ManyWriters

1
On the morning we were supposed to get our marriage license, Rylan stood me up at the entrance to the city clerk's office.
He told me, "Elise, this is Callie's first surgery. I'm worried about her. Let's get our license tomorrow instead."
The next day, we arrived at the clerk's office again, just stepping inside.
His intern called with an emergency, pulling him away once more.
"Elise, I'm so sorry, but this is serious. A patient's family is causing trouble at the hospital. Callie tried to intervene and got hurt pretty badly. I have to go check on her. We'll come back another time, okay?"
It's been five years since our wedding, and this marks the 66th time Rylan has unilaterally canceled getting our marriage license, each time because of Callie.
Since he's always busy, I guess there's really no point in getting that license after all.
I decided to refocus on my studies, heading abroad for further education. I even met someone there who shares my passions and goals.
Just as we were about to walk down the aisle together...
Rylan came chasing after me.
"Darling, when are we going to get our marriage license?"

Husband Rejected Our Marriage Registration for 66 Times

I contacted my former mentor, telling him I planned to resume my studies.


My mentor was so excited he could barely speak.


"Good child, you've finally come to your senses. You have a great memory and steady hands with a scalpel. You're a natural-born medical student."


"It was such a shame when you gave up studying abroad and chose to get married instead."


"I'm doing advanced studies overseas now. Pack your bags and come join me as soon as you can."


I agreed, then hung up the phone and started researching the visa application process online.


Just as I finished, there was a knock at the door.


Rylan was standing in the doorway with a pale-faced Callie behind him.


"Elise, why did you lock the door? I couldn't get in from outside just now."


Rylan's tone was full of reproach, not considering my feelings at all.


I looked at him calmly: "You're busy with work, and I'm usually at home alone. If something happened, I'd call you, but you wouldn't answer."


"I was worried about my safety, that's why I locked the door."


I thought Rylan would feel guilty after hearing this.


Instead, he scoffed: "What danger could there be in broad daylight? I think you're just being paranoid." Standing behind Rylan, Callie retorted with displeasure, "Rylan, how can you talk about my sister-in-law like that? Even if she's not pretty, she's still a woman."


I glanced at Callie, who had just spoken, and asked Rylan, "Why did you bring her to our house?"


Addressing this, Rylan's tone softened, "She got scared today, and being a girl living alone in the big city, she doesn't feel safe. I thought I'd bring her over to our place for dinner."


"Callie is my guest now, don't read too much into it."


I made a sound of acknowledgment and stepped aside, "No problem, come on in."


As it was almost dinnertime, I headed to the kitchen to prepare the meal.


Rylan followed me in and said without looking up, "You don't need to cook today, I'll do it."


"I bought groceries on the way back. Callie said she wanted to try my cooking, I've been promising her for a while now."


Rylan's words stirred up some emotions within me.


In the five years we've lived together, I could count on one hand the number of times Rylan had cooked for me.


Chapter 2