The Groom Chooses The Maid Of Honour

Mia was fuming.

Sakura hadn't just seduced Haru again—now, they were officially going out. Meanwhile, Mia hadn't even spoken to Haru once since university started.

As the lecture hall buzzed with leftover excitement from the kiss, Mia sat frozen, fists clenched. Her vision blurred—not with the sight of nineteen-year-old Haru and Sakura, but of her twenty-eight-year-old fiancé, standing at the altar, kissing her best friend.

Her fiancé. Her best friend. The memory burned. Sakura had betrayed her. Or at least, that's what Mia told herself.

The truth—the real, undeniable truth—was that Sakura had never done anything behind her back. She had never gone after Haru. She had never tried to take him away. She had never once betrayed Mia, regardless of how she felt about him.

But Mia couldn't accept that.

Because if she did, that meant Haru had never chosen her. That he had always been in love with Sakura.

And that reality was something Mia refused to believe.

Instead, she told herself that Sakura had been seducing Haru in secret, playing the innocent, selfless friend while secretly stealing him away. Acting oblivious.

Pretending she wasn't doing anything wrong.

Mia needed to believe that. Because if Sakura wasn't the villain in her story… then that meant Mia was never the heroine.

Mia inhaled sharply, gripping her pen so tightly it nearly snapped.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

In the past, she had told Sakura the truth. She had confessed that she loved Haru. And in response, Sakura helped her get close to him.

She had always been like that—selfless, obedient, never putting herself first.

So why?

Why was she going after Haru now?

Mia's stomach twisted. Wait… I never confessed in this life.

That had to be it.

Sakura must not realise how she felt.

That's why she was acting differently—why she was bold enough to kiss Haru in front of everyone.

Because in this timeline, Mia had never told her that she loved Haru.

Mia inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself. It's okay. It's fine.

She would fix this.

She just had to tell Sakura how she felt.

Then, just like before, Sakura would back off.

Because if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was this:

Sakura never said no.

…

Sakura, on the other hand, had no idea what was going through Mia's mind.

All she could think about was the fact that she had just kissed Haru.

Her heart was still pounding.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't focus on the lecture. Her brain kept replaying the moment—the warmth of his lips, the way he had pulled her closer, the feeling of his hand cradling the back of her neck.

Sakura's face burned red as she packed her bag, fanning herself as if the room had suddenly become a hundred degrees hotter.

She didn't dare look at Haru—the cause of her current symptoms.

She needed to get out of there. Now.

Without thinking, she grabbed her bag and rushed toward the exit.

Mia's head snapped up, eyes widening. She's leaving?!

She needed to talk to her—now.

She had to stop this before it even started.

But by the time Mia got to her feet, Sakura was already gone.

Mia's jaw tightened.

She had missed her chance.

But she wouldn't miss it again.