Eighty-Eight Strikes and I'm Out

After our eighty-eighth canceled wedding, I called my business partner.

"I'm taking the Haviana market project."

There was a beat of stunned silence.

"Seriously? That's ten years overseas. You just got married—well, weren't you? Does your husband even know? What about your parents? You always said staying close to them was everything."

I glanced around the empty church and let out a sharp laugh.

"There was no wedding. No husband. And my parents? They've got Cindy. That's all they need."

Another pause. "Alright. Pack your bags. You leave tomorrow."

After the call, I ran a hand down my wedding dress. One last tear slipped out, quiet and pointless.

Cindy had another "episode" today. Claimed she'd off herself. Andrew canceled—again.

I'd looked at him, drained. "It's the eighty-eighth time."

He dropped his head, guilt all over him. "Just a little more time, Viv. She's been off since the accident. I'm scared she'll actually do it. I swear, I'll talk to her. For real this time. Then we'll get married. Promise."

My parents didn't hesitate.

"Vivian, let Andrew go. If Cindy hadn't gotten kidnapped trying to save you, she wouldn't have these breakdowns. Are you really putting a wedding over your sister's life?"

"How could you be so selfish?"

I'd heard it all before.

Used to fight it.

Not this time.

If neither my fiancé nor my parents wanted me around, then fine.

I'd leave.

Another call—Cindy Vallance's classic "I'm-ending-it-all" routine. No shocker, Andrew Todd bailed on our wedding. Again.

I blocked his path, fists clenched around a gown that was supposed to mean something.

"Can't this wait till after? It's the eighty-eighth time."

My throat burned. He sighed, pulled me close.

"Just a little more time, Viv. She's been off since the accident. I'm scared she'll actually do it. I swear, I'll talk to her. For real this time. Then we'll get married. Promise."

That was the eighty-eighth time he said those exact words.

The first eighty-seven? I ate them up like gospel. Told myself love was enough, that delays didn't matter if he still chose me.

The wedding always crashed halfway through. Always pushed back.

We threw ceremony after ceremony, but never made it to "I do."

Cindy always pulled something—car crash, meltdown, suicide threats. Like clockwork.

And Andrew? He always ran to her, magically saving the day.

Wild, right? A girl on the edge—slitting wrists, downing pills, screaming about death—suddenly finds her will to live the second he shows up.

I didn't say a word. Just hugged him back like my life depended on it, hoping he'd stay.

Andrew kept whispering comfort, but Mom jumped in, rushing him.

"Vivian, stop being difficult. Cindy's on the balcony!"

Dad's face turned cold.

"If she hadn't gotten kidnapped trying to save you, she wouldn't be like this. You're selfish enough—now she's hanging on by a thread, and you still can't think past yourself?"

Andrew's phone buzzed. He slipped his hand from mine.

"I have to go, Viv. You get it, right?"

I