Everyone in the room admired the beautiful brides. Mark tried not to look at Lilly, but his eyes kept drifting toward her. Just then, Sara walked over and stood in front of him, unknowingly blocking his view.
Caden, on the other hand, smiled brightly when he saw Lilly. He held out his hand for her to step onto the stage and said, "You look beautiful."
Lilly replied shyly, "Thank you," though she felt nothing at that moment.
Meanwhile, Mark was lost in thought and didn't notice Sara waiting for him to hold her hand. She quickly glanced around, and when she realized no one was paying attention, she stepped onto the stage by herself, thinking maybe he was nervous like her.
The priest began reciting the vows. Lilly kept looking down while holding Caden's hand, while he admired her lovingly. Lilly only wanted the ceremony to end quickly so she could separate herself from Mark.
Mark stared distractedly in another direction, while Sara wanted to look at him but felt too shy. She thought he might already be admiring her, so she avoided eye contact the entire time. She felt nervous yet happy at the same time.
When the priest mentioned the kiss, Mark's attention finally shifted toward Sara. But the moment he saw Caden lean forward to kiss Lilly, a sharp pain spread through his chest. He was too stunned to react. He loosened his grip on Sara's hand when he saw them kiss, but Sara immediately held his hand again and gently pulled him closer.
Mark didn't even realize what was happening. Sara kissed him lightly, but he remained still. He simply wanted the moment to pass.
After the ceremony, everyone sat together with the guests, eating and celebrating. Soon, their families pushed the newlyweds toward the dance floor.
"Do you want to dance?" Caden asked Lilly.
Seeing everyone looking at her expectantly, Lilly couldn't refuse.
"Yes."
Caden gently held her hand and led her to the dance floor. He smoothly pulled her closer, shocking her slightly.
"Look into my eyes," he said softly.
Lilly tried her best to look at him, but the intensity in his gaze made her feel guilty. She still didn't understand why he liked her so much. As she followed his steps, she thought maybe he simply wanted a beautiful trophy wife.
As they danced together, people around them began whispering.
"Look how romantic they are."
"They'll probably have babies soon."
Meanwhile, Sara also wanted to dance. At first, she waited for Mark to ask her, but then she thought, He's an introvert. If he can't ask me, I'll ask him myself.
"Do you want to dance?" she asked.
Mark had been staring at Lilly and Caden while listening to everyone's comments about them. He looked surprised when Sara asked him to dance. Feeling guilty, he thought he should have been the one to ask first.
"I'm sorry," he said immediately. "I should have asked you first. Do you want to dance?"
Sara laughed lightly. "Are you nervous because of me?"
She looked at him confidently, which only made him more anxious.
"No," he replied while avoiding her gaze. "I'm just not good at socializing."
Sara wanted to continue the conversation, afraid the silence between them would return.
"Do you think they look amazing together?" she asked.
"Hm," Mark replied while looking at Lilly and Caden.
"We can dance too," Sara said.
"Sure," Mark replied politely.
He danced with Sara, but he still wouldn't look directly at her.
Trying to pull his attention toward herself, Sara asked, "What do you think? How do I look?"
"What?" Mark asked absentmindedly.
"You're such an introvert," Sara laughed softly. "Nobody can hear us. You can tell me how I look."
"Good," Mark answered.
Sara looked at him in disappointment. "Good?"
Mark immediately realized his mistake. No bride wants to hear only 'good' on her wedding day.
"What I mean is… you look beautiful," he explained quickly.
Before Sara could react, the partners changed in the middle of the dance.
Now Caden danced with Sara playfully. The two of them laughed together like old friends.
At the same time, Mark and Lilly nervously held each other while dancing slowly.
"This is the last time I'm dancing with you," Mark said quietly.
"Yes… the last time," Lilly replied softly.
Everyone around them admired the beautiful couples and enjoyed the celebration, so no one noticed the sadness hidden behind their expressions.
A few moments later, they returned to their original partners as the dance ended.
After the ceremony was over, Caden took Lilly to his car.
Sara's tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged Lilly tightly.
"Take care. And if you ever have any problems, you can always come to me," Sara said emotionally.
Lilly hugged her back. "You too."
From a distance, Mark silently watched Lilly leave, feeling as though the love in his eyes was disappearing with her.
Mark led Sara to his car and opened the door for her.
Inside the car, Sara couldn't stop her tears from falling silently. Mark noticed and handed her his handkerchief.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"Hm," he replied quietly.
"You know how much my sister means to me," Sara continued. "Now that we're separated, I'll always worry about her."
Mark thought bitterly, Because of your sister's love, I'm sacrificing my own.
"I know," he replied.
The rest of the drive passed in silence.
When they arrived home, Mark took Sara to her room and brought in her luggage while she quietly looked around the house.
She wondered nervously what would happen tonight.
Mark suddenly entered the room and said, "You can freshen up first. There's food here if you want to eat."
"And you?" she interrupted.
"I have some work, so I'll come later. But if you need anything, you can call the staff. Their phone numbers are on the fridge."
"But if I need you, how will I contact you?"
Mark realized they had never exchanged phone numbers before.
He immediately took out a pen and a sticky note from the drawer and wrote down his number.
"You can call me on this," he said, handing it to her.
Meanwhile, inside another car, Caden noticed Lilly crying and handed her his handkerchief.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently.
"Yes," she replied while wiping her tears. "Thank you."
Caden knew she was probably crying because she missed her sister.
"Whenever you miss Sara, I'll take you to meet her," he said warmly.
"Thank you," Lilly replied again, though her heart ached when she thought about both Sara and Mark.
When they arrived, Caden opened the car door for her and led her inside their room.
The room was beautifully decorated.
"Since I didn't know your taste," Caden explained, "I tried to make it similar to your home, so you wouldn't feel too far away from it."
At that moment, Lilly felt completely heartbroken. Even though she could clearly see the effort Caden had put in for her, she felt too empty inside to respond.
She only nodded silently.