Nothing was more heartbreaking than preparing to marry your childhood sweetheart only to be left standing at the altar, alone.
Twenty-two-year-old Sharon Moore sat on the cold bench outside the city hall, her white dress soaked as the rain poured mercilessly from the grey skies above. Her hair clung to her face, her hands trembled around her phone, and her heart pounded in confusion and fear.
"Jason... Jason, where are you? I'm at the city hall. Aren't we supposed to get married today?" Her voice cracked as panic began to set in.
A beat of silence. Then came the reply, calm, emotionless, final.
"Sharon, I'm sorry. I don't want to marry you anymore. Please… move on with your life."
The call ended. Just like that.
She stared blankly at the screen, unable to process the words. Her world blurred not from the rain but from the tears spilling freely down her cheeks.
Unbeknownst to her, she wasn't the only one nursing a broken heart that day.
A man stood just a few feet away, soaked and silent, dressed in worn jeans and a drenched white shirt. He, too, had arrived for a wedding that didn't happen. His bride never showed up.
He turned toward the desk clerk, a woman who'd seen one too many stories unravel at that same desk.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked, nodding in Sharon's direction.
The clerk gave her a sad glance. "She was supposed to get married today. Groom stood her up."
He exhaled slowly and walked over to Sharon.
"Excuse me, miss... would you like to get married?" he asked gently.
Sharon blinked and turned to him, startled. "What?"
"I said... would you like to get married?" he repeated, his tone calm but steady.
She stared at him. Disheveled. Soaked. Clearly not well-off. Was this some cruel twist of fate? First Jason leaves her, and now a stranger in rags is offering marriage?
This is what my life has become? she thought bitterly. Rejected by the love of my life, and now proposed to by a pauper?
The man noticed her expression and quickly added, "Look, you don't have to say yes. I just figured... Maybe we could help each other out. I was supposed to get married too. She didn't show up. I thought... maybe we could save face, at least for today."
Sharon hesitated, her heart screaming no, but her mouth betrayed her.
"Okay... let's get married."
She didn't know why she said it. Maybe it was heartbreak. Maybe it was pride. Or maybe... it was the way he looked at her, not with pity, but with understanding.
"You're sure?" he asked again.
She gave a small nod.
They walked together, strangers bound by shared rejection, to the clerk who watched them with a raised brow.
"Are you two ready?" she asked.
They nodded, and though hesitation lingered in the air, the man stepped forward with quiet confidence.
"We're okay with this."
The clerk handed them a pen. Hands shaking, Sharon signed her name. So did he.
"Congratulations, Ethan and Sharon Lancaster," the clerk said solemnly.
They left the building in silence, waiting under the awning until the rain let up. Eventually, they shared the same Uber. Sharon didn't say a word during the ride. Her gaze stayed fixed on the raindrops racing down the window, her thoughts spinning out of control.
Ethan watched her quietly, sensing the storm within her was far worse than the one outside.
"I'll drop off here," she finally said.
Ethan frowned slightly but didn't protest.
After paying the driver, Sharon turned to him. "I don't have much. And looking at you... I'm guessing you don't either," she said, her voice tired.
She gestured behind her. "This is where I work. I'm a baker. If you ever need anything... you know where to find me."
With that, she closed the car door and walked away, disappearing behind the shop's entrance.
Ethan leaned back, still watching the spot where she vanished. Then, pulling out his phone, he dialed a number.
"I need everything you can find on a woman named Sharon Moore," he said, glancing down at the wedding card he still held in his hand.
He ended the call and looked out the window, his expression unreadable.
"I'll drop at the next stop," he said.
"Yes, sir," the driver replied.
But Ethan's mind wasn't on the next stop.
It was on the woman he'd just married.
And the secrets she didn't yet know he was keeping.