Chapter 4

The procedure went smoothly.

My belly felt light and empty, as if a life had never lived there at all.

The wedding at the hotel wasn't over yet.

Sophie was livestreaming from the venue, and the title jumped right out at you.

【Helped a friend tame her vampire girlfriend — now we're both independent leading ladies of a new era.】

She held up her phone and patted Roy on the shoulder.

“Babe, say hi.”

Roy's brow creased.

“Don't say things like that.”

But he still ducked his head, smiled, and waved at the camera.

The comments scrolled by fast.

“Handsome guy, gorgeous girl, so well matched.”

“Are you getting married today, host? The dress is beautiful.”

Sophie spun in a full circle with the phone, her face bright with excitement.

“Let me show everyone my wedding.”

I couldn't stop myself. My fingers flew across the screen and I fired off a comment.

“So a leading lady is someone who claws her way up by stealing another woman's husband?”

The second it posted, a string of question marks trailed under it.

Sophie saw it. Her expression didn't shift at all. If anything, the smile in her eyes deepened.

“Some jealous little hen needs to stop spreading lies here.”

She turned and pulled out two marriage certificates.

She flipped them open. In the photos inside, she and Roy smiled at the camera together.

The registration date on them was the very day she came back home.

My hand jerked. The phone hit the floor and cracked.

My stomach heaved. I stumbled off the bed, hunched over the sink, and threw up with tears streaming down my face.

No wonder Roy kept putting me off every time I brought up registering.

He always said we should do the wedding first, that appearances were what other people cared about.

As for those two certificates, no one would pay them any mind.

So it turned out he'd already registered — with someone else.

And now he'd gone and married her too, easy as anything.

A few more messages popped up on the cracked screen.

【Stop talking nonsense in Sophie's stream.】

【I'll find time to explain the marriage certificate thing to you later.】

Then Roy tossed over another bill.

【Since you said you'd cover all the pregnancy costs, why haven't I gotten the transfer for this afternoon's payment yet?】

I glanced at it and didn't reply.

Instead I lowered my head and made a call.

“Is everything ready?”

The answer came back quickly, and it was yes.

My mom pushed the door open and gently wiped away the tears still at the corners of my eyes.

“Don't waste your heartbreak on a man like that.”

I shook my head. My emotions had gone completely cold.

“Never again.”

Then I got up and started packing.

My belly still ached with that dragging pain, a constant reminder of how absurd this whole day had been.

“Why the rush? Where are you going?”

“Home. To settle the accounts.”

It was the small hours before Roy finally shoved open the door of the wedding suite, drunk.

I was sitting on the couch, a thick document envelope on the table in front of me.

He didn't notice. His finger tapped a few times on his phone screen.

“I sent you the final invoice for the wedding.”

“Don't forget to transfer me half.”

I let out a soft laugh.

“Roy, I'm only now realizing just how shameless you are.”

He froze for a moment.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

The next second, a phone rang, sharp and urgent.