My Birthday, My Downfall novel Chapter 38

On the day of the wedding, both my father and Paul showed up.

Adrian came to ask me what I wanted to do.

The makeup artist was applying the finishing touches to my makeup. Instinctively, I looked up and saw myself in the mirror alongside my soon-to-be husband.

The bridal makeup was a bit heavier than my usual look, making me appear somewhat different.

I resembled the Western crabapple trees Adrian had planted especially for me in our new home—blooming shyly, vibrant yet captivating.

Adrian, in his black groom's suit, looked incredibly handsome.

We exchanged a glance, and in that fleeting moment, our eyes held a shared smile.

"I don't want to see them," I said softly.

Adrian nodded without hesitation.

"Alright, I'll have someone escort them out."

"Okay."

Old faces and past memories—none of them were worth revisiting.

The scars they left in my heart would eventually fade with time.

My bond with them had always been shallow. I had stopped forcing myself to hold onto connections that were never meant to be.

When everything was ready, I walked onto the stage in my white wedding dress, holding my bouquet.

Before I could reach him, Adrian couldn't wait any longer.

He stepped forward to meet me, holding out his hand eagerly, desperate to take mine.

I reached out to him as well.

Amid countless blessings and joyous laughter, our hands clasped tightly together.

Adrian leaned down and kissed me, a kiss so long and deep that I felt I might run out of breath before he finally pulled away.

"Grace," he whispered as he slipped the ring onto my finger.

"I love you, Grace."

"I loved you long ago, and I will love you far into the future."

I looked up at him, my eyes brimming with both tears and a smile.

"Adrian, I'll try my best to love you too. To love you wholeheartedly."

He wrapped me in his gentle embrace.

"Okay," he murmured.

The wedding that day was both extravagant and romantic beyond words.

Paul and Simon weren't allowed to set foot inside the wedding venue.

Yet neither of them left, silently agreeing to linger outside.

Simon, however, didn't make it to the end of the ceremony.

He suddenly suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Though the doctors saved his life, he remained in a coma.

Paul couldn't describe the bitterness and regret that consumed him.

He had heard that their home was filled with crabapple flowers, planted especially for Grace.

Now, in the heart of spring, the flowers must be blooming beautifully.

On his drive back to Capital City, Paul found himself on a high overpass late at night.

The long bridge was empty, eerily silent.

He pressed down on the accelerator, pushing the car to its limit.

Then, he turned the steering wheel sharply and closed his eyes.

The speeding car crashed violently into the guardrail.

After the deafening noise, there was only silence.

The crabapple flowers would bloom again,

But in someone else's garden.

If there were a next life, Paul thought,

He would want to return to the year he first met Grace.

This time, he vowed,

He would love her with all his heart.