ManyWriters

A high-society wedding broadcast worldwide.
My childhood sweetheart broke our seven-year promise, proposing to Melody, a girl from an underprivileged background, right in front of everyone.
Just as I became the laughingstock of the entire city, on the verge of a breakdown and despair,
My usually cold and aloof adoptive brother, Cort, publicly married me right after the wedding.
I thought he was my saving grace, and I fell deeper and deeper under his unwavering devotion over the next five years.
Until I accidentally overheard a conversation between two people:
"Is it really worth sacrificing yourself by marrying someone you don't love, all for Melody's sake?"
"We agreed from the start: whoever Melody chooses, the other one would marry Serenity."
"I'd do anything as long as Melody can be happy."
Only then did I realize that this marriage of redemption was nothing but a thorough conspiracy from the very beginning.
Two acts performed by old acquaintances, with Melody as the sole protagonist.
I personally orchestrated a kidnapping.
Watching Cort and Zoran rush towards Melody, I smiled as I pressed the detonator.
For the rest of my life, I hope to have no more entanglements with any of you.

A Global Wedding Broadcast

I called the life insurance company: "Let's start the plan."


When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a dilapidated warehouse.


Beside me was Melody, crying her eyes out.


Seeing that I had woken up, the kidnappers handed us our phones:


"Call your husbands and tell them to pay the ransom."


"If you dare call the police, you know what'll happen."


He made a slicing motion across his throat with his hand, causing Melody to burst into another fit of sobs.


We dialed two numbers simultaneously. Melody's call connected instantly.


The kidnapper repeated the same threats word for word.


Zoran's panicked voice nearly pierced through the speaker: "Don't you dare touch her! I'm going to get the money right now!"


Until the call ended, my phone only played the cold automated message:


But just as Melody's call ended, another call came through on her phone.


He asked immediately: "Melody, are you okay?"


Apparently, the reason I couldn't get through was that Cort had been trying to contact Melody all along.


The kidnappers looked at me with pity and sympathy in their eyes.The two of them rushed over with their briefcases, only to discover that there were actually two people tied up.


The kidnappers eyed them with interest: "Who are you here to rescue?"


The hand holding the knife wavered between me and Melody.


The two opposite us both changed expression simultaneously, "Don't hurt her!"


"Then this one?" His knife moved to the side of my neck.


Cort's brow furrowed deeply, his eyes darkening, but he didn't say a word.


The knife sliced into my arm, and blood quickly pooled into a small puddle on the ground.


When the knife drifted back towards Melody, Cort hastily spoke up:


"Don't hurt her. We're here for Melody."


My heart felt like it was on a roller coaster, rising and falling.


Now it plummeted to the bottom, making a crashing sound of death.


I lifted my head, my face deathly pale:


"Cort, brother, even if I'm not your wife, I'm still your sister."


"Does our bond of over twenty years really not compare to your few years with Melody?"


Cort's whole body trembled, he could barely stand.


Even though his face showed reluctance, he still tossed the briefcase to the henchman behind Melody."Serenity, Melody's in bad shape. We need to save her first."


"Once we get enough money, we'll send it to you right away!"


Looking at the growing pool of blood beneath me, then at Melody, who was being supported by two people without a scratch on her.


Melody turned her head towards me with a mocking expression, mouthing:


"Serenity, you'll never be able to beat me in this lifetime."


I lowered my head numbly, as if exhausted.


After a long while, I pressed the detonator.


The explosion's tremor caused many to pause and look towards the outskirts of the city.


Simultaneously, a shocking piece of news went viral online.


[Wife of doting husband Cort dies in explosion, suspected to be killed by kidnappers after a "Sophie's choice" scenario.]


Serenity's last "Brother," and her head dropping in despair.


He waited anxiously outside the emergency room, thinking:


"It's okay, Zoran's gone to get the money."


But in the next second, he saw Zoran come in with a registration form.


They looked at each other in confusion: "Didn't you go get the money?"


They couldn't help but think of the massive tremor they had felt earlier, their hearts filling with dread.The doctor emerged from the emergency room with Melody, visibly irritated:


Chapter 4