The field behind you was a sprawling hill, thousands of flowers scattered upon it, turning the surrounding background into a swirling expanse of colour and beauty.

But to Simon; it was nothing in comparison to you.

You stood beneath a handcrafted arch of white flowers, your perfectly styled hair blowing in the wind in a way that almost seemed purposeful.

You looked like an angel, with your eyes shining as bright as always. But you weren’t looking at him with that smile of yours. Instead of being opposite you, in the place of the person who was; Simon was in the audience.

Simon hadn’t felt a single lick of joy since he’d arrived at the wedding ceremony. Your ceremony. Where you were marrying another person while he watched; passive to the way you shredded his heart with vows spoken for someone else.

Maybe in another universe they were for him, but he was stuck in this one. The universe where he spent god knows how long yearning for someone who was never his.

“I’m not the one you want,” you told him all those years ago.

How was he supposed to convince you that you were the one he wanted. And possibly the only one he would ever want. Because Simon couldn’t imagine ever moving on from you, even if he was missing something he never had.

But now his chance was yanked roughly out of his reach, and he was forced to witness it. The wedding invitation came in the mail like some sick joke. A normal person would’ve rejected it, but he could never say no to you. Even at his own expense.

A few hours had passed, and the evening reception was slowly coming to an end. The crowd began to thin as people started to head home. Simon hand was tensely curled around a glass that swished with an amber liquid as he surveyed the party.

He was pulled from his thoughts as the chair opposite him was pulled back, and he looked over to see you hesitantly sit down. Your eyes avoided his.

You spoke after a few tense moments, “I’m glad you came.”

Simon’s jaw clenched. “At least one of us are.”