The Week Before Forever Novel

One week before my wedding with Julian, I told him I wanted to break up.He let out a light chuckle, looking at me like I was a child throwing a tantrum. “Reason?”Before I could answer, the door opened.Emily walked in, dragging a small suitcase.“Julian, I’ve bought the Amtrak tickets… I’m still scared. What if my parents don’t believe you’re my boyfriend?”Julian said nothing, but his gaze shifted back to me.In the past, I would have hysterically demanded to know whose boyfriend he really was.But now, all I felt was endless exhaustion.My voice was calm. “That’s the reason. You go home with her today, and we’re over.”Julian studied me, his brows knitting together.“How many times have you thrown a fit like this? Haven’t I explained already? You know Emily—”“Her family is forcing her to marry a disgusting old man. If you don’t help her, her life will be ruined.”I cut him off, repeating his usual cliché for him.The air froze for a moment.The last trace of warmth in Julian’s eyes turned cold.“Jane, we’ve been together for ten years. You can’t leave me.”“I can give you time to calm down.”Ten years together, from prom to wedding gowns, he was always certain I could never leave him.What he didn’t know was that two months ago, I had already canceled the wedding planner, the venue, and the officiant.And I had already received an offer from a top-tier London law firm, just waiting to leave.…I stood up to go, but Emily grabbed the sleeve of my suit.“Jane, don’t misunderstand. Julian and I are innocent.”Her eyes were red, her expression full of panic.“My family has no connections. I had no choice but to ask Julian for help.”“This means everything to me. I can’t be trapped in that small place forever…”“Please don’t be angry with Julian over this. He’s been helping me make up a backstory and plan everything. He hasn’t slept much lately…”I shook her hand off. “Innocent?”“Innocent, yet you call him at three in the morning, crying that your parents are pressuring you again?”“Innocent, yet when you got dumped and stood in the rain, you made him pick you up and miss the gala we planned?”“Innocent, yet you stay in his architecture studio until midnight every day?”“Innocent, yet you need my fiancé, one week before my wedding, to go home with you and meet your parents?”“Emily, are you missing hands, legs, or a brain?”“Since you know you’re just a scholarship student funded by his mentor, not the real fiancée, don’t you understand the word ‘boundaries’?”Emily froze, tears dropping one by one, her shoulders trembling like leaves in the wind.“Jane.” Julian stood up and pulled her behind him, letting out a sigh.“You know her situation is special. She’s not like you, born with a silver spoon. Can you stop being so mean?”In the quiet café, her suppressed sobbing echoed.Suddenly, everything in front of me felt absurd and ridiculous.I turned around and walked away from the nauseating air.