His Empty Vows

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On my wedding day, I discovered my fianc had another fiance.

She burst into the chapel, dressed in a wedding gown, and viciously pulled Joshua Thorne to her, planting a kiss on his lips.

If you don't leave with me today, you'll never see me again!

In that instant, I distinctly caught the flash of panic in Joshua's eyes.

Yet, he merely smiled, lifted a hand, and had her escorted out of the chapel.

"Miss Vance, our engagement was just a prearranged family alliance, there was never any affection between us."

But that night, Jasmine Vance truly vanished.

Some said they saw her jump into the river.

Joshua then, like a madman, joined the rescue team, dredging the entire river.

He searched for ten days. I waited for him for ten days outside the registry office, where we were supposed to be married.

What I received instead was news of him jumping into the river, a presumed act of devotion.

Through blurry tears, I remembered the young man whose eyes were once only for me, and how he had firmly vowed:

"If I, Joshua Thorne, ever cheat, may I be struck by lightning and never find peace."

...

The hospital room door was ajar. Joshua sat by the bed, his back to the door, staring blankly.

Only when I blocked his line of sight did he look up, bewildered.

"Who are you?"

Joshua had amnesia.

I froze.

His expression at that moment was like looking at a complete stranger.

The accusations I had intended to hurl simply wouldnt come out.

After a long silence, I forced a bitter smile.

"I'm your newlywed wife, Iris Miller."

He frowned slightly, as if struggling to recall something, but quickly shook his head.

"I don't know you."

Those three words landed, pressing down on my heart with a heavy, aching weight.

After a while, he lowered his gaze, a faint curve on his lips.

"My fiance, her name is Jasmine Vance."

I instinctively took a step back.

As the cold wall pressed against my back, I knew clearly this wasn't a hallucination.

My chest felt as if it were pierced by needles, a dense, agonizing pain spreading through it.

He looked up at me, his gaze calm, almost cruel in its indifference.

"Do you need anything else?"

I'm not usually good with words. Unsure how to explain, I could only flee in shame.

I ran out of the hospital, then stopped, suddenly remembering the cake I was carrying.

I thought, I should at least give it to Joshua.

Joshua had suffered amnesia once before.

We were skiing, and a runaway skier behind us tripped us, sending us tumbling down the mountain.

To cushion my fall, Joshua, disregarding his own danger, wrapped his arms around me. He hit a tree.

When he opened his eyes then, he also didn't remember me, just like now.

It was only after tasting a cake I'd made that his memories returned.

He said, "Your dessert is the most familiar taste to me. One bite brought back everything between us."

Looking at the cake in my hands, my resolve grew.

But before I reached the door, I heard voices from inside.

"You clearly haven't lost your memory, why are you pretending?"

My breath hitched. I froze.

Joshua's voice drifted out, nonchalant:

"Jasmine's last regret was not marrying me. I don't want her to have any regrets."

His brother sighed, then asked, "What about Iris? Are you just abandoning her?"

Joshua was silent for a long time.

So long that I thought he wouldn't answer, until he slowly spoke.

"After a few weeks, I'll tell her I've regained my memory, then we'll get our marriage certificate and settle down."

I covered my mouth, afraid to cry out loud.

Tears splashed onto my hand, but they burned my heart.

I don't know how I walked out of the hospital.

When I came to, I was sitting on a park bench, half the cake already eaten.

Tears fell onto the cream, but I didn't notice.

I just felt that perhaps today's sugar was too little, making it bitter.

By the time I returned to the bakery, it was almost ten.

A car was parked in front of the shop. As I opened the door, Joshua's mother, Mrs. Thorne, stepped out of the car.

She waved her hand dismissively, buying all the desserts in the shop, her face full of arrogance.

"I'm about to have a grandchild, so I'm giving you a big order, to share in the good fortune."

Seeing my confused look, she scoffed and handed me a pregnancy test result.

"Jasmine Vance isn't dead; she just hid away."

"Only this way can my son truly know who he loves."

She swept her gaze over me with disdain, covering her mouth with a light laugh.

I clutched the paper, my fingertips white.

"When did this happen?"

"Probably two months before your wedding? Joshua attended a banquet, got drunk, and then took Jasmine to bed."

"Afterwards, when he found out Jasmine was pregnant, he cried and laughed, insisting on transferring his entire inheritance to this unborn child."

Mrs. Thorne's voice was like a stone disturbing calm waters, sending ripples through my memory.

All the illogical fragments of memory surged forth.

I remembered that day, Joshua hadn't come home all night.

When he returned, he spent three hours in the bathroom, scrubbing his skin raw before he finally emerged.

Afterward, he just held me, refusing to say a word.

It was also after that, he suddenly developed a strong interest in baby stores.

I had even specifically told him that I wasn't interested in marriage or children, and marrying him was my biggest compromise.

He had laughed then, promising me, "Having you is enough. I don't want children either."

A wave of hurt surged through me. I numbly put away the paper.

But Mrs. Thorne was relentless.

"My son was only infatuated with you for a change of pace. Who would genuinely like a dessert shop owner with no college degree?"

Yes, our meeting was just an accident.

That day, Joshua, suffering from low blood sugar, happened to collapse outside my dessert shop.

The first thing he did when he woke up was kneel, earnestly pleading, "I have no home. Can you take me in for a while?"

Looking at him, covered in mud, his cheeks hollowed by hunger, I remembered my past self.

I too had no family. My father, who murdered my mother for insurance, was sentenced to death. All my relatives considered me a bad omen, leaving me with no money to finish high school. I had to drop out and work.

I couldn't stand by and watch someone else fall into the same pain I had experienced, so I kept him by my side.

To repay me, Joshua helped me in the dessert shop by day and found odd jobs at night to help with expenses. Our small rented room became a refuge where we saved each other.

On my twenty-eighth birthday, Joshua disappeared.

Birthday candles were lit and extinguished, and I thought he had left, never to return.

Until noon on the seventh day, he appeared at the shop, covered in blood, and laughing as he pressed a diamond ring into my hand.

He wiped away the tears from my eyes, his breath weak. "Don't cry. Happy birthday."

It was then I learned that to earn money, he had taken a long-haul delivery job. On his way back, he'd been in a car accident. Others urged him to go to the hospital, but he refused each time, intent only on delivering the gift to me.

After he was out of danger, he told me he wanted to marry me.

After much hesitation, I still refused him.

Because I couldn't face marriage; I couldn't forgive my father's past sins.

Joshua wasn't angry. He worked even harder, determined to prove his love for me.

This relationship continued until his parents found him.

The dessert shop was swarming with reporters.

Mrs. Thorne, initially joyful, erupted in a public tirade when she realized Joshua was dating a woman with no high school diploma, calling me a vulgar temptress who had seduced her son.

Gossip spread throughout the city.

Joshua threatened to take his own life if his parents didn't remove the video.

To clear my name, he literally prostrated himself, bowing and kneeling around the city, again and again.

He said he wanted everyone to know that he, Joshua Thorne, was the one who had first pursued Iris Miller.

That night, I cried as I applied medicine to his knees. I finally agreed to his proposal, once more.

But now, the young man whose eyes were once only for me was gone.

Mrs. Thorne handed me a contract.

"I'll give you a week to break it off cleanly with my son. In return, I'll invest in you to open a bigger dessert shop abroad, securing your future for three generations."

The paper stung my eyes.

I remembered Joshua's words from long ago:

"If I ever change my mind, you won't have to do a thing. I'll end myself."

"And please, don't hesitate. Leave me immediately, go somewhere I'll never find you."

The pen hovered for a long time before finally falling.

Something else, it seemed, also broke with that final stroke.

With three days left until I was to leave, I stood on the rooftop of our rented apartment building.

Joshua and I had come to this rooftop many times.

He once said that when he had money, he would buy me a house with a large balcony so we could watch the stars from home.

The wind picked up, as if trying to scatter all my emotions.

I walked two more steps towards the railing.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted behind me.

"Girl, don't do it!"

I turned around and instantly froze.

Unbeknownst to me, the rooftop was now filled with tenants and the landlord.

And the firefighters, sensing my turn, hastily stopped their advance.

I was about to explain, but the crowd automatically parted, creating a path.

Joshua emerged from behind them.

He was in a hospital gown, his hair disheveled, sweat constantly beading on his forehead, as if he had rushed straight from the hospital.

With every step he took, my heart pounded violently.

But he said nothing.

The concerned crowd pushed him forward. He then extended a hand towards me.

"Come here."

The firefighters, taking advantage of my momentary shock, tackled me to the ground.

Only after witnessing me return home, with no intention of "jumping," did the crowd gradually disperse.

Inside, Joshua looked down at me, his expression indifferent.

"Is it interesting, imitating someone else with your life?"

The hand I'd reached out to pour him water froze in mid-air.

Was he saying I was imitating Jasmine's suicide?

I shook my head, wanting to deny it, but he gave me no opportunity.

"Even if you send more people to tell me you're my wife, it's useless."

"I haven't lost my memory. My only wife is Jasmine Vance. Even if she's no longer alive, it's not your place to be my wife."

Every word he spoke cut like a dagger, piercing my heart, leaving me breathless with pain.

I couldn't even distinguish whether this was his true inner thought, or a lie to maintain his feigned amnesia.

"I just wanted some air on the rooftop," I argued.

He merely forced a smile, scoffing.

"Do you think I'd believe that?"

He left, in a hurry.

When the door slammed shut, I noticed the boiling water had overflowed the teacup, scalding my fingertips red, yet I felt no pain.

Only three days left. Three days, and then I could leave.

I numbly kept reassuring myself.

The next morning, news of Jasmine Vance being found spread like wildfire.

Every small forum was debating whether the Thorne heir would choose the well-matched socialite or me, the ordinary dessert shop owner.

The comments were uniformly abusive towards me.

I lost interest, preparing to turn off my phone.

Joshua's call came through just then.

His tone was excited, completely opposite to yesterday's distant attitude, giving me a sense of unreality.

"Iris, I remember now. I remember everything."

I stared at the screen blankly, saying nothing.

"Come to the hospital quickly, I have a surprise for you!"

Looking at the suitcase by my feet, I paused for two seconds.

"Okay," I agreed.

The hospital corridor was packed with reporters.

Jasmine stood among them, chatting animatedly.

"Miss Vance, what do you think about Mr. Thorne jumping into the river for you, and only recognizing you as his wife after his amnesia?"

Jasmine's eyes curved, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural red.

"Joshua just realized his true feelings."

"Then do you think Mr. Thorne, now that his memory is restored, will choose you or Miss Miller?"

Jasmine happened to see me passing by and subtly glanced at me.

"I believe Joshua will choose me, someone of his standing, not an uneducated person."

The word "uneducated" was heavily emphasized, drawing laughter from those around.

My heart sank, and I quickened my pace into the hospital room.

Joshua's eyes lit up when he saw me enter, and he reached out his hand.

But I remained rooted to the spot.

His smile froze.

Perhaps he also heard the interview, as he sighed.

"Don't mind her, Jasmine can be a little blunt sometimes."

I stared at him with a forced smile.

"Are you telling me not to mind someone who ruined my wedding, tried to steal my husband, and insulted me in front of everyone?"

"Or are you saying that someone who publicly called me uneducated has no ill will towards me?"

He opened his mouth but couldn't find any words of defense.

I didn't want to waste too much time, so I walked over and stood at the foot of the bed.

"So, what's the surprise?"

The smile returned to his face.

"The doctor says I can be discharged tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll go get our marriage certificate!"

He didn't know that during those seven days I waited for him outside the registry office, I had thought countless times.

As long as he came, as long as we got our certificate, no matter what he had done before, I would forgive him.

But he didn't come.

And tomorrow afternoon was my flight departure time.

I didn't answer him, instead asking a question that had been weighing on my heart for a long time.

"Joshua Thorne, do you want children?"

He paused, then shook his head, denying it.

"You don't want them, and I don't want them either."

Seeing his resolute expression now, I suddenly laughed.

The old me would have been utterly swept away by his sweet talk.

"Let's break up. Let's just pretend that wedding never happened."

He shot up in bed.

"You don't want me anymore?" he asked, his voice tearful.

"I didn't mean to disown you a few days ago. You can blame me, curse me, but don't break up, please?"

The water glass on the bedside table shattered as he knocked it over.

He picked up a shard of glass and held it to his throat.

"If you break up with me, I won't live."

A trickle of blood oozed from the cut.

The door burst open. Jasmine, her face ashen, rushed in.

She frantically tried to throw herself in front of Joshua, but tripped on the broken glass shards.

Blood seeped from beneath her.

Jasmine looked up, her face streaked with tears, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

"Sister, even if you don't like me, why would you push me? Do you know I'm pregnant with Joshua's child... It hurts so much..."

Reporters swarmed in, creating a chaotic scene.

Joshua's pupils constricted, then he screamed frantically, "Call a doctor, quickly!"

Jasmine was carried away.

The hospital room fell silent as her cries faded into the distance.

I grabbed Joshua's sleeve, unwilling to let him leave, and demanded, "Did you believe her? Did you think I pushed her?"

Seeing the disappointment in his eyes, my numb heart stung for another moment.

He still left. The empty room lingered with his final words.

"I'll come to the dessert shop tomorrow afternoon. We need to talk properly."

But Joshua, the dessert shop had already been sold.

And perhaps, we had no tomorrow.

The next afternoon, I packed my luggage and looked back at the dessert shop one last time from across the street.

A familiar Maybach blocked my view.

Joshua stepped out of the car, his posture stiffening as he saw the empty storefront.

After a long moment, he turned, grabbing his secretary's collar, his voice hoarse and unrecognizable.

"Where's Iris?"

The secretary tried to conceal the truth, but stammered only when Joshua's fist was about to strike.

"Miss Miller is going abroad. She should be on her way to the airport now."

I saw him kneeling on the ground, his eyes red, like an abandoned dog.

Soon, he got up again, frantically pulling the driver out and starting the car himself, speeding towards the airport.

My ride-share car arrived just then.

After getting in, my phone suddenly vibrated a few times.

It was a message from Jasmine.

[Do you believe I can make Joshua give up looking for you?]

At this point, I believed everything.

My heart no longer hurt.

Sure enough, the car in front made a series of sudden stops, infuriating the driver who cursed under his breath.

Soon, a Maybach sped past in the opposite lane.

In that fleeting glimpse, I saw Joshua in the car, his lips pressed tightly, his fingers anxiously tapping the steering wheel.