Ten Minutes Left to Ditch the Bride

Ten minutes before the wedding ceremony is about to begin, I receive a disturbing photo on my phone. In it, a man with deeply sunken eyes is crawling on the ground like a dog. He is so skinny that he's nothing more than skin and bones. Meanwhile, my bride, Waverly Suther, is looming over the man on the floor as she gazes down at him with a disdainful sneer. Just as I'm about to block the number of the person who sent me this disturbing prank photo, that person sends me another two messages. "Run away from the wedding! Right now! Don't marry Waverly Suther, no matter what!" "That man on the floor is you ten years from now!" Chapter 1 At first, I was shocked, but then I snapped back to my senses and scoffed at my phone screen. I was minutes away from heading to the altar and saying my vows, so who was it that was playing such a childish prank at this time? I typed out my response and sent it over. "Your photo-editing skills are truly quite terrible. Just who are you?" The reply was instant. "I'm you. Don't believe me? Inside the lining of Waverly's wedding dress, on the left side over her heart, she's hidden the plain ring Matt gave her. "Besides that, one of the seams on Matt's suit split open, and it was Waverly who helped him sew it up in the changing room. Because of that, she now has a fresh needle prick on the web of her left hand." There was a click before the door to the dressing room was pushed open. My bride, Waverly Suther, stepped inside, clad in a custom-made white wedding gown. She was incredibly beautiful, and the pair of pearl earrings adorning her ears only accentuated her gentle, graceful demeanor. "James, are you done getting ready?" She approached me with a smile, a warm and gentle look in her eyes. Instead of answering her question, I stood up and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. Waverly was momentarily surprised before she let out a soft laugh and returned the embrace. "Our wedding is just minutes away, yet you're still so clingy." I pressed my face against the left side of her chest. Through the material of her dress, I could clearly feel a solid shape, right there in the inner lining. Something shaped like a ring. Not just that, but the faint scent of cologne clung to her—the exact one that was Matt Zucker's favorite. Abruptly shoving her away, I snatched up her left hand to inspect it. There, on the web of her hand, was a glaringly bright red spot. She really did have a needle prick. All the blood in my veins seemed to turn to ice. Waverly's eyes flashed as she quickly pulled her hand back. "What's wrong, James? Why are you spacing out?" I looked her straight in the eyes, asking, "What happened to your hand?" Her expression never even wavered as she laughed and replied, "The corsage came loose earlier, so I accidentally pricked myself." The lie came as easily to her as breathing, and she didn't even so much as blink. Suddenly, this woman, who I had been in love with for the past three years, seemed like a total stranger to me. On the table, my phone vibrated once more as my future self sent me another slew of messages. "Do you believe me now? She told you she got hurt while fixing her corsage, didn't she? James, from the get go, this was all just a huge scheme to deceive you. "Back then, she braved the pouring rain for three entire blocks to buy you some oatmeal, but it actually wasn't even for you. It was because Matt's gastritis was acting up that night. "Then, there was the time she booked out the entire amusement park to propose to you. That was because Matt was on a date with another woman at that same park that day, and she wanted to provoke him!" I stared at the words on my screen, unable to stop my fingers from trembling. All those sweet memories had now become the very daggers that turned on me and hurt me. I still remembered how Waverly had been utterly drenched from the rain as she handed me the oatmeal she had been cradling protectively to her chest. However, she had then turned right and hid herself away on the balcony, where she was on the phone for over an hour. The day she had proposed to me at the amusement park, she had been focused on the Ferris wheel in the distance with a dark look in her eyes. She had even put the ring on the wrong finger. At the time, I had simply assumed that she was too nervous. Now, I understood that she had simply been looking at another man. I took a deep breath, pushing down the nausea roiling in my gut. "Waverly Suther, take out the thing you've hidden in the lining of your dress." At last, there was a change in Waverly's expression. She instinctively placed a hand over her chest. "James, stop this nonsense. The guests are all waiting for us." Taking a step forward, I demanded, "I said, take it out! Now!" In response, Waverly grabbed me by the wrist with surprising strength. The gentleness in her eyes vanished completely, leaving behind nothing but impatience. "James Lawson, today is our wedding day. Do you have to go crazy at a time like this?" Chapter 2 The door to the dressing room opened once more before Matt entered, clad in a suit. He was frowning as he asked, "Waverly, James, why are you two arguing?" He started walking over to us, looking like he was going to break up the fight, but then his foot landed with unerring accuracy on the dress shoes I had set aside. There was a crunching sound before Matt exclaimed in surprise and used the opportunity to fall toward Waverly. Waverly deftly caught him. "Matt, are you okay?" Matt leaned against her in her arms before turning to shoot me an aggrieved look. "Sorry, James. I didn't mean to step on your shoes and break them. If there's really no other option, you can just wear mine. I don't mind not being the best man." What classic fake-sweet words! If this had happened in the past, I would've tolerated it so as to keep the peace. This time, however, my phone screen lit up again as my future self messaged me. "He did it on purpose! Back then, I wore those worn-out shoes of his and stepped onto the stage, only to become the laughingstock of the city's elites! Waverly even scorned me on stage, saying that I had humiliated her!" I stared at Matt, who was still leaning intimately close to Waverly, and felt fury surge through me. Striding over to him, I swung my fist and landed a hard punch straight across his cheek. The blow snapped Matt's head to the side, a bruise instantly forming on his pale complexion. A dead silence descended upon the dressing room. Waverly was dumbfounded at the sudden move, while Matt cradled his throbbing cheek and stared at me in disbelief. "James Lawson, have you gone crazy!" At last, Waverly snapped out of her shock and immediately moved to stand protectively in front of Matt. She screeched at me furiously, "Matt already said that he didn't mean to do that, so how could you just hit him!" Glaring coldly at the cheating couple before me, I retorted, "So what if I did? Do I need to pick the perfect moment to punch him? Waverly Suther, since you're so heartbroken over his plight, why don't you just marry him instead?" Enraged and anxious, Waverly jabbed a finger at me. "James Lawson, know your place! If it weren't for your father's connections, do you think I would've married you?" Finally, she was speaking the truth. All that crap about her falling in love with me at first sight and that she wouldn't marry anyone else but me was nothing but nonsense. What she was truly after had been my family's company all along. Behind her back, Matt curled his lips into a smug smile. I glanced at my phone to see that my future self was sending me more messages. "Damn, that felt good! Back then, I forced myself to endure all of this in silence since I was worried about everyone else's feelings. Yet, not only did they drove Dad to his death, but after the wedding, they worked together to transfer away all of the Lawson family's assets, too! "Meanwhile, I was kept captive in the basement, where they took my bone marrow to treat Matt's younger sister, who has leukemia. The photo was taken then." My breathing sped up as I read the shocking words. I could hardly imagine what sort of hell awaited me if I went ahead with the wedding today. "I'm not marrying you." Ripping off the boutonniere pinned to the lapel of my suit, I tossed it straight at Waverly's face. "Take your boytoy and get the hell out of my sight." With that, I spun on my heel and headed toward the door. Waverly laughed coldly. "James, oh, James… You think you can leave now? It's too late! The guests outside are all influential and powerful figures in the city! Go ahead and walk out that door, then! I wonder how that will affect the Lawson family's reputation?" She was well aware that I cared most deeply about my family's reputation. I paused in my tracks, but my phone began vibrating madly at that moment as my future self sent me several more messages. "Don't leave! You absolutely cannot leave right now! Even if you manage to run from this wedding, the Lawson family's reputation will still be ruined! "The emcee is about to take the stage, and if you don't go, Waverly will change the wedding video that was supposed to be played on the massive screen to fabricated evidence of Dad being involved in accepting bribes and tax evasion!" My mind went blank, and it was as though all the blood in my body had rushed to my head, making me feel lightheaded. No wonder Waverly hadn't cared about pissing me off today—she had already laid the perfect trap. Waverly, upon seeing that I had stopped moving, assumed that I was afraid and walked over to me. Taking advantage of her taller height, she gazed down at me arrogantly while tidying her bridal veil. "James, put on the shoes and wait quietly to be called in. If you're obedient, the position of son-in-law of the Suther family will still be yours." Beside her, Matt took the opportunity to pipe up, "That's right, James. Think of the bigger picture." I stared at the pretentious couple in front of me, my fingers slowly tightening around my phone. My future self sent me one more message. "Fight back, James Lawson. I'll send you the access code to the control room. The account username is Waverly's phone number. Let's destroy them today." As I looked at the complex string of alphabets and numbers that made up the access code, my lips slowly curled into a smirk. Turning back around to face Waverly once more, I said, "Alright, I'll go." Chapter 3 My agreement to go through with the wedding had Waverly letting out a snort. "At least you know what's good for you. If only you had been so obedient from the start, I wouldn't have scolded you." Matt immediately took off his battered leather shoes and kicked them toward me. "There, James. You'll have to make do with my shoes. Though they might chafe a little, that's at least better than going onstage barefoot." I gazed down at the shabby shoes by my feet, not saying a word. The leather was cracked and peeling in some places, and there was an incredibly obvious scratch marring one of them. Still, for the sake of my plan, I would endure. Stuffing my feet into the shoes that were a size too large for me, I forced my revulsion down and stood up. The soles of the shoes were incredibly hard, making my feet ache terribly. Satisfied, Waverly fiddled with her veil once more, making sure it sat perfectly on her head. "Let's go, my dear groom." We exited the dressing room into a long corridor, where we would wait to be called in. Waverly took the lead, walking at the front as she answered a call. Assuming that I had caved and thoroughly submitted to her, she didn't even bother hiding her true motives anymore. "Have you arranged everything with the tax authorities? "The moment it goes up on the big screen, send the whistleblower report over at the same time. Then, once the market opens tomorrow, short all of Lawson Corporation's shares." From where I walked behind Waverly, I heard every word clearly. The Lawsons were the wealthiest family in the city, with businesses spread all over the country. On the contrary, the Suthers had gone bankrupt a few years ago, so it was only with my connections that Waverly was able to work at Lawson Corporation. All these years, Dad had treated her like his own daughter as he groomed her to take his place. He had even handed all the core business operations over to her to manage so she could solidify her standing with the board of directors. Everything she ate, wore, and used had been bought with the Lawson family's money. Yet there she was, secretly colluding with outsiders to short the company's shares and plot against Dad's life! After she finished with her call, she was led away by a staff member to confirm the event flow, leaving only me and Matt in the corridor. Without Waverly around, Matt dropped all pretenses. Crossing his arms before his chest, he shot me a smug smile. "James, so what if you now know everything? You still have no choice but to wear my worn-out shoes to get married. Waverly grew tired of you long ago, and right now, you're nothing more than a big-time sucker, albeit a rich one." I had to fight back my rage at his smug, manipulative demeanor. Glaring at him coldly, I said, "A big-time sucker is still better than you, who only picks up other people's trash. Do you really think Waverly loves you? She just hasn't drained the Lawson family's fortune yet." That seemed to strike a nerve with Matt, whose face instantly darkened. "Stop trying to act tough! After today, the Lawson family will be bankrupt! Let's see how you'll still act so arrogant then! Waverly already said she plans on keeping you in the basement like some sort of pet." He took a step closer to me, deliberately lowering his voice as he added, "Your bone marrow just so happens to be a match for my younger sister too. Now that's what I call making use of trash. At that time, you'll have no choice but to beg me on your knees for some food to survive." I was so enraged that I laughed at how he could make something so inhumane and cruel sound so justified. "Alright. Let's see who gets the last laugh." With that, I turned my back and ignored the fool. My phone buzzed madly in my hand. "Hear that? That's their true colors! "Quick, log into the control room! You don't have much time left! Back then, Waverly released the fabricated evidence framing Dad, right here during the wedding, causing him to have a heart attack and die on the spot! Today, you have to get revenge for him!" Chapter 4 My head was lowered, my fingers tapping swiftly on my phone screen as I connected to the control room using a web link. I put in Waverly's phone number as the username and then typed in the complicated passcode. "Log in successful." The site switched to the backend page of the control room for the wedding venue. My future self messaged, "Go to the D drive and look for a folder named 'Surprise.' Inside it is the fabricated evidence she plans to use to ruin Dad." I scrolled for a few seconds, quickly finding the aforementioned folder. It contained an HD video and a whole bunch of photos of falsified financial records. Tapping the "delete all" button, I then opened my phone's camera album. My future self had sent me a mountain of damning evidence, which included uncensored footage of Waverly and Matt booking a hotel room and sleeping together, a screenshot of Matt admitting to transferring away the Lawson family's assets during a text message exchange between them, and a phone call recording of Waverly bribing a doctor to prescribe Dad a drug that would poison him over time. Every single one of these crimes was enough to put the despicable pair behind bars, and now, this evidence would be the perfect tool for me to retaliate against them. I selected everything and uploaded it into the "Surprise" folder, completely replacing the contents. Following that, I cut off the live broadcast console's access to the control room. With that move, only my phone would be able to control the screens at the wedding venue. As the upload progress bar reached 100%, I let out a long sigh. At that moment, the large doors at the end of the corridor slowly opened. The wedding march resounded across the entire hall, while the emcee's excited voice reached my ears. "Now, let us all welcome the bride with a heartwarming round of applause!" Smoothing her bridal veil, Waverly put on a passionate expression and made her way onto the stage. As her "maid of honor", Matt followed behind her, carefully holding the train of her dress for her. Thunderous applause rang out as Waverly stepped onto the stage. The attending guests today were all part of the city's elites, and countless cameras from various media outlets were pointed at the stage. As the camera lights flashed nonstop, Waverly took the microphone and turned to gaze in the direction of the doors that I would be entering from. "Today is the most important day of my life, as I'm going to be marrying the man I love the most, the man I vow to protect for the rest of my life—James Lawson." Her voice was beyond gentle as she pretended to be the most amazing woman in the world. Below the stage, the guests erupted in exclamations of praise. "There really is no other woman better than Ms. Suther!" "Mr. Lawson sure is lucky to have met such a considerate and loving woman!" "Aw, how sweet! The way Waverly is so devoted to James is something we should all strive for! She truly is a model example!" Outside the doors, I felt nothing but disgust when I heard those words. What an overconfident, attention-seeking drama queen. Waverly basked in the praise for a moment before speaking up again, "However, before I invite my groom in, I would first like to give him the special surprise I had prepared. This gift is meant for him, the Lawson family, and also Mr. Lawson Senior" A hushed silence descended upon the venue as everyone held their breaths in anticipation. Dad, who was sitting at the main table, gazed up at the stage with a comforted expression, completely unaware that the woman he had always trusted, his soon-to-be daughter-in-law, was currently placing a dagger right at his throat, ready to slit it. Matt stood off to the side, unable to help the triumphant and smug smile that quirked his lips. He even shot me a taunting look despite the distance between us, his eyes clearly saying that I was doomed. My future self texted me, "She's going to play the video now. Are you ready to take control of your moment?" I stared at my phone screen, my finger hovering over the "play video" button while all the blood in my body seemed to boil in excitement. Waverly turned to point at the massive LED screen dominating the center of the stage. "Everyone, please turn your attention to this screen. I guarantee that this surprise will be something you'll never forget for the rest of your lives. James Lawson, I took special care and effort to prepare this for you, so you'd better look closely!" She didn't bother hiding the cockiness in her voice. All the lights in the venue abruptly dimmed, and everyone's attention was focused on the dark screen. My eyes remained locked on the two-faced, rotten-to-the-core woman on the stage as my lips slowly curled into a smirk. "Oh, I'm watching, alright." With that, I jabbed the "play" button on my phone, immediately causing the massive screen to light up. The instant Waverly saw what was playing, the smile on her face froze.