Two weeks had passed since the wedding day, and Elise still hadn't found the right time to tell Zayne what really happened. It wasn't until after work, when the office was nearly empty, that she seized the chance to go to his office, planning to explain everything.
"Zayne, about the wedding leave I took last time… Can I switch it out for vacation time instead?" Elise mustered all her courage before finally blurting out the words.
Zayne was cleaning up the snack wrappers on his desk. He looked up at her, puzzled. "Why? It's totally normal to take wedding leave. You don't need to give up your vacation days."
"That day, I was really supposed to get married, but the night before, my boyfriend suddenly told me he didn't love me anymore and wanted to break up. I was shocked and terrified, didn't know how to deal with it, and was afraid of looking stupid. So, I asked a friend to stand in as a fake groom. Zayne, I'm so sorry." Elise blurted it all out in one breath, though the fear of not being understood still gnawed at her.
Zayne rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "Well, I guess I wasted money getting my glasses prescription changed."
Elise quickly realized Zayne was referring to the day he joked about needing new glasses, thinking he had mistaken Braden.
"I'm sorry. Braden and I have known each other since we were kids, and when this all happened, I just thought of asking him for help. I never imagined we'd end up working together later. That day, not acknowledging who he was wasn't an attempt to hide anything—it was just that I didn't know how to explain it." Elise placed her hands on her knees and bowed deeply at ninety degrees. It was her way of apologizing for betraying the trust her boss had always shown her.
Since the day she started at the company, Zayne had always been kind to her. Even when she made small mistakes as a newcomer, he never acted like a harsh boss. Instead, he'd always ask Madisyn to look after her and guide her.
She didn't want a ridiculous wedding to make her boss lose trust in her.
Zayne just smiled after hearing her out. "There's no need to apologize. I'm not upset with you. But honestly, it's good you saw things clearly before getting married. At least you didn't throw your life away. You know, love is one thing, but when it comes to marriage, you have to keep your eyes wide open. Marriage isn't just about the person; it's about dealing with another family too. Lots of people say, 'You're marrying the person, not their family,' but once you step into that circle of marriage, you'll realize how hard it is to separate someone from their family."
Elise raised her head and sincerely thanked him, "Thank you for your understanding, Zayne. I'll definitely keep these lessons in mind."
"But are you sure there's really nothing between you and Braden?" Zayne turned on his gossip radar. A long speech in exchange for a little scoop didn't seem unreasonable.
Elise's eyes flashed with surprise. After thinking for a minute, she explained, "We're just really good friends, that's all. To him, I'm just one of the guys. We'll never be anything more—just lifelong buddies."
"Well, leave the bad memories behind today. Starting tomorrow, remind yourself that you're amazing—a girl like you is impossible to find. Not having this wedding? That's his loss, not yours." Zayne spoke like a mentor. "Find someone who can embrace your flaws and grow with you. Got it?"
Elise nodded, a faint smile appearing on her face. "Thank you, Zayne."
After letting the heavy stuff out, Elise indeed felt more at ease. After clocking out, she hurried to meet up with Braden and Ruth. Today was the birthday of their shared dog, "Matcha Pudding."
He was a Schnauzer, a stray they had come across during one of their chats in the park. It was pouring that day, and his fur was soaking wet, matted together, with signs of flea bites all over. They took him to the animal hospital and found out no one had been taking care of him. Both Elise and Ruth adored the little guy, so they brought him home, and the three of them became his owners.
Normally, Matcha Pudding lived at Baden's place, and when he was busy, his mom would look after the dog. Over time, she'd come to seem more like the real owner than him.
"Happy Birthday, Matcha Pudding!" Elise and Ruth said in unison. One was cutting a specially made pet cake, while the other held Matcha Pudding, letting Braden snap a photo to commemorate the moment.
Braden stared at his phone, confused. "I still don't get why you named him Matcha Pudding. Don't you think the name's a bit long?"
"I like matcha." Elise stroked Matcha Pudding's furry face, playfully pouting at him.
"Pudding's delicious! And since it's our dog, we had to name him after something we all love to eat. It's a form of love." Ruth hugged the giant tub of pudding she'd ordered online, eagerly digging in with a spoon. Just one bite made her smile brightly, as if she'd found pure satisfaction.
After thinking seriously for a moment, Braden questioned, "But he lives at my house. Why doesn't his name have anything to do with me?"
"That's why he lives at your place, so you can feel involved. And if we had to name him after something you like to eat, the name would be six words long! That's way too much." Ruth explained between bites of pudding, defending why they hadn't gone with his suggestion.
"I swear, the reason Elise's such a brat is because she's been around you too long." Braden concluded, sighing deeply. These two women together were like a pair of overgrown kids.
"Hey, so... I told Zayne about the wedding today, but I asked him to keep it a secret. I already felt bad enough asking you for help, and I don't want it to affect you too much. But since it involved my wedding leave, I had to come clean about it." Elise walked over to Braden and quietly shared the news.
Baden's mother was in the nearby living room, chatting and eating with friends over video call, so Elise kept her voice down. Like Ruth, his mother had been too busy to attend the wedding, and of course, she didn't know her son had stepped in as the groom.
"That's fine. But what did Zayne say?" Braden didn't seem too fazed by the news, only concerned about this one point. Everything else was secondary to him.
"Well... he said it was a good thing the wedding didn't happen. Being with someone like that would've brought nothing but unhappiness and a lifetime of misery." Elise felt a bit guilty, especially since she had deliberately avoided Zayne's question about whether she had feelings for Braden.
Baden's eyes sparkled with amusement as he spoke, his words dripping with more acidity than a plum. "Good thing he didn't ask if there was a chance between us. I'm afraid the answer would've been too harsh."
Elise rolled her eyes so hard they practically hit the back of her head, hands on her hips. "Please, I should be the one saying that. If I ever liked you, I'd probably be stepping in Matcha Pudding's gold nuggets every day."
Braden shook his head, pretending to sigh, but countered, "That's a pretty low-level vow. Mine's way better."
Elise's eyes widened in shock, her curiosity piqued. "What? What's yours?"
Braden hooked his finger under her chin, his gaze softening deliberately. "Nathanael said last time that I must have feelings for you. So I told him, if I ever liked you, I'd call him Dad."
Elise swatted his hand away, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Yeah, I get it. In your eyes, I'm not even a woman."
"Good, as long as you know." Braden patted her head, and although the gesture meant nothing between the two of them, it might not look that way to others.
Ruth quietly observed their interaction, like trying to see through the mist, unable to figure out what kind of feelings existed between them.
"Don't mess with me. I'm celebrating Mochi's birthday. Go cool off somewhere else," Elise shooed his hand away again, turning her attention to the matcha pudding-colored cat, grabbing a small ball to play with it.
Braden didn't stop her. Instead, he sat down next to Ruth, pointing at her giant tub of pudding. "Don't eat too many sweets at night. It's bad for your health."
Ruth defended herself, clinging to her pudding tub. "I waited over a month for this to arrive. How could I not enjoy it fresh? It's super popular!"
Baden's expression darkened. "Did you forget what happened last time? You ate too many sweets, ended up with a stomachache, and couldn't sleep."
"Oh." Ruth reluctantly set the pudding tub aside. "Alright, if I don't eat it, can I ask you one question, and you'll answer it?"
"That depends on the question. You usually ask pointless ones," Braden replied, already knowing her tricks, and staying on guard so he wouldn't be easily trapped.
"Why did you break up with Mylee?" Ruth hit him with a sharp question, one that wasn't easy to dodge.
"First off, it was just a drunken joke between colleagues. Second, there were no feelings between us. I agreed to it because her ex-boyfriend was threatening her, and her safety was at risk. I was just pretending to be her boyfriend out of concern as a friend. Everyone in the company knows this. Outside of work, I didn't spend time with her, and you know that," Braden explained in detail, his tone steady and calm.
"That's just what you think. What if she doesn't see it that way?" Ruth rested her chin in her hand, her eyes shifting back and forth. "What if she likes you? What would you do?"
