PART 3
Silence spread across the hallway.
The ballroom music stopped.
Every guest turned toward the old library.
The door opened only a few inches.
Then stopped.
Nathan grabbed my hand.
"Stay here."
But I pulled away.
"No."
I walked toward it alone.
Margaret was crying.
"You don't understand..."
I pushed the door open again.
The library looked exactly the same.
Except...
There was now a single photograph lying on the wooden table.
I picked it up.
My hands began to shake.
It was my engagement party.
Nathan stood beside me.
But the woman in the red velvet dress was standing behind us.
Smiling.
One arm resting on Nathan's shoulder.
Someone who had never been there.
Written on the back was a single sentence.
"Every bride sees the truth before the wedding."
I slowly turned toward Nathan.
His face had gone completely pale.
"You... can see her too?"
I couldn't answer.
Margaret finally walked into the room.
She took a deep breath.
"My grandmother told me this hotel keeps memories that never died."
"The woman in red was murdered here on the night before her wedding."
"Since then..."
"Every unfaithful groom sees her."
Nathan collapsed into a chair.
Tears filled his eyes.
"I never told anyone."
My heart sank.
"What didn't you tell anyone?"
He buried his face in his hands.
"I met her months ago."
"I thought she was just another guest."
"I kissed her."
"I didn't even know her name."
"I never saw her again."
Margaret closed her eyes.
"You kissed a ghost."
Nathan looked at me.
"I swear I never cheated on you with anyone else."
I stood there for a long time.
Then I quietly removed my engagement ring.
Not because of the ghost.
Because the kiss had been real.
Whether she was alive...
Or dead.
Trust had already died.
I placed the ring on the dusty table.
Without saying another word...
May you like
I walked out of the hotel.
And I never looked back.
