The Day He Married Her

The day I got laid off, I called my boyfriend, but he never picked up. I rode home on my electric scooter in the pouring rain, soaked to the skin, clutching a cardboard box as I awkwardly pushed open the front door. The house was packed. My family, relatives, and friends were all there. In the middle of the room, my boyfriend and my best friend stood before my parents, accepting their congratulations as the newlyweds. The moment I appeared, the lively room fell deathly silent. The cardboard box slipped from my hands, scattering its contents across the floor. Zane Ward walked toward me, looking at me calmly. "What are you doing here?" I stared at him, my voice trembling as I demanded an answer. "What… What are you doing?" His expression was complicated, but he finally let out a long sigh. "Sophia and I got married last year. We're just having the wedding ceremony today." A roar filled my ears. Without thinking, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. "Get out! Both of you, get out! This is my house! All of you, get out!" The next second, one of my friends shoved me outside. They shielded the newlyweds behind them. "How could you hit him?" "Exactly. We only kept it from you because we were afraid you'd be hurt. Otherwise, Zane would have broken up with you a long time ago!" Amid the chaotic shouting, my parents walked over to me, disappointment written across their faces. "This house doesn't belong to you. We gave it to Sophia as their new home." "Today is their wedding day. Don't make a scene. Just go back to your room." The blood in my veins seemed to freeze. Five years together. Three years living under the same roof. My boyfriend had become my best friend's legal husband. My parents had secretly given them a home to start their married life. Every relative and friend had gathered to wish them well. And there I stood, like some pathetic fool, making a spectacle of myself. Chapter 1 The Betrayal When they shoved me into the bedroom, my knee slammed hard against the edge of the bed. Before I could even steady myself, the door slammed shut in my face. I froze for a moment. There was a commotion outside, but soon enough, the celebration picked back up. I was locked in there from noon until dark. No one came to let me out. No one even asked if I was okay. I screamed until my throat was raw. In the end, all I could do was slowly slide down against the door and sit there, listening as the voices outside gradually faded. Yet my mind grew clearer by the minute. Once the house fell completely silent, the door finally opened. I pushed myself up using the bed, my legs numb. My parents came in first, followed by Zane and Sophia Sterling. My mother's eyes were red, as if she was hurting too. "Remi, there's something you need to know. You and Zane had those tests done before the wedding, right? We saw the results. The doctor said it might be difficult for you to have children." My whole body went rigid. Zane and I had gotten the tests done together before we were supposed to get married. The results never made it into my hands. He said he would pick them up, and I never thought much of it. It was not that I had not thought about it. It was that everyone else had already thought it through for me. I looked at Zane. "You knew?" He lowered his head, refusing to look at me. My father said, "Zane is an only child. This was always going to become a problem eventually. If things ended between you two, could you really handle that?" My mother immediately added, "So, your father and I talked it over. We thought it would be better if Sophia and Zane got married first and had the baby. You can come back later, and things can go on as usual." A buzzing filled my head. My lips trembled. It took me a long moment to force out a single sentence. "Are you all insane?" Sophia stepped forward. Her eyes were red, and her voice was soft. "Remi, your parents are really worried about you. I've been on my own all these years, and I've come to think of you all as family. If I can help you keep Zane, I'm willing to do it." As she finished speaking, she gently placed a hand over her stomach. "Besides, I'm already pregnant." I stared at her belly, my stomach churning. Slowly, I turned to Zane. "So, you agreed to this too?" He remained silent. My vision blurred, and I struggled to breathe through the tightness in my chest. The next second, everything went dark. … When I woke up again, the room was already dark. I reached for my phone. The moment the screen lit up, a flood of notifications appeared. Missed calls, messages from coworkers, and hundreds of messages in the group chat. I opened it. At first, people were asking how Zane had suddenly ended up married to Sophia. Then, the tone changed. Someone wrote, "Oh my God, the couple I was rooting for actually got together. Older, steady guy and younger, sweet girl. I love it!" "Seriously. Sophia is so sweet. Who could put up with that other girl? She's got such a temper and is always making a fuss." I scrolled down and saw another message. "Remember when Zane worked late into the night and she still made him go out and get her a late-night snack? Seriously, what a spoiled princess." "Exactly. She deserved to get dumped." I stared at the words, my fingers slowly going cold. … That night, Zane had been the one who said that if I wanted something to eat, I just had to tell him and he would go get it. I had told him never mind. It was too late. He had laughed and reassured me that it was fine. Yet somehow, in everyone else's version of the story, I had been the demanding one. I stared at the screen, my chest tightening as I instinctively typed, "You all knew?" The moment I sent it, the group went silent. Then, the next second, I was kicked out. They could not even be bothered to give me an explanation. I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a quiet laugh. So it was not just my parents. It was not just Zane. My friends and coworkers had been lying to me too. I got up and started packing. I did not want to spend another minute in this place. Chapter 2 No Place to Go When I dragged my suitcase out, there were still wedding decorations hanging in the living room. Wedding favors sat on the table, and Sophia's coat was draped over the couch. It was as if they could not wait to turn this place into their new home. Halfway through packing, I suddenly noticed that the birdcage by the window was empty. I froze. "Where's my bird?" My mother was clearing the table outside and did not even look up. "Sophia said it was cruel to keep it cooped up, so she let it go." The clothes in my hands slipped straight back into the suitcase. "Let it go?" Sophia was sitting on the couch, her voice soft. "I was just trying to do what was best for it. Wouldn't you rather let it be free than keep it trapped in a cage?" I turned to her, my voice trembling. "It was a pet parrot. It won't survive out there." She looked startled, as if I had frightened her, and instinctively covered her stomach with one hand. "How was I supposed to know? I was only trying to help." "Trying to help?" I stared at her. "That was my bird. I raised it for years." I turned to my parents. "You gave me that bird for my birthday. And you just let her release it?" My father frowned, clearly not taking it seriously. "It was just a bird. It flew away. So what? If you want another one, you can always buy one." Buy another one. I stood there, suddenly unable to say a word. I lowered my head and went back to packing. When my mother realized I was actually leaving, she finally panicked. "Stop this nonsense. You've lost your job. Where are you going to go all by yourself? We're doing this for your own good." I picked up my suitcase and looked at her. "If this is what you call doing what's best for me, then you should never have had me in the first place." I walked out. My father's voice came from behind me, low and stern. "Remi, if you walk out that door today, don't ever come back!" I did not stop. At the door, Zane finally spoke. "It's still raining outside. Don't do anything you'll regret." I turned back to him. "Zane, don't talk to me." His face slowly went pale. I carried my suitcase downstairs, the handle digging painfully into my arm. … I ended up staying at a run-down motel. The room was tiny, the window would not shut properly, and it rattled whenever the wind blew at night. I barely slept that night. I had lost my job. I had lost my home. My boyfriend had become my best friend's husband. My parents had taken their side, and even my friends were laughing at me behind my back. But when morning came, I still dragged myself out of bed and started sending out resumes. I had to survive. I had never been bad at my job. I had always been considered one of the company's key employees. I thought that no matter how unlucky I was, I could still find a decent job somewhere. But things turned out to be even worse than I expected. The first company had seemed interested throughout the interview, only to suddenly tell me the position had been filled. At the second company, I had already arrived when the interviewer took a phone call. His attitude toward me changed immediately afterward. The third company was even more blatant. They would not even let me in for the interview. After getting rejected several times in a row, I finally realized something was wrong. Then one day, as I stood outside the restroom, I heard a couple of people talking in hushed voices inside. "That's her. I heard Wendy say she got fired for being a homewrecker." "Wasn't she the one who stole someone else's husband? I can't believe someone like that would even show up for an interview." I stood there, ice-cold all over. My distant cousin, Wendy Hayes, worked at my old company too. She had been at the wedding that day. I called a cab and went straight to the office. The moment I walked in, I saw people sneaking glances at me. Some lowered their heads and pretended to be busy. Others gathered near the break room, whispering among themselves. I walked straight up to Wendy's desk. "Did you start the rumors going around?" Wendy looked up at me with an innocent expression. "What rumors?" "That I was the other woman. That I stole someone else's husband. That I got fired because of that." She leaned back in her chair and smiled. "I never made anything up. I just told people what I saw." I laughed bitterly. "I was the one who got betrayed." But as soon as I said it, the whispers around us only grew quieter. Clearly, no one believed me. Just then, Sophia arrived. She had come to the office to take care of some paperwork and walked right into the scene. I looked at her as if she were the last piece of evidence I had. "Tell them the truth. Who was the other woman? Were you and Zane seeing each other behind my back?" Everyone's eyes turned to her. Her face went white. Her hand instinctively covered her stomach, and her voice was so soft I could barely hear it. "Please don't do this. I have a baby inside me." With that one sentence, she sealed my fate. The way everyone around me looked at me changed instantly. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she took half a step back. "Things have already come this far. This baby can't grow up without a father. If you need someone to blame, blame me. Just stop making a scene, okay?" I stared at her, my chest feeling as if a stone had been lodged inside it. I could barely breathe. In the end, I was escorted out by security while everyone watched. Chapter 3 A Public Humiliation Rent had to be paid, and I had to eat. No matter how bitter I felt about everything, survival had to come first. Eventually, I got a job as a waitress at a restaurant. That night, the shift supervisor sent me to a private dining room to refill their water glasses. The moment I pushed open the door, I saw who was inside. My parents, Zane, Sophia, and several relatives. They were sitting together, laughing and chatting like one big happy family. And there I stood in my uniform, a serving tray in my hands. The room fell silent. My mother's expression changed. Zane looked up and froze when he saw me. Only Sophia took two seconds before gently resting a hand on her stomach. My grip tightened around the tray, my knuckles slowly turning white, but in the end, I said nothing. I lowered my head, walked in, and refilled their glasses one by one. My mother lowered her voice. "What are you doing working at a place like this?" A relative beside her chimed in. "She went to college, at least. How did she end up like this? Wasn't she working in an office before?" I stood beside the table, my hand aching from the weight of the pitcher, but their words hurt even more. I was about to leave when Sophia suddenly spoke in her soft voice. "Remi, have you been under too much pressure lately? Why don't you sit down and eat with us? Stop being so stubborn with us." I finally looked up at her. She sat there with her slightly rounded belly, looking as if she genuinely cared about me. Looking at her, I suddenly felt cold. She took everything from me. And now she still had the nerve to look at me with pity, as if I had only ended up like this because I was too difficult. "I'm working," I replied quietly. My mother immediately cut in. "How long are you going to keep this up? You'd rather wait tables out there than come home." I looked at her. "I'm out here earning a living, and you call that making a scene?" My father's expression darkened too. "Look at you. Is this really what you want to look like? When you're done throwing a tantrum, come home. Stop embarrassing yourself out there." I let out a small laugh. "So I'm the one embarrassing everyone now? When you gave my boyfriend to Sophia, how come you weren't embarrassed then?" The room went silent. My mother's face turned ugly. "Do you have to be so hostile?" "Hostile?" I looked at her. "I'm already standing here waiting on your table. How much more polite do you want me to be?" Zane had barely said a word since I walked in. It was not until then that he finally spoke my name in a low voice. "Remi." I looked at him. "Don't call me that." His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing more. Sophia slowly stood up, still looking as fragile and helpless as ever. "Remi, none of us are trying to embarrass you. We really are worried about you being out there on your own. Since we ran into each other today, why don't you sit down and talk things out?" I stared at her. "Talk about what? How proud you are of getting everything you wanted?" Her eyes immediately reddened, and she covered her stomach with one hand. "Don't be like this." "Then how do you want me to be?" I stepped forward. "You're so good at making yourself look like the reasonable one. Go ahead. Tell everyone how you supposedly married Zane because you were only trying to do what was best for me." Several relatives lowered their heads. No one dared say a word. My mother panicked and reached out to grab me. "That's enough. Do you really want to make this any uglier?" I shook her off. "Am I the one making this ugly? Since the day of the wedding, when have any of you ever cared about what you put me through?" I turned to leave. But just as I turned around, a sudden cry came from behind me. Sophia clutched her stomach. Her body went limp, and she fell straight backward. The glasses on the table were knocked over, sending water across the floor. A second later, a streak of red began to seep from beneath her dress. The room erupted into chaos. "Sophia!" My mother screamed and rushed over to her. My father panicked too. Zane practically lunged forward and caught her in his arms. Sophia curled up against him, her face deathly pale as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I wasn't blaming her. I really wasn't blaming her…" The moment she said those words, everyone's eyes turned toward me. Because I had been the person closest to her just moments ago. I stood there, cold all over. "I didn't even touch her." But no one listened. My mother rushed over and slapped me across the face. "Are you not satisfied until you kill her?" My head snapped to the side from the blow, my ears ringing. Several relatives started condemning me too. "No matter what happened, you can't lay a hand on a pregnant woman." "What if something happens to the baby?" "She's heartless." Chapter 4 The Wrong Diagnosis The ambulance arrived quickly. Sophia was taken to the hospital. After the tests came back, the doctor said the baby was fine for now. She had only been badly shaken and needed plenty of rest. In the hospital room, Sophia lay on the bed, her face pale and her eyes red. Yet when she spoke, she still sounded as considerate as ever. "I don't blame her. Really. She's been under so much stress lately. She's emotionally unstable, and I can understand that." I looked up at her sharply. She avoided my eyes and continued speaking to my parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Rose, maybe you should take her to see a doctor. I'm really worried that if this keeps going, she might hurt herself or someone else." My mother nodded almost immediately. "Exactly. She's been acting completely out of character lately." My father's expression was grim, but he did not object. I backed away step by step, my throat tightening. "There is nothing wrong with me." He stood beside the hospital bed, his expression serious, as if he knew something was not right. But in the end, he did not say a word in my defense. My father quickly made the arrangements. … That very night, I was forcibly admitted to a private psychiatric hospital. All the way there, I kept desperately trying to explain myself. I struggled against their grip, tears and anger surging through me. "I'm not sick! What right do you have to send me there? Zane, say something!" I stared straight at him, but he sat there in silence for a long time before finally saying quietly, "Just calm down." Just calm down. Hearing those words, I felt as if something had been torn out of my chest. As they took me away, I could still hear Sophia's weak voice coming from the hospital room. Once I arrived at the facility, everything became even more like a nightmare. Doctors and nurses crowded around me and held me down as they prepared to give me an injection. The needle pierced my skin, and my whole body trembled from the pain. I looked up at him, and suddenly, I stopped fighting. The medication slowly took effect, and my vision began to blur. I heard my mother quietly say beside me, "We'll tell her later that we did it for her own good, once she's feeling better." My father murmured in agreement. I could not make out anything after that. All I remembered was seeing Zane standing beneath the hospital lights before I closed my eyes, his figure horribly blurred. Five years together. Three years living under the same roof. I had once truly thought I would marry him. I had imagined our wedding, our children, and all the years we would spend together. But now, I regretted it. … After I was locked away in that private hospital, I spent the first day trying to explain myself. I was still explaining myself on the second day. By the third, I knew it was useless. When the doctor asked why I refused treatment, I said I was not sick. When the nurse brought me medication, I said my family had forced me into the hospital. They nodded and wrote it down in their notes. "The patient remains emotionally unstable and continues to deny her condition." When I refused to take my medication, the nurses forced it down my throat. When I tried to escape, the orderlies dragged me back. The worst part was the electroconvulsive therapy. The first time they wheeled me in, I had no idea what it was. It was not until I saw the equipment that I started trembling. I backed away, crying that I did not want it. Two orderlies restrained me while a nurse strapped my hands down. I fought with everything I had. I screamed until my throat hurt. Then the door opened, and Zane walked in. I clung to him like he was the last lifeline I had. "Zane, I'm not sick. Take me home." The next second, Zane reached out and restrained me. "Remi, stop making a scene." In that instant, I stopped crying altogether. When the needle went in and the current ran through me, my whole body seized up. I screamed until my voice broke. When it was over, I was so sick I could not even stand, but they said I was still not stable enough. Zane signed in the space for family members. Over time, I grew quieter and quieter. The more medication I took, the duller my mind became. Sometimes, an entire day would pass, and I could no longer tell whether it was morning or night. Someone would ask how old I was, and I would think for a long time without being able to answer. When they asked my name, I had to think for a long time too. … One day, a nurse slipped a piece of candy into my hand. "You were such a good girl today. Here's a reward." I lowered my eyes to the candy and did not move for a long time. I started forgetting who people were. When my mother came to visit, she would stand beside my bed crying, and all I could think was that she was noisy. My father came less often. Every time he stood in the doorway for a long while, I had no idea who he was. When Zane came again, I was even more afraid. I could not remember who he was, yet whenever I saw him, my arms would start hurting before anything else, and my whole body would instinctively recoil. One day, a nurse helped me outside to get some fresh air. Zane stood in front of a bench, calling my name in a hoarse voice. I hugged my stuffed animal tightly and whispered to the nurse, "Who is that man?" At that moment, he looked completely hollowed out. But I no longer knew who he was. And then, the hospital called. They said there had been a mistake with the premarital medical report. It belonged to another woman with the same name. My own results had been completely normal. Zane was standing in the hospital hallway when he received the call. His phone slipped straight from his hand and hit the floor. His face went deathly pale.