Bald Before the Altar

The morning before her wedding, Lena wakes to find her head shaved. Chelsea, her fiancé Roman's childhood friend, claims it was a slip of the hand, while Roman laughs it off and tells Lena to wear a wig. Lena calmly slips off her diamond ring and offers it to Chelsea, saying she can be the bride instead. Only later does she learn Roman drugged her milk with sleeping pills so Chelsea could carry out the act.

Roman shields Chelsea, insisting she is just playful and childlike, and accuses Lena of making a scene. Lena remembers how he once pursued her, brought her ginger tea and flowers, and promised to protect her forever, until Chelsea returned from abroad and all his tenderness shifted to her. Now she feels nothing but freedom from a relationship in which she was always the discarded option.

When her professor again invites her to join a national scientific expedition, Lena accepts, knowing the team departs in half a month, enough time to cancel a wedding. She spends the night preparing documents, unaware of when Roman comes home.