Postponing Our Wedding For Her Brother I'm Calling It Off

Out of nowhere, my girlfriend announced that our wedding was being postponed. "Austin’s eighteenth birthday bash is on that exact same day, and he really wants that ballroom. I already canceled our reservation and transferred it to his name." Her brother. Again. In the past, I would have argued and lost my temper. But now, all I felt was bone-deep exhaustion. After she finished speaking, she glanced at me guiltily, but I just smiled faintly. "Of course your brother's eighteenth birthday is more important. It doesn't matter if we even have a wedding." She froze for a second, then threw her arms around me. "I knew you'd understand! Honestly, I’ve always thought weddings are just for show anyway. Now we can save those few thousand dollars for something else." With that, she turned around and immediately dialed her brother’s number. I set down the half-folded wedding invitation in my hands, picked up my phone, and texted my dad. Dad, I'm calling off the wedding. After ending the call, I stood on the balcony, motionless. From behind me came Chloe’s voice. "What are you doing standing out there? Come over here and help me look at this." I turned and walked back into the living room. She was curled up on the couch, her phone screen glowing as she browsed a high-end electronics site. "What do you think of this setup? It’s over four thousand dollars. Top-of-the-line specs, and the custom casing looks amazing." She shoved the screen in front of my face. "Austin likes sleek, high-end gear. This should be perfect for him." I looked at the limited-edition gaming rig on the screen—a silver-and-black chassis with sharp edges, complete with custom RGB ambient lighting on the controller. It truly looked incredible. We had been together for five years. In those five years, across every birthday, holiday, and anniversary, the only thing she had ever given me was a plain T-shirt—and it was a promotional freebie. I had been so happy back then, thinking she had finally remembered me. It wasn't until I found the receipt in her bag that I saw the words "complimentary gift" printed in plain black and white. "It looks nice." She didn't catch the flat tone in my voice and kept scrolling. "There's also this one. It's six thousand dollars and comes with a full set of pro peripherals. Which one do you think is better?" "Either is fine." "Just help me pick one!" She furrowed her brows, her tone laced with impatience. "It’s his eighteenth birthday. It has to be special." I watched how intensely she compared the two setups, her fingers swiping back and forth, her face dead serious. Just last week, we went ring shopping. She had sat on the store couch staring at her phone the entire time. The sales associate pulled out five or six rings for me to try, and Chloe hadn't even looked up once. In the end, I picked out a pair of the cheapest plain bands myself for barely five hundred dollars. When paying, she had casually remarked, "Rings are just symbolic anyway. People get bored of wearing them after a few days." "Are you going to talk to your parents before buying him that setup?" "Why should I? It's my own money." "Besides, Mom and Dad already got him a top-tier PC. As his older sister, adding a console setup isn't over the top." I remembered the night we set our wedding date. She had told me we needed to keep the entire wedding budget under five thousand dollars—cut every corner we could. No honeymoon either; we'd make up for it later when we had more money. She couldn't bear to spend five thousand on our wedding, yet she didn't hesitate for a second to drop six thousand on a gaming rig for her brother. I sat down on the sofa and picked up one of the half-folded invitations. Our names were printed on the blush-pink cardstock, with the date set for the sixteenth of next month. I had spent an entire week picking them out—the cheapest design available, fifty cents each. I bought fifty of them. "Stop folding those." She glanced over dismissively. "We won't be using them anyway." My hands paused. "Chloe Vance," I said, calling her by her full name. "Yeah?" "Your brother's birthday is more important than our wedding, right?" She finally tore her gaze from her screen and looked at me. Her eyes darted away for a second, but she quickly put on that familiar, self-righteous expression. "It’s not like I had a choice. The venue said that was the only open slot left, and Austin was dead set on having that specific ballroom." "We're just pushing our wedding back a bit. It’s not like we're canceling it." "We can do it next spring. The weather will be nice, and an outdoor ceremony would be great." Next spring. I let out a quiet scoff and said nothing. Thinking I had conceded, she looked back down at her screen. "Let’s go with the six-thousand-dollar one then. It’s pricey, but Austin is going to love it." "I'm taking the day off tomorrow to check it out at the store. Come with me and give me a second opinion." "I can't. I have to work tomorrow." "Just take PTO. Don't you still have several vacation days left?" "I don't want to take time off." She finally sensed something was wrong, set her phone down, and turned to face me. "What is wrong with you? Are you sulking again?" "No." I stood up. "I'm going to take a shower." She grabbed my wrist. "Don't be like this. I know you feel slighted. But I swear, this is the absolute last time.""Once his eighteenth birthday is over, I won't interfere in his business anymore. Let's just focus on our own lives together, okay?" The last time. I had heard those words far too many times. The last time she said that was when her brother came to stay with us for an entire month during his junior year summer break. During that month, I got up at 6:30 every morning to make him breakfast, and after work, I had to bring him late-night takeout. He locked himself in the bedroom playing games until two or three in the morning with his speakers blasting, keeping me awake in the next room. When I asked Chloe if she could tell him to wear headphones because I had to wake up early for work, she brushed it off: "He's just a kid on vacation. Don't be so petty." The time before that, we had saved money for six months to plan a trip to Maui over the holidays. The hotel was booked, the flights were paid for, and the night before we left, her brother called crying that he was feeling down and needed her by his side. Without a second thought, she canceled our flight tickets, swallowing hundreds of dollars in non-refundable fees. She claimed, "Austin's under so much pressure at school right now. I have to be there for him." And the time before that, during our second year together, on my birthday. She promised to take me out for a nice steak dinner. I dressed up and waited at the restaurant for two hours. When she finally showed up, she brought her brother along. She said she couldn't just leave him home alone. Throughout that entire meal, I sat across from them, watching her cut his meat, pour his soda, and wipe his hands. My birthday cake was picked out by her brother—strawberry flavor, which I had never eaten in my life. She just offered a careless, "Sorry, Austin loves strawberry." Every single time was supposed to be the "last time." Yet it never was. "Chloe." I pulled my wrist out of her grip. "Does your 'last time' ever actually mean anything?" Her face darkened. "What are you trying to say?" "Nothing. Do whatever you want. I won't get involved anymore." She stared at me for a few seconds, then abruptly stood up, her voice rising. "He only turns eighteen once! Why can't you just tolerate him for once? Are you seriously making a scene over this?" I didn't bother arguing back. "How many times do I have to tell you? Austin has chronic health issues, and our parents are getting older! If I don't look after him, who will? Can't you show a little empathy?" Right as the words left her mouth, the doorbell rang. Chloe walked over and opened the door. The moment it clicked open, Austin bounced right in. Holding two boba drinks in his hands, he gave a cheerful shout of "Chloe!" before finally noticing me standing in the living room. "Logan!" He hurried over and thrust one of the cups into my hands. "I bought this for you! Your favorite—taro milk tea!" I looked down at the cup in my hands and stayed silent. Taro was his favorite. I had never touched it. Austin tilted his head, watching my face, and his expression instantly crumbled. He set the drink on the coffee table, twisting his fingers together nervously, his voice dropping into a timid whimper. "Logan... are you mad at me?" "No," I replied flatly. "Really?" He took a step closer, staring straight at me with wide, pitiful eyes. "Is it because of the venue? Logan, I swear I didn't mean to. I had no idea you guys booked that date! How about I tell Mom and Dad to pick another room? Please don't be mad, okay?" "It's fine," I said with a faint, detached smile. "Go ahead and enjoy your party. It's great." He bit his lower lip, making his voice sound even smaller. "If you're really upset, I honestly don't even need to have the party..." Chloe marched over and threw an arm around Austin's shoulders. "Enough, Austin. He didn't say no. You've already apologized to him, what more does he want?"Austin looked up at her. "Chloe, don't blame Logan. It's totally normal for him to feel hurt. I'd feel terrible if I were in his shoes too." "Him? Hurt?" Chloe scoffed, grabbing her jacket off the couch. "What does he have to be upset about? The wedding is just postponed, not canceled." "You only turn eighteen once in your life. What is he even competing with you for?" She patted Austin's head, her voice softening into pure tenderness. "Come on, I'm taking you out to dinner." "What about Logan?" Austin looked back at me. "Leave him alone. Let him sit here and cool off." Chloe tugged Austin toward the door. The door slammed shut behind them with a loud thud. The apartment fell dead silent. I sat on the couch, taking in the place where I had lived for two years. The beanbag chair in the corner of the living room was bought for her brother because he said it was comfortable to lounge in while playing games. The collectibles on the TV console belonged to him because he thought they looked cool there. The fridge door was covered in photobooth strips of him flashing bright, smug smiles. I walked into the spare room, which was originally supposed to be my home office. I pushed the door open. The setup inside was nothing like what I had envisioned. A blue comforter was spread over the bed, anime posters he liked were plastered all over the walls, and his random gadgets cluttered the desk. I opened the closet. Two-thirds of it was taken up by his clothes—all bought by Chloe, some with the tags still on. I glanced through them. A single designer hoodie cost three hundred dollars; she had bought it just because he asked for it. Last winter, I wanted to buy an eighty-dollar warm puffer coat, and she had told me it was too expensive and that I should wait for a holiday clearance sale. Walking back into the master bedroom, I dragged out my suitcase and began packing my clothes. Piece by piece, folded neatly, zipped inside. It took less than an hour to pack everything that belonged to me. On the credenza in the living room sat our framed photo, silent and still. I hesitated for a second, then left it untouched. I took the apartment key out of my pocket and placed it squarely on the console table by the entryway. My phone buzzed. It was a notification from the family group chat on SnapChat. Chloe had posted a picture of her and Austin at a high-end restaurant, the table overflowing with gourmet dishes. I knew that restaurant. It was downtown, costing nearly a hundred dollars a person. I had wanted to go for years. I brought it up on our anniversary once, and she said it was a waste of money, dragging me to a greasy diner instead. In the chat, her mom replied: Treating your brother to good food again. You’re such an amazing sister! Chloe responded with a smiling emoji. Austin sent a long string of texts: Chloe is the absolute best! She ordered all my favorites! I didn't read any further. I slipped the phone into my pocket, grabbed my luggage, and walked out the door. I called an Uber straight to the train station. I bought a ticket on the way—the earliest express train heading back to my hometown. Standing room only. It didn't matter. It was only an hour's ride. Entering the station, clearing security, waiting at the gate. I sat on a cold metal bench in the waiting hall as crowds bustled past and automated announcements chimed over the PA system. My train was still twenty minutes away. My phone screen suddenly lit up with Chloe's name. I answered. "Where are you?" Her voice sounded confused, with the faint background noise of her brother laughing. "Why are your keys on the entryway table?" "I went home," I said. "Home? Back to your dad's place?" "Fine by me. Austin actually wanted to stay over at our place for a few days to hang out." "It's good for you and Austin to spend a few days apart anyway. Less tension, fewer arguments." She spoke so casually, as if I had moved out solely to free up space for her darling brother. As if it were the most considerate arrangement in the world. "Chloe, I'm never coming back. We don't need to get married anymore."