The Wedding Lottery

There was a lottery at my wedding with Lumi White, and her best friend Sirius Lynch won our new house. I quickly thought I should refuse, but Lumi agreed to it right away. "Winner's keepers." I fought against my rage, thinking this could wait until the wedding was over. However, as the lottery continued, my best friend Carl Singer won my wedding ring, my brother-in-law won my grandfather's pendant, and Lumi's other best friend won my necktie. They swarmed me, catching me off guard, grabbing and pulling whatever they had won viciously. Skrrrt! My shirt was shredded as I was left standing there while everyone laughed out loud. Even as I crossed my arms to protect my modesty, I turned toward Lumi with a look of distress. However, she was busy swiping through Sirius' photo album on his phone, arguing who had taken the better photos. "See? Just look at Hal's face when I said I was giving you the new house." "No way! Mine's better—the way he crossed his arms looks just like a gorilla! It's so memeworthy!" Hundreds of photos flooded the chat group, all of them laughing at them. I had no idea what was so amusing about my tears and despair, so I turned and looked Lumi in the eye. "This wedding is over." Chapter 1 That was when Lumi White finally remembered me, her bridegroom. There was pain in her eyes as she looked into my bloodshot eyes, the cuts and bruises on my wrists, and the rags that were my tuxedo. When she hurried to me, however, Sirius Lynch stopped her and said, "If you let him win today, you'll have to let him win his whole life. As your bestie, I need to enforce your position in the family!" Lumi looked hesitant but stopped. Sirius then grinned as he walked up to me, clapping my shoulder forcefully. "Oh, don't worry—I am not interested in your house at all. The house Lumi bought me is way bigger. "It's just a game anyway—just look, everyone's laughing themselves silly. If you want to marry into the White family, the most important part is your guts." I quietly looked at Lumi, who stood behind Sirius in silence. Suddenly, I started to laugh so hard that I was shaking. These games had never stopped since I started dating Lumi. During my freshman year, I was at a track meet when Sirius spiked my drink with laxatives. Lumi's younger brother Zac White bought the laxatives and my best friend Carl Singer handed me my drink, while Lumi filmed me running from the track straight to the restroom. They cropped my face too, posting it repeatedly to laugh at. And in my junior year, when I won a physics competition and was due to receive an award on stage, Sirius planned to humiliate me in front of everyone. Lumi brought me the suit and Carl sabotaged it, while Zac made sure that the ensuing photos stayed pinned on the campus forums for a month. With lecturers and students all seeing the debacle, I was mocked like a clown until graduation. And even when I tried looking for a job, Sirius maliciously ruined my resume. Lumi lured me away with a date and Zac stole it, while Carl wrote 'big boner' under the specialty section. The interviewer blacklisted me, citing sexual harassment. Every prank was carried out with flawless partnership, and once it was over, they would apologize and assure me it wouldn't ever happen again. But it always did, and in just a matter of days afterward. Even before the wedding, I repeatedly reminded Lumi repeatedly that Sirius could play his pranks whenever, but he was not to ruin our wedding. I had prepared it for nine months, personally setting up the backdrop as well as designing her bridal gown and my own tuxedo. Lumi, Zac, and Carl all swore that they would stop Sirius to protect my dream wedding. They knew how important it was to me, but instead, they joined Sirius' games. It was clear that Sirius' prank mattered more than my wedding. Wiping away my tears, I glared coldly at Sirius. "This wedding is over. Return me my pendant!" Chapter 2 I didn't mind losing the ring, but that pendant was my grandfather's only keepsake, and I must take it back. As for Lumi, she finally panicked when she realized I was serious about calling off the wedding and grabbed Sirius' arm. "That's enough. Give it up!" Sirius pursed his lips as he grumpily reached into his pocket for the ring and pendant, complaining, "To think you'd snap at me over some nobody. Who matters to you more these days? There." As he threw both the pendant and ring at Lumi like it was trash, he made sure to miss Lumi. She scrambled to catch it but missed, and the pendant shattered into pieces on the floor. Seeing that, Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "I've been meaning to tell you that it's cheap crap. I mean, how hilarious that it's a keepsake? Well, it's good that it's broken. I can buy you a nicer one as a gift for your wedding… Lumi even called me daddy in bed, so how about that, 'son'?" I wasn't bothered by Sirius' insults, as I kept staring at the pieces on the floor, feeling like my heart was in pieces. I kept moving between my parents' places after their divorce, and it was only my grandfather who cared to raise me. Before he died, he gave me that pendant that he had received from his parents, which he hoped would keep me company after he was gone. Still, he said I could sell it to marry or start a business, which made it a token of his confidence in me and a gesture of affection. That was why I'd tell the pendant about my joys and complain when I was bullied by Sirius' clique. It really was my grandfather in my mind, but now, Sirius had destroyed it. To add insult to injury, he stomped on it just to reinforce his point! Unable to stop the grief swelling in me, I punched him and was ready to do it again when Lumi caught my wrist. "It's just a pendant!" she snapped. "Do you have to go that far?! Apologize to Sirius right now!" Seeing her face contorting from rage, I laughed wryly. She was absolutely silent while Sirius pulled his prank so that all the guests laughed at me, and she didn't ask him to apologize to me when he broke my grandfather's pendant. I had always thought she was just too accepting and didn't understand a man's pride, but it was now clear that she knew. Yet, she only cared to protect another man's pride instead of mine. Her parents were flanking Sirius too while calling me barbaric, and Zac rushed to get a first aid kit. Even Carl took his side, glaring at me. "Why would you punch Sirius?! He told you he'd buy you a new one! Apologize to him right now!" He was on the side of the people who robbed me and shredded my clothes too, and here I was wondering if they ever cared. I stared straight into Lumi's eyes. "What if I don't?" I knew the answer, but I still wanted to hear her say it. She shot me a cool look as she growled, "Sirius is not just a friend—he's family, and he's been with me for twenty years. If you don't respect him, you don't respect my family. So apologize, or I'm calling off the wedding." I still remember how Lumi first found out about my background and went straight to visit my grandfather's graveyard to pay her respects. She promised to give me a new family, have a ton of children with me, and to treat me well. When her parents forbade her from marrying a bum like me, she moved out of their house that same night. She declared that she'd marry me, even if she had to live in a basement or be disowned. Like a princess in an ivory tower, she didn't even know how to cut cucumbers, but she eventually became a master chef. There were so many little things that made her great, and the memory of those little things had always convinced me to forgive the pranks by her clique time and time again. But now, I had run out of those little things to remember. I dropped to a crouch, carefully picking up the pieces of my shattered pendant as I said, "I won't apologize. Sirius should be apologizing to me instead. Just call off the wedding already, Lumi." Carefully tucking the pieces away, I left the wedding hall as everyone watched in shock, still sporting rags. Returning home, I tapped into the email that had been gathering virtual dust and sent a reply. [I'll take the scholarship to finish my masters abroad, professor.] Professor Queen's reply was immediately. [Great! I'll arrange a flight right away.] Soon, seeing a ticket for a flight due to depart in a week sent to my phone, I sighed in relief. Chapter 3 That very night, I packed all my belongings from the new house and moved to my office's employee quarters. Lumi must have called me a hundred times, but I never answered—I was serious about cutting ties with her and her clique. One day, Zac suddenly sent me a video of Lumi lying on a hospital bed, heavily bandaged but still bleeding. Bawling, Zac told me, "Help! Lumi chased after you in her car when you left the wedding, but her brakes were broken and she crashed! She's dying! "To make things worse, my parents are facing trouble in business, and their credit cards are frozen! Can you foot Lumi's medical bill for now? We will pay you back in the future!" My tears gushed uncontrollably upon seeing Lumi hurt. "Alright, just calm down! I'll send you the money right now!" I had an accident as a sophomore too and was admitted to the ICU. They were short on my blood, but Lumi luckily had my blood type and gave me almost 30 ounces of her blood, saving me from the brink of death. It really drained her, and she passed out for three days and remained anemic to this day, passing out if she stood for too long. I had to help—even without romantic feelings, I also owed her my life. That was why I didn't hesitate to wire all $20,000 I had to the account number Zac gave me and started to leave to visit Lumi. However, security soon encircled me, with my boss advancing at me, glowering as he flung a report in my face. "How dare you conspire with a rival!" My fingers shaking, I picked up the report to see that I had really wired my money to a rival company! "No!" I cried. "I'm not a traitor! I was set up!" Naturally, no one believed me as the security guards quickly took my luggage and threw everything outside. The boss himself soon returned with my letter of termination. "Hal Zimmer, you're fired! I've also called for the entire industry to blacklist your name. No one will ever hire a traitor like you!" I felt so weak I almost fell on my knees. Muddleheaded, I shambled outside to pick up my luggage, only to hear shrill laughter. As I looked up to see Carl waving a report at me, I realized this was yet another one of Sirius' 'pranks'. So Lumi played dead, while Zac tricked me to wire all my money to a rival company, after which Carl reported me to the top brass. It was a scam achieved through perfect teamwork, which I had fallen for once again. I could feel my blood rushing up my brain as I trembled uncontrollably. Before I could give chase, my phone rang again as a gravekeeper called. "Good morning, Mr. Zimmer. Your grandfather's urn lot rental is expiring. Please pay the rent soon." But what money would I pay them with when Sirius had taken everything from me?! I must reach Lumi and get my money back! Hence, I called the cops while heading to White Mansion posthaste. Chapter 4 At our new house, Lumi had her head on Sirius' lap as they watched TV. When she saw me, she didn't even get up. She merely glanced at me once before turning away. On the other hand, Sirius' eyes lit up, and he excitedly pinched Lumi's cheek. "Pay up! I told you he'd come to apologize in just a day." I glared coldly at him. "I didn't come to apologize. I want my money back—now!" Sirius raised a brow and pointed at the kennel by the way. "What, that $20,000? Got a kennel for my dog. It's Hermes too. Do you like it?" My blood froze as I looked at it. That money was all my savings I had for five years. As the lot for my grandfather's ashes urn was rented, there was always the risk of the lot being taken back. I worked hard for that so he could rest in peace, only for Sirius to buy his dog a kennel with that money! On the other hand, my grandfather's remains would be left adrift without a proper resting place! And for what?! Hatred swelling in my chest, I dashed straight up to Sirius, punching him with full strength. "Give me back my money… Argh!" Lumi retaliated almost instantly, biting my wrist. Even as I shuddered in pain, she pushed me to the floor. "It's just $20,000! And you hurt Siritus for that?! I never knew you were this petty!" Sirius was clutching his swollen cheek while he pointed at me and snapped, "How dare you! Not even my father has ever hit me! Grovel and apologize right now!" Lumi frowned and wanted to stop him, but seeing him teary eyed and puffy cheeked, she gave in again. "You are at fault, Hal. Apologize to Sirius so we can put this behind us, and then I'll arrange the wedding this time." She thought she could make me cave by holding our wedding hostage. Wedding? I wasn't even interested in her now! Fighting back the pain, I pushed up and held her gaze as I snapped, "Dream on! I'll never apologize to him! Ever!" Embarssed, Lumi's expression darkened. Still, she soon laughed and waved her phone at me. "The gravekeepers told me they'll be removing your grandfather's ashes soon unless you pay the rent. Don't you know what you should be doing right now?" Indeed, I had no money to pay rent when they had taken all my money. Seeing that Lumi was going to call the gravekeepers to withdraw the rent, I broke. Going down on all fours without an ounce of dignity, I begged, "I shouldn't have done it, please! Don't let the gravekeepers throw away my grandfather's urn!" Sirius reared his head triumphantly as he relished in the moment before slowly dropping to a crouch and taunted in a voice only I could hear, "You wouldn't know this, but I'm the one who bought the lot where your grandfather was laid to rest. "The gravekeepers tried to call you to get the urn, so I made sure to block every call. That's why they treated it as unclaimed and sent it to waste disposal… Tut, tut! He's probably resting in a trash heap now! How about that for a game?" My eyes widened as I could skin him right then. Forget pranking me—he would hurt my late grandfather! No, I needed to kill this animal right now! I was bellowing as I leaped up like a raging beast, lunging at Sirirus and strangling him. "You're so stubborn!" Lumi snapped furiously as she tried to pull me away, but I was much stronger and didn't budge at all. When I was about to kill Sirius, Lumi panicked and grabbed a fruit knife, and the ensuing scuffle ended up with her stabbing me. Even as I felt like the agony would rip me apart, I collapsed, my warm blood spilling out endlessly. Lumi panicked when she saw me bleeding, her eyes red as she pushed Sirius away and rushed to me. However, the door was kicked down before she reached me as the cops stormed inside, surrounding both her and Sirius.