What I Found on the Way to My Wedding

The car's air-conditioning breeze brushed past my ear, carrying a slight chill of comfort. I casually rummaged through the glove compartment, looking for a tissue to wipe my hands, when my fingers touched a hard folder—not mine. I keep all my documents in my backpack; I never just leave them in the glove compartment. Driven by curiosity, I pulled out that folder. The cover was a solid color, without any markings, and felt rather cheap. The instant I opened it, my fingertips froze, and my breath instinctively caught for half a second. Inside was an abortion consent form; the paper still carried a faint scent of ink. In the patient name section, the name Ruby Salk was clearly written. Ruby Salk—my best friend for twelve years, from middle school until now—we shared everything. My heart suddenly raced as my eyes uncontrollably drifted to the family member signature section. The name Adam Goldberg felt sharp and forceful, like a cold knife, glaringly carved there, piercing my eyes with pain. Adam Goldberg, my boyfriend—we were getting married next month. The folder slipped from my hand, landing softly on the doormat. I froze in my seat, my mind completely blank, my breathing sluggish, with nothing in my ears but the loud pounding of my heart, thudding against my chest. How could it be the two of them? Ruby Salk clearly knew Adam Goldberg was my boyfriend, and that we were about to get married. Adam Goldberg has said more than once that Ruby Salk's personality is too dramatic; he doesn't like it. The mobile phone rang suddenly, shattering the silence inside the car. The screen lit up with "Adam Goldberg"—familiar yet painfully sharp. I took a deep breath and pressed the answer button, forcing my voice to sound calm. "Patricia, where are you?" His voice came through—still gentle, carrying that childish, teasing tone. That was a tone I once found irresistible, but now it felt like a needle piercing my heart, leaving only biting sarcasm. "I'm on the road, got held up a bit." I tried to keep my voice low, hiding the lump in my throat. "Hurry up, I've been waiting for you so long." He dragged out the words, like a child begging for candy. "I wanted to have dinner with you earlier, but Ruby kept pestering me, insisting we eat together. I refused her." My fingers gripping the mobile phone tightened unconsciously, knuckles turning white. So, in his words, this was just Ruby's one-sided obsession. Fragments from the past flooded my mind uncontrollably, one after another, all now seeming eerily deliberate in hindsight.