**Prelude**
I’d planned to surprise James before the wedding, so I cut my business trip short and booked an early flight home.
But when I walked in, ready to unpack, my eyes landed on a piece of women’s lingerie in the washing machine, one that wasn’t mine. Then I saw the caramel-colored curly hair on his pillow. My world shattered in an instant.
I didn’t even think, just grabbed a cab straight to his office. I was going to confront him, face-to-face. But as I reached his door, I overheard him talking to Lily, his secretary.
“Lily, will you marry me? I’ll break up with her right now. Just say the word, and I’ll switch her out at the wedding. No problem.”
The words hit me like a slap, but it was his voice, so damn sincere, that froze me in place. My hand lingered on the door handle, but I couldn’t move.
Instead, I booked a flight out of the country. I watched him pretend everything was fine, but I knew.
And on wedding day? The bride ran. James lost his mind.
**Prelude ends**
My hand was frozen in midair.
Through the glass door, I saw James holding our house deed in one hand and a diamond ring in the other.
He was dressed in a custom-tailored suit, kneeling in a sea of red roses. And standing across from him, the woman I never wanted to admit I feared, Lily, the secretary he’d hired only six months ago.
His face was completely different from the cold, indifferent expression he’d worn when he proposed to me just three months ago.
Now, his eyes were shining with excitement, filled with a kind of joy that I hadn’t even seen in him during our entire five years together. His gaze was filled with love for her, the kind I thought he reserved for me. The sight felt like a dagger to my heart.
“Will you marry me?” he asked her, his voice dripping with sincerity. “Just say yes, and I’ll put the deed in your name. I’ll get it notarized and signed right away, no take-backs. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
Lily, with that sweet, saccharine tone, responded, “James, I don’t want you to replace the bride at the wedding. She’s the one. Only her.”
The words stung more than I expected.
Then she said something I never thought I’d hear:
“I want you to break up with her at the wedding. I can’t stand how she bosses me around. Please, James, it’s time.”
I remembered helping her out when she first started at the company, teaching her the ropes, never imagining she would twist my kindness into a weapon.
After five years together, I should have been worth more than this. I should have gotten something, anything, better than this.
But as I stood there, unable to move, I heard James’s voice, soft and comforting.
“Alright, alright. Whatever Lily wants. Who told her to pick on you? I’ll handle it. Don’t worry, babe. Your man will make sure she gets what’s coming.”
“Really?” Lily asked. “But you’ve been with her for five years. People say you two are perfect together…”
“In those five years, I’ve spent three years with you, Lily. You know that better than anyone, right?”
“I knew you were the best for me,” she said, practically glowing.
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Three years? Three years with *me*, and I never even knew he felt this way.
Tears blurred my vision, but I couldn’t cry. I covered my mouth, trying to hold it together as I stumbled away from the door.
I fled. I had to get out of there, away from the man who had just ripped my heart to shreds.
By the time I got home, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely unlock the door.
I downed two glasses of ice water to steady myself, trying to push away the numbness that had set in.
The first thing I did was call my boss.
“Mr. Anderson, about the overseas branch you mentioned, I’m ready to go.”
At first, he was excited for me. But then he hesitated.
“But didn’t you say you were getting married soon? Your fiancé is here. And though the overseas job pays more, you know… family is important.”
I pressed the cool glass against my eyes, trying to block out the tears. “We’re not getting married anymore. Career’s more important now. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for so long. If we could break up this easily, then it wasn’t meant to be.”
There was a long pause before Mr. Anderson spoke again, his voice quieter.
“It’s good you’ve realized that. I remember when you were overseas, you could never get ahold of your fiancé. You weren’t even married yet, and he didn’t care about you being alone out there. It’s okay to wait on marriage, but it’s important to choose the right person.”
His words hit harder than I expected, and tears spilled down my face.
Even someone like Mr. Anderson, who didn’t know James, didn’t know what I’d gone through, could see what was wrong. He could see the truth that James had been hiding from me.
And that truth? It was worse than I’d ever imagined.
The man I loved for five years had been willing to humiliate me at our wedding, all for another woman.
I splashed cold water on my face, trying to calm the storm raging inside me. But then my phone buzzed, and I froze.
It was a message from James.
[Honey, I’m working so late again. I miss you so much. I wish I could marry you tomorrow!]
The message was like a cruel joke, his words meaningless now, a hollow echo of everything I once believed.
