI. I'll read my vows to you myself. Okay?"

I looked at him.

There was panic in his eyes. And there was humiliation too. The humiliation of someone who did not want the truth exposed.

Sienna suddenly spoke. "Jasmine, love isn't about keeping score. Lawrence is already giving you a wedding. Why do you still have to humiliate him in front of everyone?"

Lawrence's grip on my wrist loosened ever so slightly.

I smiled. "So I wasn't supposed to remember?"

Lawrence closed his eyes for a moment, exhaustion creeping into his voice. "Jas, let's stop here for tonight. There'll be so many people here tomorrow. Don't turn the wedding into a spectacle."

When he finished speaking, he picked up the ring and slipped it back onto my finger.

When I did not resist, relief flashed across his face.

Just then, Sienna suddenly clutched her chest.

Lawrence immediately turned and caught her before she could stumble. "Where's your medicine?"

Sienna shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I shouldn't have come."

Lawrence shot me a vicious glare before helping Sienna toward the lounge.

He did not leave a single word for me.

I curled my fingers into a fist.

The old silver ring, polished until it shone again, dug into my palm. The pain felt almost sharp enough to pierce through my skin.

On the giant screen, the AI read the final unfinished vow. "If the day ever comes when you finally marry me, I hope you won't resent how hard these past ten years have been for me."

Chapter 2 Erased From My Own Story

After Lawrence escorted Sienna to the lounge, I returned to the wedding prep room alone.

The hallway was lined with tomorrow's flowers. Bouquets of white roses were stacked neatly against the walls, their fragrance so heavy it was almost suffocating.

The staff smiled politely as they passed me.

Every one of them thought I was the happiest bride in the world.

Only I knew that just moments ago, outside the ballroom, I had watched my fiance carry another woman away in his arms.

The wedding planner spotted me and quickly turned his laptop toward me. "Ms. Lind, could you take a look? Should we still use these?"

On the screen were the wedding photos I had submitted the night before.

When Lawrence was nineteen, he had ridden an old bicycle with me on the back so we could watch fireworks by the river.

The wind had been fierce that night. He had draped his jacket over my shoulders and smiled. "One day I'll give you the biggest wedding you've ever seen."

When we were twenty-two, his startup failed, and I sat beside him in a basement apartment eating instant noodles.

There was only one cup, so we split it between us.

His eyes had turned red as he said, "Jas, just wait until I get back on my feet."

When he was twenty-five, he landed his first round of funding. He had wrapped me in his arms inside our tiny apartment and spun me around again and again.

He held me so tightly, as if he had finally grabbed hold of his future and of me.

I had spent an entire month organizing those photos.

Behind every one of them, I had added notes.

I was afraid the AI would not recognize when each picture had been taken. I was afraid the planner would not understand what those old photos meant.

So, I had explained every single one. But now, every photo had a new caption beside it.

"Sienna stood by Lawrence through his lowest point."

"Sienna witnessed Lawrence's first success."

"Sienna understood every side of Lawrence he never wanted anyone else to see."

I stared at those words, my fingers frozen on the mouse.

My youth. My tears. My loyalty. The years I spent waiting for him.

Someone had peeled my name off all of it and casually replaced it with Sienna's.

The planner lowered his voice. "Ms. Vane said she understood Mr. Croft's personal journey better, so she helped rewrite the copy. Mr. Croft already approved her version."

My heart sank.

I could not believe the man I had loved for ten years would betray me.

What was even crueler was how effortlessly he did it. As if he had only swapped out a narrator. As if he had only edited a few lines of copy.

Just then, Lawrence's voice came from the doorway. "Jas."

Without turning around, I pointed at the screen. "So this is the AI's fault too?"

Lawrence glanced at it, his tone calm. "It's just a presentation. Sienna has worked in branding for years. She knows how to tell a story."

I looked at him. "So my story has to be told by her?"

He frowned. "Why do you always make everything sound so ugly? The wedding is for the guests. This isn't the time to obsess over little details."

I let out a quiet laugh. So, ten years of standing by his side had become "little details."

Lawrence held out a document. "Sign it."

I looked down.

It was an authorization form allowing the wedding AI to use our materials.

The names listed as the rights holders were mine and Sienna's. And my three thousand journal entries had been categorized as "Shared Emotional Materials."

"Shared?" My grip tightened around the papers, my voice trembling. "Lawrence, when did the things I wrote for you become shared?"

A flicker of impatience crossed his face. "That's just how the software categorizes them. The wedding cannot have any more problems tomorrow. Once you sign it, the planners can keep working."

I didn't move.

Lawrence lowered his voice. "Jasmine, don't embarrass me in front of the staff."

Embarrass him. Again.

When Sienna cried in front of the guests, she was the one who had been wronged. When he abandoned me in front of everyone, it was understandable.

But when I wanted to reclaim my own memories, I was embarrassing him.

I had loved him for ten years.

In the end, even refusing to give away my own memories had become something that embarrassed him.

Lawrence placed the pen in my hand. "Jas, sign it. After the wedding, I'll make it up to you."

I looked at him.

A long time passed before I lowered my head and signed my name.

As the pen slid across the paper, I suddenly remembered the nineteen-year-old Lawrence.

Back then, he was too broke to buy me a decent ring. Yet he had held my hand and promised, "Every important moment in my life, you'll be the one standing beside me."

His important moments were still here. The only thing that had changed was the person standing beside him.

After I signed, I pushed the document back to him.

Not because I had accepted it. Because I wanted to see just how far he was willing to push me aside.

A few seconds later, the ballroom rehearsal began.

The giant screen lit up automatically. The lights dimmed, and the music slowly filled the room.

The AI read in a gentle voice, "Lawrence, thank goodness I've been by your side every step of the way."

But the screen showed a photo of Sienna.

She stood beside Lawrence, smiling so naturally, so tenderly, as if she had been the one who had stayed with him through every hardship all those years.

Chapter 3 The Surprise Waiting at the Altar

The next morning, the hairstylist had just finished pinning up my hair when Lawrence arrived.

He rested his hands lightly on my shoulders and looked at me with a gentle smile. "I had them take down the video from last night."

His voice was soft, as if he were afraid of ruining the peace in the room. "I also removed the wedding montage. Today is just about us."

I looked at him through the mirror.

The man reflected there wore the same warm expression he always had whenever he tried to comfort me.

For a second, I almost believed him.

The door suddenly swung open.

Lawrence's mother, Hazel, walked in with Sienna.

Sienna wore a pale ivory bridesmaid dress, and tucked into her hair was a pearl hair clip.

My whole body went rigid.

It was the keepsake my mother had left me.

When I was sixteen, she had been so sick she could not even get out of bed.

Even then, she had smiled and said, "Jas, wear this when you get married. It'll be my way of walking you down the aisle."

Lawrence had been there that day.

He had watched me put the hair clip into my jewelry box, and he had heard every word my mother said.

Now it was in Sienna's hair.

Lawrence's expression darkened instantly. "Who told you to wear that?"

Hazel frowned. "I did."

She looked me straight in the eye, her tone matter-of-fact. "Jas, you're the bride. A veil is all you need. It's just an old hair clip. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?"

I did not even look at Hazel.

I walked straight over to Sienna. "Take it off."

Sienna had already lifted her hand.

But Lawrence stepped forward and caught her wrist. "Don't."

He lowered his head and carefully untangled the strands of hair caught in the clip, one by one.

His movements were unbelievably gentle, gentle enough that it looked like he was afraid of hurting her.

I stood there, suddenly remembering years ago.

The first time I had worn that hair clip for him to see, he had laughed and said, "It's too plain. When we get married, I'll buy you something much more expensive."

So, he remembered that it was not expensive. He just did not remember what it meant to me.

Tears streamed down Sienna's face. "Lawrence, I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't know it belonged to Jasmine's mom."

Lawrence said nothing. He removed the hair clip and handed it to me.

For one brief moment, I really thought he was on my side.

Then Sienna suddenly gasped. The clasp had nicked her fingertip, and a tiny bead of blood appeared. It smeared across one of the pearls, a vivid, glaring red.

Hazel's face was drained of color. "Blood on a wedding day is bad luck."

She snatched the hair clip from my hand and threw it into the nearby trash can.

I rushed over and dug it out.

The moment my fingers touched the cold pearls, I realized I was shaking.

Lawrence's expression shifted when he noticed that the hem of my wedding gown had picked up a little dirt. "The ceremony's about to start. Go change into a clean dress first."

I froze.

Slowly, I looked up at him. "What did you just say?"

His throat tightened. "That's… not what I meant."

The makeup artist asked quietly, "Ms. Lind, would you like to change your gown?"

I lowered my eyes to the smudge on the hem.

It was barely noticeable. But at that moment, it looked exactly like every humiliation I had swallowed over the years.

"Yes."

Lawrence visibly relaxed.

He walked over and wrapped me in a gentle hug. "Jas, just bear with it today. After the wedding, I'll take you to have the hair clip repaired myself. I promise."

There was a knock at the door.

The officiant called from outside, "Mr. Croft, Ms. Lind, the ceremony begins in fifteen minutes."

Lawrence took my hand. "Let's go."

I nodded. "Okay."

Just before I turned away, the tablet on the table suddenly lit up.

The latest version of the ceremony program appeared on the screen.

"1. The Groom's Tribute: Ten Years of Love."

"2. A Childhood Friend's Blessing."

"3. Surprise Segment: An AI Message From the Bride's Mother."

My eyes locked onto the third item. It felt as though an invisible hand had clenched around my heart.

Lawrence followed my gaze, and his face turned ghostly pale.

He reached to turn off the screen. But the officiant's voice had already rung out from outside. "The bride, please prepare to make your entrance."

Chapter 4 I Gave Her the Wedding

By the time the ceremony began, everything looked as if nothing had ever gone wrong.

The giant screen displayed only our wedding photos.

Lawrence stood beneath the flower arch, his eyes rimmed red.

Whispers drifted through the audience.

"Mr. Croft really loves his bride."

"He looks like he's about to cry."

With my father at my side, I walked down the aisle one step at a time.

When I reached Lawrence, the officiant began. "After ten years together, they've finally arrived at this moment. Today, the groom has chosen to speak his vows in his own words."

The room filled with applause.

Lawrence accepted the microphone.

He looked at me, his voice rough with emotion. "Jasmine, I always thought you'd be by my side forever. So I forgot that I could hurt you, too. You're the only woman I ever wanted to marry."

The room fell silent.

The emotion in his eyes did not look fake.

"I was wrong to delete those videos last night. I was afraid everyone would see how much you'd sacrificed for me over the past ten years. I was afraid they'd think I didn't deserve you. Jas, give me one more chance. From now on, I'll never put anyone ahead of you again."

The entire room held its breath.

I looked at the ring in his hand.

For that brief moment, I admitted that I wavered.

I had wasted ten years on Lawrence. Ten years was long enough that even the faintest glimmer of hope could make me hesitate.

Just as the ring was about to touch my finger, the giant screen suddenly changed. An unlisted surprise presentation began to play.

"Jas."

The moment my mother's voice came through the speakers, my whole body stiffened.

She appeared on the screen, sitting in a hospital bed.

"I'm so happy today. Lawrence is a good man. Don't carry everything by yourself anymore. Learn to let other people share your burdens. Like Sienna…"

As soon as she finished the last sentence, the image suddenly froze.

The light faded from my mother's face, little by little.

The next second, the woman on the screen became Sienna.

"Jas, Lawrence asked me to make this video so you could have one less regret on your wedding day. But I'm really so jealous of you. Jealous that you're the one marrying Lawrence. Jealous that you're the one who gets to be his wife. Jealous that your mother can still walk you down the aisle in her own way."

She smiled through her tears.

"Lawrence, congratulations on your wedding. I hope you'll be happy. It doesn't matter that I'm not the bride standing beside you today. If you think of me once in a while someday, don't feel guilty. Because I know the most special place in your heart will always belong to me."

The entire venue fell into stunned silence.

Some of the guests were already wiping away tears.

Hazel's eyes were red as she choked back a sob. "That poor girl… She's always thinking of everyone else."

I clenched my fists and glared at everyone in the room.

How dare she.

A mechanical voice sounded almost immediately. "Surprise uploaded from Sienna's account. Approved by Lawrence. Approval time: 11:47 p.m. last night."

Slowly, I turned to look at Lawrence.

He stood there, frozen.

The ring slipped from his hand and rolled to the hem of my gown.

"Jas…" His voice trembled. "I thought… I thought it was just her way of saying goodbye."

I looked at him. Then I laughed.

"So you knew she was going to say goodbye to her love at my wedding. And you let her do it using my mother's face. You approved it anyway."

The words flew out of Lawrence's mouth before he could stop them. "I just didn't want to humiliate her."

The murmurs in the audience grew louder.

Sienna ran onto the stage in tears. "Jasmine, don't blame Lawrence. I'm the one who couldn't let go. The one Lawrence really loves is you."

Lawrence stepped toward me, reaching for my hand. "Jas, don't listen to her. I'll have her leave right now."

I stepped back before he could touch me.

Then I slowly removed my veil and placed it in his arms. "Lawrence, you wanted to spare her the embarrassment. Fine. I'll help you."

His eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

I bent down, picked up the ring from the floor, and placed it in Sienna's palm. "This wedding… is yours."