What started in beautiful rooms, ends with meetings in parking lots.

What started in beautiful rooms, ends with meetings in parking lots.

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.

That’s the chant Cinderella's fairy godmother said when she’s about to turn her life into a dream come true, right?

Well here’s mine:

Oh-Evie-what-a-fool-are-you.

Turns out, not all spells lead to a happily ever after.

Ardan grabs my hand and pulls me out of the wedding venue so abruptly I barely have time to process it. I don’t know what made him want to leave so soon—I hadn’t even taste the infamous zuppa soup after we congratulated Eva, his ex, and her newly wedded husband.

Eva.

I don’t remember much about her except that I smiled and said “Congratulations,” while she gave me a big, radiant smile and shook my hand. We didn’t talk much—other guests were already lining up behind us to greet the couple—but even in that brief exchange, I saw it. The twisted little fairytale playing out in front of me.

The entire night, Ardan never let go of my hand. His touch was firm, reassuring, as if he was anchoring me to his side. He kept his arm around my waist, guiding me through the crowd, introducing me to his friends, his former lecturers, even his old advisor. I felt like a princess with him, my arms wrapped in his perfectly pressed black suit, his musk yet soothing scent lingering in the air.

Butterflies in my stomach, warmth in my chest. I was happy, content, even.

But not when we stepped up to the dais, only to feel that his grip on my hand started to loosen, and the first thing I heard was his words to Eva, “Congratulations, Va. I’m happy for you.”

There was nothing wrong with his words—it was the way he looked at her, the way he seemed to forget that I was standing right beside him. Then Eva, all dressed in white and stunning, turned to me with a warm smile. “Thank you udah dateng, Dan. Ini siapa? Haiii, you’re so pretty,” she said, her eyes flicking to me.

That was the time Ardan snapped himself back to reality. He turned his body fully on me now, introducing me to her, “She’s my plus one, Va. This is Genevieve.”

I blinked.

“Vie, Eva,” he continued quickly. “Eva, this is Vie.”

I let out a small laugh, feeling a bit thrown off. Ardan never uses my full given name, not to anyone. He always calls me E, sometimes Evie (that’s also because I asked him to). “He never calls me that, I’m Evie,” I smiled to the bride.

“You have a pretty name,” she chuckled.

“She does,” Ardan adds.