Marry Me Read Online Free Page B

likely to prove shortlived. She’s screaming in terror, and I’m wondering whether this would be a good moment to remind her that it had been her idea.

BLUE
    Without giving her the slightest warning, I told my wife I was leaving.
    â€˜O.K.,’ she said. ‘Bye, then.’
    In case she had misunderstood, I explained that I wouldn’t be coming back.
    She shrugged. ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘If that’s your decision.’
    â€˜Are you going to be O.K.?’ I asked.
    â€˜Why wouldn’t I be O.K.?’
    I had expected there to be at least a little scene after such monumental news from out of the blue, and a part of me was disappointed that she was taking things so calmly. I had even rehearsed a speech in which I told her not to cry, and assured her that she would, in time, find love with somebody else. Instead of delivering it, I just walked away. Halfway down the garden path I realised I’d forgotten to pack my favourite mug, so I crept back inside.
    I was relieved to find her curled in a ball on the sofa, hugging a framed wedding photograph, loudly repeating my name, and bawling like a toddler who’s left their bear on the train.

PROMISE III
    As I held her in my arms on our wedding night, Anemone said, ‘You remember all that stuff we said earlier, about staying together forever, and never doing it with anyone else?’ I nodded. ‘We’re not going to take that
too
seriously, are we?’

REACH
    My fiancée died. With tears in their eyes, her mother and father told me there had been a tradition in their ancestral village for the bereaved man to marry the deceased’s younger sister. Though they understood that we were all leading modern lives, they implored us to respect this ancient code.
    I was far too heartbroken to consider a new romance, and to complicate things further her sister and I had never found any common ground. We both knew how much it would mean to her parents, though, and after a private talk we agreed to play along for a while. Inevitably, we got on each other’s nerves—she with her free-spirited ways and eccentric fashion sense, and me with my stubbornly conventional lifestyle and wardrobe.
    Gradually, we realised we had more in common than we’d thought, and even began to learn from one another—me to loosen up, and she to take a little more responsibility for herself. Together we were able to find the strength we needed to get through this difficult time, and at last we reached a point where we were able to laugh again. With this new familiarity came real fondness, and though we both tried to run from these emotions, they were just too strong. One day, in a scenic location, we found ourselves locked in a romantic embrace.
    It’s worked out well: her parents are happy; we’re now properly engaged rather than just pretending; and we’ve even sold our story to Hollywood. A bittersweet culture clash romcom,
Marrying May Wong,
is about to open at over three thousand locations, before being rolled out across forty-two international territories. Early research suggests it has a wide demographic reach, considerable prerelease awareness and a good chance of a strong opening weekend.

CHURCH II
    My fiancée had never been even slightly religious, but all the talk of God during our marriage ceremony got her thinking, and she started to believe. As a result, our wedding night wasn’t quite what I had hoped it would be. ‘There’s no way I’m taking all my clothes off with
Him
watching,’ she said.

BRAVE
    My wife gave me a big hug, and told me I was going to have to be very brave. ‘I’m really sorry,’ she said, ‘but I just don’t think I can carry on being married to you.’
    I couldn’t understand why she would walk out on everything we had. ‘Is there somebody else?’ I asked.
    â€˜No,’ she said, ‘there isn’t. But I would really,
really
like