Be a Wind-Chasing Wing, Not a Bird That Looks Back

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My best friend's first day back home, and he was already drinking himself sick over his first love.

Three years, and I still can't forget her.

But she's getting married next week. Tell me, should I take her back?

He was talking to me, but his eyes kept sliding to the woman at my side.

Leona Sullivan turned her glass in a lazy circle, though the hand resting on her knee had clenched tight.

I opened my mouth to answer, and a few lines of comments drifted past my eyes.

This dumb side character is still comforting him lol, his girlfriend's practically drooling over the male lead.

The female lead spent three years with him just to wait for this day. Now that the first love's back, who wants the stand-in?

Once tonight's over, the first love slides into place and the placeholder can get lost.

I sat frozen where I was.

I met his hopeful eyes and smiled.

"No need to take her."

1.

The words landed, and they both looked at me at almost the same instant.

Displeasure flickered in Stewart Gilbert's eyes. "Corey Fox, what's that supposed to mean?"

"We've been brothers for years. Don't you want me to be happy?"

When I didn't answer, he turned, drink giving him the nerve, and grabbed Leona by the collar.

The space between them vanished in a second.

"He won't say it, so you say it."

"Should I take you back, Leona?"

He leaned hard on her name, dragging out every syllable.

That was when the comments started scrolling like mad.

Kiss her! The leads wasted all these years, what are they even waiting for!

See, true love really is the best to ship!

Why hasn't the side character left yet? Can't he tell she only stayed with him to keep tabs on the male lead?

When her eyes met his, I watched Leona's throat bob, the effort of holding herself back plain on her face.

I thought back to before, how every time we parted, my profile would keep lighting up with her visits.

I'd assumed she just missed me, that she wanted to stay on top of every little thing I did.

Now I understood. It was never about me.

Stewart tightened his grip on her collar again, and only when they were about to press together did Leona push him off.

"You've had too much to drink!"

But Stewart wouldn't let it go.

"I'm not drunk. Why should the two of you get married? Is it wrong that I just want to take back what's mine?"

"You're both giving me a straight answer today."

Leona's face went taut for a moment. She didn't answer.

The truth was, I knew there was an ex she'd never gotten over.

She'd tried to kill herself for him, and for him she'd swallowed her pride and admitted she was the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy family.

What I didn't know was that the man was Stewart.

Leona had never let slip so much as a word of it.

I had no interest in watching any more of it. I picked up the drink in front of me and knocked it back in one go.

"What I mean is, you don't have to take her. He'll give her back to you."

She clearly startled, but reflexively she still steadied Stewart as he swayed beside her.

Stewart wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and threw himself at me, delighted.

"You mean it? No taking it back."

I nodded.

The promise that I'd never take it back never made it out of my mouth, because Leona cut in.

Frowning, she wrapped her suit jacket around Stewart, numb with alcohol.

"He's had too much and doesn't know what he's saying. Why are you playing along with his nonsense?"

"Let's call it a night. I'm heading back to the office anyway, so I can drop him off on the way."

She settled Stewart gently into the back seat.

Only then did she turn around.

"Don't read into it. I'm only helping out because he's your friend."

She stood there, probably still waiting for me to lose my temper with her.

But she seemed to have forgotten that she didn't know where Stewart lived. I'd never told her. So how could it possibly be on her way?

The excuse was full of holes. I didn't care anymore.

I smiled. "It's fine. What you want to do is your own business."

It was two in the morning before I finally got a cab.

My phone buzzed. A message from Stewart.

Corey, thanks for the encouragement. I've decided to get back together with her.

She told me she never forgot me. She only hated that I looked down on her for being poor. Now she has money, so the misunderstanding between us is cleared up.

I leaned back against the seat and typed one word. Congrats.

Whatever happened between the two of them had nothing to do with me anymore.

When I got home, I sank into the couch and scrolled back through old posts.

Every post in that account, the one just for the two of us, was a record of our life together.

Before Stewart went abroad, he'd cried against my shoulder.

Tell me, she's got the looks, she's got the body why does she have to be dead broke?

This morning, when she found out I was leaving, she nearly got down on her knees to beg me.

I know she loves me. But love doesn't put food on the table.

Back then he didn't know that the broke little thing had already become the heir to a fortune, all for his sake.

While he was overseas, we'd video call, chat, share bits of our lives with each other.

And I posted every bit of it to my social feed.

It was those posts that led Leona Sullivan to me.

My account was full of her visits.

Every clip that had anything to do with Stewart, she'd liked it too.

I thought it was me she liked. So after two months of talking online, we met in person and became a couple.

Right as I was thinking it, a text from Leona popped up.

Not coming home tonight. Don't wait up.

It was the first time she'd stayed out all night.

The audience commentary drifted past again.

The male and female leads are finally back together.

The side guy better not act up again and let the female lead come back.

Can we please stop getting in the way of the leads making a baby.

I ignored it, tossed the phone aside, and fell into a heavy sleep.

Close to noon, Stewart's call woke me.

Buddy, dinner tonight, on me, for both of you. Call it an early wedding celebration. Do me the honor?

I hesitated for a couple of seconds, then agreed to go.

The two of them got to the restaurant before me.

By the time I walked in, the food was already on the table.

Stewart had his head resting easily on Leona's shoulder, the picture of two people at peace with the world.

If Corey knew about us, do you think he'd be upset?

Leona turned her head away, her face unreadable.

Stop it. He can't find out about us.

Her tone was as firm as the day she proposed to me.

That day she'd gone down on one knee, playing the man, and slid the ring onto my finger.

Once it's on, you don't take it off. In this life, you're mine.

Barely half a year, and everything had already been turned upside down.

I drew in a breath, picked up my bag, and walked to the seat across from them.

Only then did Stewart sit up straight.

My blood sugar dropped a little just now, so I borrowed your girlfriend's shoulder for a bit. Don't read into it.

As he said it, he gave Leona a little push.

Why don't you move over and keep Corey company.

Before she could get up, I cut in.

No need. I've still got to set my things down over here.

Stewart shrugged and picked up the drink in front of him.

Corey, congratulations. Getting married any day now.

He drained the drink in one go, then hesitated before speaking again.

Actually, there's something else I wanted to ask your okay on tonight.

My mom knows I'm back and won't stop pushing me into blind dates, so I lied and said I had a girlfriend.

As he said it, he glanced instinctively at Leona beside him.

But I don't know a soul out here. I was hoping Leona could pretend to be my girlfriend, just to get my mom off my back. That okay?

Your Leona already said yes a minute ago.

The commentary shot across again.

My poor sweet male lead, he even has to make up a reason to bring the female lead home to meet the parents.

He's definitely going to say no again. Just as expected of the villain side guy.

I picked up a piece of shrimp and put it in my mouth, ignoring the darkening look on Leona's face, and agreed on the spot.

Sure. Just make it convincing.

The smile spread across Stewart's face at once. "I knew my buddy was the best. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her for you."

Leona kept a black look on her face all through dinner.

I couldn't work out what was wrong with her.

She didn't lift her head until the waiter brought the check, and then she paid.

"Ma'am, we've got a promotion running today. Scan the code and leave a good review and you get a free gift. I'm sure your husband will love it."

He read the room well enough to hand the gift list straight to Stewart.

Stewart took it easily. "Then I'll have this one!"

Leona lowered her head, scanned the code, and let it stand.

The whole time, nobody corrected him. Nobody explained.

The moment we got home, Leona pinned me against the door with one hand, all aggression.

"When did my husband get so generous, pushing me out like that?"

I had no idea where this temper had come from. I shoved her off.

"You agreed to it too."

She stood in the entryway, silent for a few seconds.

"I told him I'd go if you agreed. I thought you'd refuse."

Leona pressed her lips together and looked at me, and after a long moment she let out a soft laugh.

"It's fine. I'm only playing his girlfriend for one day, and we're getting married soon. I'll have all the time in the world to make you care about no one but me."

I listened to the sweet talk that came so naturally from her and didn't take it to heart.

After all, this woman had been pretending for a long time.

Otherwise she couldn't have kept me in the dark so well.

I curved the corner of my mouth, slid the ring off my finger, and set it on the table.

"Whether you wanted to say yes or not, you know that in your own heart. Don't put it on me."

"Here, take this back."

Leona's face darkened in an instant. "What's that supposed to mean? He's your buddy. Can you not make a scene over nothing?"

Her eyes fell on the ring. She was about to ask something when her phone rang.

It was Stewart's ringtone, the one set just for him. I had one for him too.

She glanced at it and let the question drop.

"Corey, something's come up, I have to go out. I probably won't be back tonight."

"Oh, right, Stewart's hometown is a bit far, so this might take a while. But I'll be back before the wedding."

I nodded and watched her leave.

The comments went flying across the screen.

[The side guy isn't still dreaming about marrying the female lead, is he?]

[If he knew the male lead's going to crash the wedding and steal the bride, he'd probably go hide and cry for days.]

[Serves him right, too. Who told him to be so clueless and shove his way in between them?]

The next second, Stewart's call came through.

"Corey, you've known for a long time that Leona's my ex-girlfriend, haven't you?"

"I know the two of you are getting married. I shouldn't have said anything."

"But I regret what happened back then. I can't forget her, and she still has me in her heart."

He paused, his voice catching a little.

"You can't be happy with someone who doesn't love you. Could you let us be together?"

After a short silence, I said evenly,

"Sure. I give the two of you my blessing."

On the other end, Stewart was startled for a moment. "You... you mean it?"

"I mean it."

We just weren't friends anymore, either.

I looked around the apartment, and every trace of the life I'd shared with Leona Sullivan seemed to sting worse the longer I stared at it.

In the end I couldn't hold back. I decided to wipe out every mark we'd left together.

The matching pajamas, the matching water cups, the photo of us on the nightstand, everything she'd given me, all of it went into the trash.

The things that were actually mine barely amounted to anything.

Once everything was cleared away, I sat on the couch scrolling through my phone.

The two days Stewart Gilbert spent taking Leona home to meet his family, he'd made a point of starting a group chat with the three of us.

She'd posted everything, from the tickets to the photos.

On the last day, Stewart put up a picture of his whole family with Leona on his feed.

The caption: Brought my girlfriend home to meet the parents. Mom and Dad love her. So happy!

I quietly gave it a like, and Leona messaged me right away.

"Babe, Stewart's mom and dad insisted on taking that photo. I really couldn't turn them down."

"They've got a lot of local specialties out here. Let me bring some back for you, okay?"

I typed back whatever, then shut off my phone.

Fifty miles of road, and they'd stretched it into three full days, getting back only the day before the wedding.

Leona got home in the small hours of the morning.

She pulled me into her arms. "Corey, your friend is harder to deal with than you are. I'm never taking a job like this again."

"They say the bride and groom aren't supposed to see each other before the wedding, but I missed you too much. I came all the way back just to see you."

The words grated on me. I twisted out of her hold and put some distance between us.

She didn't get angry. She just kept smiling.

"Are you still mad about me pretending to be someone else's girlfriend?"

"He didn't have a choice either. And he even wrote a wedding speech for me. I read it, it's really good. Once I've got it memorized, I'll say it for you tomorrow."

The audience commentary wouldn't leave me alone.

My heart aches for the female lead. She has to come rushing all the way back just to sweet-talk the second male lead so he won't wreck the wedding.

But it's fine. Tomorrow the male lead crashes the wedding and steals her back. Total feel-good story.

Waiting for the second male lead to eat crow.

I muttered under my breath, "Then I wish you a happy marriage."

She didn't catch it and leaned in close, lowering her head.

"What?"

Before I could repeat it, her special ringtone went off again.

The moment she picked up, Stella Winfield's voice came through.

"Leona, I've had too much to drink and I feel awful. Can you come pick me up?"

Leona shot upright, her voice full of worry. "Stay right where you are and wait for me. I'll be there soon."

She hung up, her face full of guilt.

"Corey, something seems to have come up with Stewart. Let me help her out, call it a thank-you for him writing our wedding speech."

"I'll see you at the wedding tomorrow."

She dropped a quick kiss on my forehead and hurried off.

No need to see me. I'm not going to be your groom.

I didn't put the ring back on, and she had no idea I was leaving tomorrow.

The truth was, one glance around the apartment just now would have told her all my things were already gone.

Too bad. She missed it.

On the day of the wedding, nearly everyone of note in New York showed up, and the whole banquet hall was done up in extravagant style.

First thing in the morning, Leona sent me a text.

"Corey, I'm finally about to marry you."

The ceremony began.

Leona stood in a white gown with a long train behind the carved double doors, waiting to walk to the man she loved.

Something about me had felt off these past few days, she thought, though she couldn't say why.

The instant the doors opened, the whole hall held its breath.

Stewart stood there in an ink-black suit, the boutonniere on his chest one Leona had designed herself.

She gathered her train and walked toward the front, step by step.

The moment the spotlight fell on Stewart's face, Leona finally saw the groom clearly.

"Why is it you?"