Seven Lies
Chapter 1
It was the seventh time that Liam had asked
me to get our marriage license, specifically
instructing me to wear a wedding dress and
my ring.
I waited from sunrise to sunset, only to be
met with a drone livestreaming my humiliation
to the entire city.
Liam, arm–in–arm with his childhood
sweetheart, Chloe, said to his friends:
“See? I told you she’d do anything I said.
Loser pays a hundred bucks!”
He then gave me a malicious grin:
66
‘Jenny, it was just a joke. You’re not mad,
are you?”
“Chloe needs material for her story, and you
were the perfect test subject.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so desperate to get
married, but I guess it makes sense. Your
L
family’s bankrupt, who else would want you?”
The group laughed and left.
I smiled faintly, and called his nemesis.
“The courthouse closes in an hour. Want to
get a marriage license?”
There was a pause on the other end of the
line.
Then, a low, amused voice:
“Are you sure you have the right number?
Jenny, this is Cole, not your Liam.”
“”
I glanced at Liam, laughing triumphantly with
Chloe, and the pain in my heart dulled to
numbness.
Ever since Chloe returned from her studies
abroad three years ago,
Liam, who had once only had eyes for me,
had become a completely different person.
Under the guise of gathering material for
Chloe’s report, he had repeatedly toyed with
- me.
This was the seventh time, and it would be
the last.
This time, I was the one who was leaving him.
“It’s you. Will you marry me?”
“Alright. I’ll be there.”
I hung up, only to have a drone shoved in my
face.
Liam and his buddies‘ cruel laughter washed
over me like a wave.
“Come on, putting on a show now, are we?”
“Get the cameras ready. Let’s see how good
your acting is.”
“Wow, pretty natural.‘
Liam pretended to be angry, stepping in front
of the camera to block me.
“That’s enough.”
“Don’t you see she’s even got the wedding
dress on? Wouldn’t want to leave this drama
unfinished, would we?”
They erupted in laughter.
く
I stared coldly at Liam, my body trembling,
unable to speak.
He’d specifically told me to wear the dress,
and now it was the punchline to his joke.
Liam turned, seeing the ring on my finger,
and burst out laughing.
“No way, Jenny, you actually bought the ring?
You’re really desperate, huh?”
“How about this, let’s make you famous
today, become an internet sensation.
‘Desperate Bride‘ how does that sound?”
“Go ahead and thank Chloe, without her, you
wouldn’t have this opportunity to be on
camera.”
Chloe, Liam’s girlfriend, took my hand,
feigning disapproval.
“Liam, stop it. Jenny just likes you and wants
to marry you, what’s wrong with that?”
“Jenny, don’t take it to heart. They’re just a
“”
bunch of immature boys.”
く
“This is mainly for my report, a social
experiment. I told him it would be bad for you,
but he insisted the story was important. I had
no choice.”
Chloe looked helpless.
With a single sentence, she had turned me
into a monkey in a zoo, paraded in front of
the courthouse for Liam’s so–called “report
material.”
He’d even hired drones for a citywide
livestream of my humiliation.
The Liam who had once run across the city in
the dead of winter to buy me a discontinued
lollipop, was gone. He had disappeared three
years ago.
I pulled my hand away.
“I never said I was here to marry him today.”
“Jenny, don’t play the pride card. Your dad’s
in jail, you still think you’re a princess?”
“How about this, let Fat Tony marry you.
<
After you two get married, we can still see
each other occasionally, so you won’t go
crazy from not seeing Liam.”
“At least he’s a man, someone wants you, be
happy and stop being stubborn.”
Liam shoved a short, fat man with acne scars
beside him toward me. He watched my
reaction with malice.
He knew how I felt about Liam.
I recognized the
minuman; he was Liam’s sidekick.
He’d been in jail for assaulting a woman, only released a couple of days ago.
Liam was trying to impress Chloe by offering
me this man.
My hands clenched.
“No need, my fiancé will be here soon.”
They all froze, then erupted into laughter.
Even Fat Tony laughed so hard tears welled
- up. He looked at me like I was a delusional
lunatic.
Liam waved his hand, summoning more
drones.
