Alex Emma Liam Novel My Ten-Year Engagement to a Stranger

My girlfriend of ten years finally said yes to my proposal.
I got so excited at the engagement party that I had too many drinks.
Out of nowhere, my usually gentle girlfriend totally switched up on me.
She yelled at me for having no self-control and kicked me out of the car while I was drunk.
Battling a pounding headache, I walked alone on the empty streets for three hours in the middle of the night.
When I finally got home, she was holding her true love in our wedding suite, pouring her heart out.
"I regret it. If you'd come back to me, I'd call off the wedding for you."
Watching how tender and patient she was with him, I made up my mind leaving.
I ran away on our wedding day.
No one expected what happened next: that usually proud, untouchable woman
completely lost it and searched everywhere for me.
Through the window of our wedding suite, I saw two familiar figures.
They were holding each other tight.
I kicked off the dress shoes at my feet, which were a gift from Emma for our engagement.
I loved them, though they were too small. I'd rubbed my feet raw on the walk home.
Running away from the wedding suite, I dialed a familiar international number.
"Dad, I'm not getting married. I want to come live with you."
Dad was quiet for a moment.
"Okay. I'm not getting any younger this family business will be yours one day anyway. Come soon, get settled in."
I choked up a little. Then I heard him sigh.
"I thought Emma was different Turns out she ends up with you like your mom with me."
"Don't cry, Alex. There's more to life for a man than marriage and kids you can build your own future. Think it through. I'll be here."
Until tonight, I thought Emma was different too.
She's a strong, successful woman, but always humble and polite, keeping her distance from every guy except me.
Even after making it big, there was never any gossip or scandal about her.
Until at our engagement party, when Liam showed up uninvited.
For the first time ever, she was so flustered she dropped her glass.
For the first time, she blew up at me over something small and left me stranded on the side of the road.
If it had been anyone else, I might've thought it was a misunderstanding.
I might've been willing to give her another chance.
Willing to spend another ten or twenty years by her side, no questions asked.
But the man in our room was Liam.
The same Liam who'd bullied me for over twenty years, who took everything from me.
The one I could never forgive.
And when I saw Emma bring Liam into our home, I let go of her for good.
But for some reason, my hands still opened the home security app.
In our wedding suite, Liam was wearing my pajamas.
Emma, who never lifted a finger at home and scolded me for not respecting myself when I drank, was in the kitchen making him hangover soup.
"You're really marrying him? Even though he's just my stand-in?"
Emma didn't answer, just bent down to massage his feet.
"You don't have to say it I know you're doing all this to make me jealous. Throwing an engagement party was just to force me to show up."
"You never got over me. This whole place is decorated just how I like it. The wedding ring is my style. Even his shoes they're the ones I didn't want."
Then he pressed his foot against her chest.
"You've always loved me."
Emma still didn't say a word.
After a moment of silence, she threw herself into his arms and passionately kissed him.
By then, I was crying hard.
I thought about all the times over ten years when I'd tried to kiss her and she'd turned away coldly.
I thought she was just shy and reserved.
Turns out, she was saving all her passion for Liam.
For ten years, she shared a bed with me, intimate and close.
But in her heart, she was saving herself for her true love.
After staying in the chilling night for a while, I took a deep breath and was about to call a cab.
When Emma showed up out of nowhere and called me by my name.

Emma instantly let go of Liam's hand as I turned around.
"Liam had too much drink tonight. He's your brother I was worried about him getting home alone, so I brought him here."
"He's a good guy. Not wanting you to get the wrong idea, he insisted on leaving."
Usually quiet, Emma suddenly had so much to say when it came to Liam.
And every word was defending him.
Yet I was the one who grew up with her.
I was the one who supported her through starting her business her fianc of ten years.
How did I become a stand-in?
I fought back the pain and took a breath.
"He's not my brother. He's the affair child from the other man."
Emma got angry.
"Alex! How could you say something so cruel to Liam? Apologize to him, now!"
"No wonder your parents abandoned you. No wonder nobody likes you. That nasty attitude of yours is disgusting! No wonder you're unlovable!"
As if afraid I'd hurt Liam, she shoved me aside and stood protectively in front of him.
That nervous, defensive pose reminded me of a memory from long ago.
When we were just kids, Emma used to stand in front of me like that too.
Back then, my mom had an affair, got pregnant, and forced my dad to divorce so she could be with the other man.
Dad left the country angry, and I became the unwanted leftover.
Every time Emma heard us fighting next door, she'd rush over and stand protectively in front of me.
She'd say, "Alex, you're the best person in the world. Even if everyone leaves you, I'll always love you."
I held onto those words as I grew up.
I worked hard to build my own career, wanting to escape my messed-up family and build a happy life with her.
But whenever I brought it up, she'd just frown.
"We were just kids. Kids say things."
And now, Liam was back.
She wouldn't even give me those lukewarm excuses anymore.
Just hit me where it hurt most with "no wonder you're unlovable."
I couldn't stop my eyes from filling with tears.
Emma's expression flickered.
Maybe she realized she'd gone too far, or maybe she noticed my bloody feet.
She sighed. "I'll let it slide tonight since you're drunk. But in the future "
"There is no future," I said flatly.
"What?"
Before she could ask more, Liam suddenly turned and ran off crying.
Without hesitation, she dropped everything and ran after him.
Neither of them noticed the star necklace which fell from Liam's pocket.
I picked it up, remembering the small star tattoo on her left chest.
All the little details I'd ignored suddenly clicked into place.
Childhood friends can't compete with fate.
Those ten years of love were just my one-sided dream.
If that's how it was, there was no point holding onto a woman who didn't deserve me.
I got a text from Dad at the moment.
He'd booked me a flight abroad.