The wedding music swelled, and my fiancé was about to slip the ring onto my finger when some woman burst in. She was huge with child, face as white as a sheet. Looking straight at my almost-husband, she cried out, “Joey, I think I’m going into labor! My contractions are killing me…” Joey went into full-blown panic mode. He tossed the ring aside and bolted off the stage without a second thought. As he scooped her up in his arms to carry her out, I ran after him and grabbed his arm. He just shook me off like I was nothing, his voice cold, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten caught up in the moment and agreed to marry you. The truth is, I’ve always been in love with Cindy.” And with that, he carried her away, not even looking back. I stood there, mortified, feeling the eyes of all the guests on me, holding that ring that would never be worn. I never imagined that on what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, I’d get stabbed in the back like this. 1 After forcing a smile and saying goodbye to the last of the guests, I collapsed into a chair, staring blankly at the laptop in front of me. The caterer had just handed it to me. It wasn't a slideshow of Joey and my favorite memories, like we’d planned. Instead, it was filled with photos of him and another woman. Joey always told me he hated having his picture taken, that he didn't like documenting his life. I had to practically beg him to film that love story video we were supposed to play at the reception. When we were filming it, he looked annoyed the whole time, barely cracked a smile, and even walked off set before we were finished. But this laptop had 9,999 photos, every single one a snapshot of him and this pregnant woman. They were on romantic vacations together, kissing under the Northern Lights. The Joey in these photos was smiling, genuinely happy, not at all hesitant. The photos spanned five years. And I'd only been dating Joey for five years! Suddenly, memories flooded back. Me working my tail off to land him a client, drinking until I ended up in the ER. Me, pounding the pavement day and night, in the scorching sun and freezing rain, working my fingers to the bone for our future. Turns out, while I was busting my butt for "us," he was happily spending time with someone else. Maybe I was just numb from the shock, but when I saw Joey's Instagram post, I couldn’t even cry. It was a picture of idyllic bliss: a new mom, looking weak but happy, leaning against Joey's shoulder, smiling softly, holding a baby wrapped in a blanket. Joey captioned it: “Thank God, mom and baby are safe.” “How nice,” I thought bitterly. He might not be my husband, but he sure succeeded at becoming a dad. Mechanically, I tapped the "like" button, went home, and started packing a suitcase. Our housekeeper, Maria, came in, looking confused. "Honey, aren't you and Joey getting married today? Where are you going?" I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. "The wedding's off, Maria. Don’t call me that anymore." Maria's eyes widened in disbelief. She quickly collected herself, though, and squeezed my hand. "Honey, I've seen how much you've put into this marriage. Five long years! You've worked yourself sick, built everything you have. Your law firm is finally taking off. Don't throw it all away, that's just crazy!" I just wanted to crawl into a hole, but before I could even answer, I heard laughter and chatter from downstairs. Joey was home. It was only February, still a bit chilly, and Joey's long coat was draped around a small woman carrying a baby. Joey was lugging bags of baby supplies. The perfect little family. I'd never seen Joey look so gentle. My heart clenched, and I couldn't help but stare at the woman. I knew who she was, actually. Cindy. Joey's high school sweetheart. She dumped him when things got tough and moved overseas. Guess they found their way back to each other. Joey saw me and froze, his brow furrowing. Cindy looked at me, eyes welling up, all wide-eyed and innocent. "Sarah, I'm so sorry I ruined your wedding this morning. And that Joey went to the hospital with me. I wanted to come back to apologize as soon as the baby was born. I hope you're not mad." I gripped the handle of my suitcase. "How thoughtful of you, just after having a baby, to come back here and apologize to me." Cindy's face turned white. She looked helplessly at Joey. Joey looked furious, his voice low and dangerous. "Sarah, don't be sarcastic. If you're pissed, take it out on me. I'm the one who skipped out on the wedding. I'm the one who cheated on you. Cindy has nothing to do with this." "She just had a baby, she’s still recovering. Watch what you say to her.” So he could be caring. My heart felt like it was being ripped out with a dull knife. He left me at the wedding, alone to deal with the whispers and stares, so he could rush Cindy to the hospital. But he didn't seem to care if I was hurting or how difficult it would be for me to cancel the wedding arrangements. "Didn't even bother to ask how I handled everything, did you?" Joey just shrugged, "You're not some newbie fresh out of college. And you're not as fragile as Cindy. I knew you'd handle it." “Joey, don’t be so harsh. Be nice to her.” Cindy chimed in, looking pitifully at me, cradling her baby. "I'm sorry. You know Joey’s usually a sweetheart, but he gets worked up when it comes to me, and then he gets a little unreasonable." Joey was always so aloof around me, rarely showing any tenderness. Except for that one time in college. I almost got snatched off the street by some creeper. He stepped in and saved me. That's when I fell for him, hard. That's when my long, drawn-out pursuit began. I naively believed that if I loved him enough, he'd eventually love me back. Recently, Joey's law firm started to make a name for itself, and he suddenly proposed. He vowed not to take for granted my five years of supporting him and promised to make my dreams come true. I was overjoyed, convinced I’d finally melted the ice around his heart. But reality had other plans. Turns out, he wasn’t an ice cube, he was just someone else’s Prince Charming. I forced a bitter, self-deprecating smile. What had I been clinging to all these years? Cindy spoke, her tone seemingly gentle, but her words sharp, "Honey, Joey and I have a child together. Love doesn't care about who came first; it's about being true to each other. At this point, please, step aside. Give him back to me, okay? My baby needs a father." Joey wrapped his arm around her waist, his voice soft, "You don't have to apologize. It's all my fault." Then, he looked at me, a trace of guilt in his eyes, but mostly cold and resolute. "Sarah, proposing to you was a mistake. I do owe you a lot, and I thought marriage would make up for it. I thought I could settle, but when Cindy walked back into my life, I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I only wanted her." Cindy’s eyes glistened with tears as she gazed adoringly at him. Watching this, my heart shattered. Maria, who'd been silently observing, finally exploded, "You guys are unbelievable! Joey, Sarah’s been with you for five years! The best years of her life! She ate cheap takeout with you, chased after deals with you, stayed up all night helping you with briefs!" "You can cheat on her, but you can't erase everything she's done for you. Where was this 'settling' talk when you needed her? Now that you're doing well, you want to trade up? You're a jerk! Treating a girl who truly loved you like this...karma's gonna get you!" Joey and Cindy’s faces flushed crimson. Joey snapped, "Who asked you? This is between Sarah and me. Stay out of it!" Maria scoffed, "Joey, I was wrong about you! Just wait and see, without Sarah, your law firm will be nothing!" Joey's face turned purple. He threw Maria out, then glared at me, his eyes like knives. "Sarah, is that what you think too? You think my firm will fall apart without you? You were a valuable asset, but we’ll do just fine without you.” Oh really? The only reason his firm was doing so well was because I used my family’s wealth to secretly support him. “I’ll see how well your law firm operates without me!” I unclenched my fists and said, “Fine, have it your way. Let’s end it.” Joey sneered, his handsome face completely devoid of remorse. “Ending it was your idea. Don't come crawling back. Get out of my house now." Cindy put on a show of sympathy. "Joey, it's late. Where’s she gonna go if you kick her out?" Joey hugged her close, comforting her, "Don't worry about her. She's just some orphan with no parents, acting all high and mighty. If someone hadn’t taken pity on her, she'd probably still be begging on some street corner." It was true. Before the family found me, I was an orphan bouncing from foster home to foster home. Joey and I had been classmates since high school, though we weren't close back then. We grew closer in college after he helped me out that one time. All these years, I thought that even if we couldn't be lovers, we could at least be friends or family. But to him, I was nothing. Cindy looked at me apologetically, but her words were condescending, "Find a nice hotel, get some rest. No matter how much Joey dislikes you, I still feel like I owe you something." "Joey and I are getting married in a month. I hope you can come and wish us well. I would really appreciate your blessing." I couldn’t believe my ears. My fiancé left our wedding to be with another woman, personally destroying my wedding day. Now he was marrying that woman, and she had the nerve to ask me to attend the wedding! It was absurd. This wasn't just a slap in the face, it was a full-blown humiliation. "Congratulations on finally getting the ring," I said, forcing a cold smile, laced with sarcasm. "She can come or not, Cindy, you don't have to beg her." Joey looked at Cindy with such adoration, like she was the one who had been wronged. He glanced at me, "Sarah, you're too poor and too ordinary, you don't even have parents. I could never really marry some nobody from the street. You and I are from different worlds. Stop wasting your time on me." He acted like he was afraid I'd cling to him forever, like I was some unwanted burden. But the moment he walked out on our wedding, my heart died. After all this belittling, I was finally over it. I just felt foolish for being so stupid, for degrading myself in this relationship. Joey looked down at me, as if he was doing me a favor. "Sarah, you’ve been with me for five years, I don’t want to be completely heartless. Here's ten grand, call it severance pay for the past five years. Now get lost." I dragged my suitcase out of there. The cold wind stung my face, but it also cleared my head. I called Grandma. "Grandma, cancel the collaboration with Joey's firm. Announce it on his wedding day, call it my wedding gift to him.” Just then, a black luxury car pulled up in front of me. A tall, handsome man got out and quickly walked to my side. I looked up at him, my eyes immediately welling up with tears. "Mark..." He gently draped his black coat over my shoulders and tenderly wiped away the tears on my face. His expression was dark and frightening, but his voice was soft, "Don't be sad. He's just a loser. I'll make him beg for your forgiveness."
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