She Chose Her Duty Over Me

My name is Simon Franklin, and I've been with Tina Donovan for seven years. Seven years is enough time for a small sapling to grow into a towering tree, and for our relationship to mature from innocence to depth. We had been preparing for the wedding for a long time; the staff at the bridal shop even knew us by name, and the drawers at home were filled with countless wedding plan brochures. I thought we would be like any ordinary couple, smoothly walking into marriage and then hand in hand through the rest of our lives. But I never expected such a surprise to come so suddenly. That day, I came home from work as usual, but when I opened the door, Tina Donovan was nowhere to be seen. There was no steaming hot food on the dining table, and only a small nightlight was on in the living room, making everything feel especially cold and lonely. I took out my phone to call her, but all I heard through the receiver was the message, "The number you have dialed is switched off." Panic set in as I searched the house, desperate to find any clue she might have left behind. Finally, on the dressing table in the bedroom, I found a note. The handwriting was Tina Donovan's, but the words hit me like a bolt of lightning. She wrote that she was going to help her childhood friend Pete Fitzgerald fulfill his father's dying wish — to get married. Holding the note, my hands shook uncontrollably, and my mind went utterly blank. Marriage? She's going to marry someone else? What about our wedding? What about the seven years we've been together? I don't know how long I stood there stunned until the phone rang, and I finally snapped out of it. The call was from Tina Donovan, and I nearly answered immediately. "Tina, what on earth are you doing? What does that note mean?" I asked hoarsely. "Simon, I'm sorry," Tina's voice was tinged with exhaustion, "Pete's father's last wish before he passed was to see him get married. I can't just ignore that." "You can't just ignore him, so can you just ignore me?" My emotions started to get the better of me. "Our wedding is only a month away, and now you say you want to help him get married. Have you thought about how I feel?" "I know this is unfair to you," Tina Donovan's voice softened, "but Pete's family helped me. When my mother was sick, it was Pete's father who advanced the medical expenses. I have to repay that kindness." "Kindness can be repaid in other ways; it doesn't have to be through marriage!" I tried to calm her down. "You and Pete can have a fake marriage; wouldn't that fulfill his father's wish as well?" "No," Tina Donovan immediately refused, "Pete said his father hopes for him to have a real marriage. A fake one would be unfair to his father." "A real marriage? And what about me?" I felt as if my heart was being cut with a knife. "Tina, have you ever considered what marrying Pete means to me?" "Simon, can't you trust me just this once?" Tina Donovan's voice suddenly rose. "Pete and I are just legally married in name only. Once this is over, I'll come back to you." "Trust isn't something you can just demand!" I couldn't help raising my voice as well. "You expect me to trust you when you marry someone else? Do you think that's possible?" "Simon, how can you be so selfish?" Tina Donovan started blaming me, "You have no idea how hard things are for Pete right now!" "His father just passed away, the company's in trouble again, he needs someone to support him!" "Me, selfish?" I felt both ridiculous and heartbroken. "So, our relationship, our wedding, means nothing to you?" "That's not what I mean," Tina Donovan's voice softened again. "Simon, please, I'm begging you, just help Pete this one time, okay?" "No," I said firmly, "I can help you with everything else, but making you marry Pete Fitzgerald is absolutely out of the question!" After thinking for a moment, I added, "How about this? We create a fake Marriage Certificate to fool Pete's family for now, and once this is all over, we tell them the truth. What do you think?" I thought this plan would solve the problem, but unexpectedly, Tina's reaction was extremely intense when she heard it. "Simon! How could you come up with such an idea?" Her voice was full of anger. "This is disrespectful not only to Pete's father but also to marriage itself! I absolutely will not agree!" "Then what exactly do you want?" I felt helpless. "Either you go and truly marry Pete, or you use a fake marriage certificate—choose one!" There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, and finally, Tina said only, "I'll think it over," before hanging up. I held the phone, standing alone in the empty room, feeling the future stretch out uncertainly before me.