Chapter 1

I caught my boyfriend of ten years in bed with his close female friend.

The next day, they publicly announced their marriage license.

I tore the marriage certificate off page by page, chewed it up, and swallowed it.

Ten years together—I refused to believe he would betray me.

Until I ate the 8th marriage certificate, slit my wrists for the 9th time, and brought the media to his company to make a scene for the 10th time.

My boyfriend frowned and threw the paternity test report down in front of me.

"Madison is pregnant. It's mine."

"Do I have to cut the baby out and show it to you before you'll face reality?"

Something in me died completely.

I let him lead another woman by the hand onto the wedding stage I had spent six months arranging with my own hands.

When the toasts came around, it was my table's turn.

My boyfriend smiled and raised his glass to me. "I'm sorry, Hope. It took wasting ten years of your time for me to finally see my own heart clearly. I hope you won't mind."

Cradled in his arms, Madison stroked her belly, smiling gently, but her eyes were full of challenge.

Later, my best friend couldn't bear to see me so weak and haggard, so she gritted her teeth and told me the truth.

"Actually, Sebastian Rowe never betrayed you."

"During his premarital checkup, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was afraid you'd spend your whole life a widow because of him, so he begged us to put on this act for you!"

I only gave a faint "mm."

My best friend stared at me in disbelief. "You already knew?"

The silk scarf wrapped around my head slipped off, and the once thick, glossy black hair was now thin and withered.

I said softly, "I know."

"Because the one diagnosed with a terminal illness in that premarital report wasn't him. It was me."

...

Sebastian and Madison's wedding was a spectacle that drew everyone's eyes.

Every detail was exactly the wedding I'd dreamed of.

My best friend Stephanie Dickerson and I sat in the guest seats.

Sebastian and I were high school classmates, and everyone at this table was a former classmate.

"Hey, isn't that Hope?"

"I heard you just got dumped by Mr. Rowe. How do you still have the nerve to show up here?"

"The bride only invited you to be polite. Actually daring to come—do you have no brains?"

Stephanie spoke up for me.

"Our Hope broke up with Sebastian Rowe and walked away with two hundred million. I wonder how much any of you are worth?"

They were shut down, but they were quick to fire back.

"That kind of money is nothing to Mr. Rowe. Everyone knows Hope was the one clinging on and refusing to leave. What else could he do but pay her off to be rid of her?"

"Exactly, exactly, what's there to be so smug about?"

Stephanie frowned and whispered in my ear, "Hope, if you're not feeling okay, let's leave right now."

I signaled that I was fine.

At that moment, the newlyweds made their entrance. Sebastian in a well-tailored black suit, and Madison in a custom-made wedding gown on his arm, walked slowly down the red carpet.

A talented man and a beautiful woman—the congratulations came pouring in.

During the ring exchange, the emcee asked the groom and bride if they had any regrets.

Sebastian took Madison's hand with deep affection.

"My biggest regret is that I wasted the most precious ten years of my life before I could see clearly who I truly, truly loved, and it made us miss out on so much time together."

The people around me who knew about my relationship with Sebastian whispered among themselves, wanting to watch me be made a fool of.

My expression stayed calm as I clapped along with everyone else.

The wedding soon moved on to the toasting.

Sebastian and Madison offered their toasts table by table.

Everyone at the table stood up to congratulate them.