During the wedding vow segment, my fiancé’s childhood best friend suddenly walked onto the stage. She grabbed Ethan’s arm and announced she wanted to propose three toasts to me. “Chloe, the first toast is to you. Thank you for taking such good care of Ethan.” “Last winter, he carried me on his back while swimming across a freezing thousand-meter pool without even catching his breath.” “The second toast is to your absolute obedience.” “You actually drove yourself to the ER during your severe hemorrhaging and near-fatal miscarriage. Because of your independence, Ethan and I were able to enjoy our trip to Iceland and watch the Northern Lights in peace.” The banquet hall instantly erupted into thunderous applause. My mind went completely blank. My ears buzzed. I remembered being in the ICU, hovering between life and death. When the doctor called Ethan, he coldly replied that he couldn’t make it because of an urgent company emergency. It turned out his “emergency” was flying to Iceland to watch the Northern Lights with Blair. As the crowd cheered, Blair coaxed Ethan to join her in raising a glass to me. Before raising her glass, she gave me a sweet, victorious smile. “And the last toast is to your legendary generosity.” “Thanks for lending me Ethan so we could get legally married at City Hall. Because of his help, I totally won the petty war against my toxic ex-boyfriend.”
“You two… got legally married?” My voice trembled. I stared at Ethan and Blair in utter disbelief. During my five years of dating Ethan, I had proposed to him ninety-nine times. Every single time he was about to say yes, Blair would always have some convenient emergency to drag him away. Just a few weeks ago, I gathered my courage to ask him one last time. This time, he finally agreed, and we started planning the wedding. But today, on our actual wedding day, he casually let slip that he had already legally married Blair at City Hall. Then what was I? What was this wedding? I stared at Ethan, desperately waiting for an explanation. But his expression remained completely calm. He didn’t show even a flicker of guilt. The atmosphere in the room turned heavy. One of our mutual friends quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Oh, come on, Chloe, don’t be so sensitive. We’re all best friends here. It’s normal to help each other out.” “Exactly. It’s just a piece of paper from City Hall. Ethan was just doing Blair a favor as a bro. Why do you have to be so incredibly jealous and insecure?” Before they could even finish, Ethan smiled and tapped the top of Blair’s head affectionately. “Alright, keep quiet. Not even food can shut your mouth, can it?” Blair pouted and playfully punched his chest. “Please, a banana doesn’t even come close to satisfying me the way you do, Ethan. It could never keep me quiet.” The crowd gasped, followed by a burst of wild, filthy laughter. “Wow, Blair, you seem to know a lot about his size! Have you been testing it out? Want to try mine next?” “Me too! I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!” “Get lost, guys! Ethan and I grew up together. Back when his hormones were raging, I was the one who helped him release his tension. None of you can even compare.” The moment those words left her mouth, the noisy room fell dead silent. My brain completely short-circuited. Seeing my shocked face, Blair laughed it off, completely unfazed. “Oh, Chloe, speaking of which, you should actually thank me.” “If I hadn’t trained Ethan’s skills in bed so well, how else would you get to enjoy such amazing service?” Blood rushed to my head in a blinding fury. I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed a glass of champagne and hurled it straight at Blair’s face. Before she could even scream, Ethan reacted instantly, pulling her protectively into his arms. “Chloe! Are you out of your mind?! What is wrong with your psycho temper?!” I stared at the red splashes of alcohol on the back of Ethan’s hand, my nails digging deep into my palms. “Does being childhood besties give you a free pass to sleep together?” I let out a cold, mocking laugh. “If you two are so desperate for each other, why didn’t you just get married for real? You’re both disgusting. A cheap slut and a trashy cheater.” Ethan’s face twisted in rage. He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face. “That is enough, Chloe! When did you become so venomous and disgusting?!” “Apologize to Blair right now!” Blair snuggled deeper into Ethan’s chest, looking up at me with a triumphant, mocking smirk. Tears fell uncontrollably. Suddenly, I felt a profound sense of exhaustion. It all felt so utterly meaningless. I turned around to leave. But Ethan grabbed my wrist tightly. “You insulted Blair in front of everyone. You hurt her. Apologize to her right now.” “If you don’t apologize, this wedding is officially canceled.”
Ethan’s face was filled with his usual arrogance. He looked down at me from his height. He was waiting. Waiting for me to bow my head and apologize, just like I had done for the last ninety-nine times. “Chloe, you better think carefully. Aside from me, who else would ever want to marry you?” The man standing in front of me felt like a complete stranger. I could no longer connect him to the sweet, brave boy who swore he loved me eight years ago. In high school, when I was being brutally bullied, Ethan had taken a beating just to pull me out of the hands of those monsters. He told me he fell in love with me at first sight and promised to protect me for the rest of his life. When I was eighteen, my parents died in a sudden car crash, leaving behind a mountain of debt. Ethan worked multiple part-time jobs to help me pay it off and put me through college. He worked so hard he was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer, but he never let me suffer. When I was twenty, I was kidnapped and assaulted by his business rival. After I was rescued, he knelt by my hospital bed, crying, and swore he would love me forever. But everything changed the moment Blair came back into his life. Every sentence he spoke to me eventually drifted back to Blair. The more he mentioned her, the less he came home. He started keeping his distance. He grew annoyed with me. He stood by and watched as others publicly humiliated me. The cold winter wind drifted through the open window, chilling me to the bone. The warm memories of the past finally froze over, and the illusion of the sweet boy from my youth shattered. I looked straight into Ethan’s eyes and spoke clearly, word for word: “Then let’s cancel it. I hope you two rot together forever.” As I turned to walk away, a flicker of panic flashed in Ethan’s eyes. His voice lost its composure and became frantic. “Chloe, stop right there!” “You were assaulted before! No decent man will ever marry you except me!” Whispers instantly erupted in the crowd. “Oh my god, Chloe was assaulted?” “Look at how provocatively she dresses. Who knows what really happened back then?” “Seriously. A woman with that kind of baggage should be grateful Ethan even wanted her. Why is she throwing a tantrum?” “Honestly, Ethan is better off with Blair. At least Blair is clean.” The pointing fingers and disgusting whispers felt like needles piercing my chest. “Ethan, you absolute bastard!” “You don’t know anything!” I spun around, my hand flying out to slap Ethan across the face with everything I had left. The room fell into a dead silence. Blair immediately stepped in front of Ethan, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and pressing him against her chest. “Chloe, you are literally insane. Ethan and I are just friends. Is it really necessary to throw such a massive fit?” “Everyone else thinks it’s fine. You’re the only one making a scene!” The guests looked at me with even more disgust and contempt. The murmurs grew louder. Ethan kept his head stiff, refusing to look at me. Something inside my chest shattered completely. Blair’s smirks, the crowd’s mockery, Ethan’s cold silence… All the years of silent suffering felt like a physical blow to my face. “Ethan, I have tolerated you two for so damn long. You use the excuse of being ‘childhood friends’ to do the most disgusting things.” “Every time we were supposed to get our marriage license, Blair miraculously fell ill, and you ran to her like a loyal dog.” “When I was in the ICU fighting for my life after a near-fatal miscarriage, you were chasing the Northern Lights with her.” “You even went and legally married her behind my back! Today, you bring her here to humiliate me and reopen my deepest wounds. Have you forgotten that I was only targeted and assaulted because of you?!” “Or did you honestly believe I was so pathetic that I could never live without you?” I was hyperventilating, my face soaked with tears. Through my blurry vision, I saw Ethan reach his hand out toward me. But the waves of whispers from the crowd felt like they were going to drown me alive. I couldn’t take the suffocating pain anymore. Like a coward, I turned and ran.
Before the heavy doors slammed shut behind me, I heard Blair’s mocking, playful voice. “Wow, Ethan, you’re such a loyal friend. Giving up your bride for your bestie.” “But hey, if you want to run after her, we won’t judge you too hard.” Then came Ethan’s arrogant, confident voice: “She has nowhere else to go. No one else will ever want her.” They actually made a five-million-dollar bet. Ethan bet that within three days, I would crawl back to him on my knees, begging for his forgiveness. At that moment, my heart turned to ash. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn’t called in years. It didn’t even ring for three seconds before the call was picked up. “I’m hosting a wedding in three days,” I said, my voice hollow. “I need a groom.” The voice on the other end didn’t hesitate for a single second. “I’ll see you in three days.” Just then, my phone buzzed with a Snapchat message from my Nana, who was resting at home. “My sweet Chloe, is the wedding over? I cooked your favorite food at home. I’m waiting for you and Ethan to come back.” I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat, not daring to tell her the truth. I forced my voice to sound cheerful as I sent a voice note back: “I got it, Nana! I’m on my way back to see you right now. Ethan has a business dinner tonight, so he won’t be joining us!” Before getting into the cab, I couldn’t help but look back at Ethan’s mansion one last time. Ethan and Blair were surrounded by a cheering crowd. Under the pressure of their friends’ teasing, Ethan’s ears turned red. My cheek still burned from the slap. Tears, once dry, filled my eyes again. I covered my face, refusing to let anyone see how pathetic I looked. … I didn’t even remember how I made it home. By the time I snapped out of it, I had practically ruined the food on my plate by poking at it endlessly. Seeing my red eyes, Nana quickly put down her fork and pulled me into her warm embrace. She asked softly, “My sweet girl, tell Nana. Did that boy Ethan hurt you again?” Looking into Nana’s loving, worried eyes, I finally broke down and sobbed. “Nana… let’s pack up and move away from this city, okay?” I didn’t get an answer for a long time. When I looked up in confusion, a warm tear from Nana fell onto my cheek. “Okay, my darling. Nana promises you. Wherever you go, Nana will go with you to take care of you.” “If this marriage doesn’t make you happy, we won’t do it. Nana only wants you to be happy.” I buried my face in her chest and cried my heart out, letting go of years of accumulated pain. The next morning, as I was packing our suitcases, my Instagram app buzzed with a notification. It was a post from Blair. She was wearing a matching ski suit, snuggling closely into Ethan’s chest. They looked exactly like a deeply in love couple. The caption read: “Skiing with my favorite human.” My hands froze. A little plush snowman keychain fell out of my coat pocket. Ethan had given it to me, promising to take me skiing once he was less busy with work because I had never seen real snow. But I never got that trip. It turned out he wasn’t busy. He just chose to spend his time on someone else. I let out a bitter laugh and threw the keychain straight into the trash can. Suddenly, a loud scream came from Nana’s room. I burst through the door. Nana was collapsed on the floor, gasping for air in extreme pain. Her phone lay cracked on the ground, and Ethan’s loud, harsh voice was still playing through the speaker: “…she was assaulted!” “Chloe… is it true?” Nana wheezed, her eyes filled with tears of pure agony. “When did you suffer so much…?” “It’s my fault… Nana failed to protect you…” Nana clutched her chest, her face turning pale and blue. My medical instincts kicked in instantly. Nana was having a massive heart attack!
I rushed Nana to the hospital. But the moment we arrived, I was told that every single available cardiologist had been called away by Ethan to treat Blair’s injuries! I ran frantically toward the VIP clinic. “Ethan! Ethan! I beg you, please let one doctor go to save my Nana!” “She always treated you like her own grandson! She even gave you her entire retirement fund to start your company! Please, let them save her!” The next second, Blair walked out of the clinic, clinging to Ethan’s arm. She was dramatically clutching her chest, whimpering in a high-pitched, pathetic voice about how much it hurt. But I could clearly see she only had a tiny, negligible scratch on her elbow! Ethan opened his mouth to speak, but Blair yanked his arm. “Ethan, my chest hurts so much.” “She slapped you so hard yesterday. She’s probably just making up a lie to force you to back down.” Ethan’s eyes instantly turned from slight worry to freezing cold. “Chloe, I can’t believe you would actually use your own grandmother’s life to play these cheap games.” “I’d love to see if she actually dies if I unplug her ventilator myself.”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “466452”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster
Leave a Reply