From Broken to Beloved-Chapter 171- hardship

The final part of the wedding ceremony was the traditional bouquet toss.

The host was still calling out for all the unmarried girls in the audience to come up and catch the flowers, when Marylin suddenly skipped the whole ritual.

Instead of throwing the bouquet, she simply placed it straight into Zoey’s hands, then turned to the host with a bright smile.

"Let’s end the bouquet toss here," she said. "I’ll just give it to my bridesmaid. More than anything, I hope she finds her happiness soon."

Looking at the calm, gentle Zoey in front of her, Marylin remembered the joke they once shared:

that if both of them were still unmarried by thirty-five, they would just be together instead.

Now, as her own thirtieth birthday was approaching, she had already married. No one wanted Zoey to find her own happiness more than Marylin did—to fall in love and live sweetly, just as she had.

Among their four close friends, Zoey was the only one still single. That longing for her to find a home of her own only grew stronger, which was why Marylin had handed her the bouquet directly.

Zoey smiled as she accepted the flowers and stepped forward to give Marylin a gentle hug.

"Thank you."

She understood Marylin’s feelings completely—because she felt the same way herself.

Sitting in the audience, Catherine watched the serene bridesmaid and quietly repeated her name in her mind.

Zoey.

For some reason, Catherine suddenly thought of the ring Leonardo had asked her to design—the one engraved with two initials: ZY.

Leonardo had said they were the initials of the girl he liked.

Z and y...

Zoey. The letters fit perfectly.

Leonardo had never told Catherine the girl’s full name—only those two letters. Everyone knew he was planning to confess his love, but no one knew who the girl was.

Vivian had asked him several times, and even had her husband try to get the truth out of him, but Leonardo refused to say anything.

"You’ll find out when the time comes," was all he would say.

Catherine didn’t know whether this was coincidence or fate, but her gaze drifted unconsciously to the table beside her.

Leonardo was there.

He was friends with Laurent and the others, as well as Marylin, so of course he had come to the wedding.

When Catherine looked at him, she noticed that his eyes were fixed intently in one direction on the stage—deep, focused, unmoving.

He wasn’t looking at the bride.

Not at the groom.

And certainly not at the male host.

That left only one person.

Zoey.

And with her initials matching the letters on the ring, Catherine was almost certain now:

Zoey was the girl Leonardo liked.

Realizing this secret made Catherine’s heart flutter with a quiet excitement.

Leonardo had kept it so well hidden. But then again, a confession should stay secret—only that way could it become a real surprise.

Later, during the toast, Karl and Marylin came over to thank Bert and Catherine.

When they reached Leonardo’s table, he finished his drink and suddenly turned to Zoey behind Marylin.

"What time is your flight back abroad?"

At his table were their old classmates and friends—Vivian and her husband, and others they had known for years.

Dave refused to come over—he didn’t want to sit at the same table as Leonardo.

Laurent, however, insisted. Dave couldn’t argue with her, so he followed along, though he only stayed for a short while before moving to another table. Laurent remained where she was, unmoved, and Dave could only let her have her way.

After Leonardo asked Zoey that question, everyone at the table froze for a moment. No one had expected him to speak up like that. In a setting like this, the attention should have been on the bride and groom who had come to make their rounds—not on the bridesmaid standing behind them.

Even Zoey was startled. She glanced at him, then quickly looked away and replied calmly,

"Seven in the evening."

Zoey wasn’t a freelancer. She was bound by company rules and contracts, and December 12th was a Monday—a workday. She had already taken leave to attend her best friend’s wedding. Tomorrow morning, she had to be back at the office. No matter what, she had to return abroad tonight.

She didn’t know why Leonardo had suddenly asked her that. She didn’t think he meant to travel with her—he was always busy, rushing from one schedule to another, and with a concert coming up, he certainly couldn’t afford the time.

The reason she had booked such a late flight was because she wanted to stay until everything at Marylin’s wedding was truly finished—to help clean up and lighten Marylin’s burden before leaving.

Of course, there was another reason.

To avoid Leonardo.

After she answered, Leonardo said nothing more. He only looked at her once, then fell silent.

Vivian took Laurent with one hand and Zoey with the other, sighing with emotion.

"Zoey, out of the four of us, you’re the only one still single. You really need to hurry."

Laurent echoed her,

"That’s right. You even caught Marylin’s bouquet. We all hope you’ll be the next to get married."

Zoey pressed her lips into a small smile.

"Alright. I’ll try my best."

As she said this, smiling softly, someone’s gaze never left her gentle face. Zoey could feel it—but she refused to meet his eyes.

Lately, Leonardo’s attitude toward her had grown more and more ambiguous, and all she could do was avoid him.

Because she didn’t know whether his feelings were real—or if she was merely a second choice, a substitute for someone he could never

Zoey’s flight back abroad was at seven in the evening. At six, Vivian drove her to the airport right on time.

Marylin, as the bride, couldn’t come to see her off. Laurent, with both children to care for, couldn’t leave either. Vivian was the only one free, so she came to send Zoey off.

The large airport parking lot was quiet—there weren’t many people catching late flights, and only a few cars were scattered around. As they arrived, they spotted a striking nanny van parked not far away.

Vivian took a closer look at the model and the license plate and couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise.

"Isn’t that Leonardo’s van? Didn’t he leave a long time ago?"

The wedding banquet had ended around three in the afternoon. Leonardo had said he was heading to catch a flight and then left. More than three hours had passed—yet his van was still parked here?

Leonardo’s entertainment career had taken off in Burg Eltz, and his parents still lived there, so part of his life had always been based in the city. Because of that, he kept a dedicated van there for work.

During the peak years of his career, he worked almost nonstop—out of 365 days, nearly 360 were filled with filming, concerts, events, and promotions. He was so busy that people rarely even saw him.

In the past two years, however, he had slowed down and gradually shifted the center of his life to abroad. After finishing a modern drama there, he had fallen in love with the city. He even bought a home and seemed determined to settle down.

Zoey was just about to unfasten her seat belt and get out of the car. When she heard Vivian’s words, she lifted her eyes toward the van ahead. It was indeed Leonardo’s.

Her calm eyes lowered slightly. She said nothing, only opened the door and stepped out, then went to the trunk to take her luggage.

Vivian, always warm and outgoing, said cheerfully as she got out,

"Since he hasn’t left yet, why don’t we go say hello?"

"Mm."

Zoey took down her suitcase and replied lightly, but she didn’t follow Vivian. Instead, she lingered behind, pushing her luggage slowly.

Just as Vivian was about to walk toward the van, its door opened. Leonardo stepped out.

His gaze passed over Vivian and settled on the girl standing behind her, head lowered.

She had changed out of her gorgeous bridesmaid dress and was now wearing a long black coat that wrapped her slender figure completely, almost blending her into the night.

Her temperament suited her name perfectly—quiet, calm, serene.

As if she had no desire to compete with the world, yet stubbornly and resiliently surviving within it.

A girl with no background, rising to a managerial position in a foreign company in a fiercely competitive city—how much hardship and effort she had endured, only she herself truly knew.