This novel is so motivational — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00I overslept by 6 hours on my wedding
2. 0:01day. When I finally arrived, my fiance
3. 0:03had already married her ex. Yvonne just
4. 0:04smiled and came clean. I was the one who
5. 0:06drugged you. Tony wanted a wedding
6. 0:07ceremony. It's not a big deal, so I gave
7. 0:09him one. Everyone expected me to lose my
8. 0:10mind. Instead, I almost laughed because
9. 0:12my ex had once made me a promise. If you
10. 0:14ever marry another woman, I'll show up
11. 0:15in a wedding dress and steal you away. I
12. 0:17didn't stick around. I went home. My
13. 0:19neighbor did a double take. Jared, why
14. 0:20are you home? Wasn't your wedding today?
15. 0:22I've been planning that wedding forever.
16. 0:23Everyone knew. So, yeah, getting ditched
17. 0:25at the last second, not exactly easy to
18. 0:26hide. I didn't stop unlocking the door.
19. 0:28We're not getting married. She's busy.
20. 0:29Busy giving her ex a wedding. Pity
21. 0:31flickered across my neighbor's face, but
22. 0:32she was nice enough not to ask. I shut
23. 0:34the door and rushed to the bathroom. The
24. 0:35second I opened my mouth, I puked hard.
25. 0:37When there was nothing left, I slumped
26. 0:38onto the floor. Sleeping pills hit me
27. 0:40badly. Yvonne knew that. She gave them
28. 0:41to me anyway. Honestly, waking up at all
29. 0:43was pure luck. As I got up to rinse my
30. 0:45mouth, my phone suddenly blew up with
31. 0:46notifications. It was a group chat
32. 0:48Yvonne and I were both in. Yvonne's
33. 0:49unreal. Did you guys see that? Jared
34. 0:51showed up and didn't say a word.
35. 0:52Seriously, how did she tame him? Dude's
36. 0:54way too obedient. That's a
37. 0:55one-in-a-million find. Jared's an
38. 0:56orphan. Yvonne's rich, gorgeous, and way
39. 0:58out of his league. What's he going to
40. 0:59say? The chat exploded with laughing
41. 1:01emojis. Then someone asked, "Think
42. 1:02Yvonne's going home tonight?" The
43. 1:03replies rolled in instantly. "Are you
44. 1:05stupid? Of course not. It's her wedding
45. 1:06night. Figure it out." One crude joke
46. 1:08after another flooded the chat. Then one
47. 1:10of Yvonne's friends suddenly freaked
48. 1:11out. "You idiots are drunk. Wrong group.
49. 1:13Jared's in here, too. Delete those
50. 1:14messages." The chat instantly turned
51. 1:16into chaos, but most of the messages
52. 1:17were already stuck there. Someone
53. 1:19thought it was funny and replied, "So
54. 1:20what if he sees them? You think he'd
55. 1:21actually say anything?" I didn't react.
56. 1:23I got up and made myself something to
57. 1:24eat. Right after my last bite, the front
58. 1:26door swung open. Yvonne stumbled in
59. 1:28reeking of booze. When I didn't rush
60. 1:29over like usual, she gave a soft laugh.
61. 1:31Then she came up behind me and wrapped
62. 1:33her arms around me. It was just a
63. 1:34wedding. It's not that serious. Just
64. 1:35public humiliation in front of everyone.
65. 1:37Right. I stood up with my plate and
66. 1:38stepped out of her arms heading for the
67. 1:40kitchen. Yvonne followed. Something cold
68. 1:42brushed my wrist. I looked down. A man's
69. 1:44bracelet. as hell. One of Tony's
70. 1:45favorites. Thanks. I said it while
71. 1:47washing the dishes. Yvonne relaxed and
72. 1:49leaned in. I stepped aside and put the
73. 1:50plate away. Then I smiled. You forgot.
74. 1:52I'm allergic to alcohol. Yvonne frowned
75. 1:54watching me like she had something to
76. 1:55say. Then her phone rang. Tony. Her face
77. 1:57lit up instantly. She answered and
78. 1:59headed for the study. Click. The door
79. 2:00locked behind her. I dried my hands and
80. 2:02my phone rang, too. Monday morning.
81. 2:04Let's get the marriage license. I
82. 2:05replied, "Okay." Then I went to the
83. 2:06bedroom to pack. In the closet, I found
84. 2:08a shirt that wasn't mine. Wrinkled,
85. 2:10crumpled, like someone had shoved it in
86. 2:11there fast. A closer look showed dried
87. 2:13stains on the fabric. The door creaked.
88. 2:15Yvonne walked in. The second she saw my
89. 2:16red eyes, she knew. She calmly took the
90. 2:18shirt from me. "Maybe Ava or one of the
91. 2:20girls left it here when they brought
92. 2:21their boyfriends over." I lowered my
93. 2:22head, hands shaking. Not from sadness,
94. 2:24from disgust. Yvonne clearly got the
95. 2:26wrong idea. She lifted a hand and
96. 2:27brushed my cheek, almost compulsively.
97. 2:29"Jared, know what I like most about
98. 2:30you?" Before I could answer, she
99. 2:32answered herself. "Obedient." I'd heard
100. 2:33that word more times than I could count.
101. 2:35Obedient, reasonable, well-behaved, like
102. 2:37a cat, like a dog, anything but a
103. 2:38person. Tony's in the past. I gave him
104. 2:40the wedding as a way to make it up to
105. 2:41him. Don't overthink it." She patted my
106. 2:43head like I was a pet.