NovelNext Chapter 1
Chapter 1
The day before I was supposed to marry Lucian, I got a notification on my phone. He had booked a hotel room. Instead of losing my cool, I decided to stay calm and wait for him to get home and explain. But before I could even process it, his ex posted a picture of them together on social media. The caption made my stomach churn: "Not giving us a shot was my biggest regret. If I get another chance, I want you to know I'm all in."
Lucian didn't even bother to explain. He just sent a text: "We've got an early start tomorrow, so get some sleep."
Reading that felt like a punch in the gut. Was I just his backup? Did I even matter to him? My eyes filled with tears as I looked at the wedding room, all set up for tomorrow, and it hit me like a bad joke. I took a deep breath, wiped my eyes, and texted back: "The wedding's off. We're done."
Lucian didn't respond. He ghosted me, and honestly, I didn't care. I had no desire to waste another second on him. The thought of him made my skin crawl. Fighting back tears, I unzipped the wedding dress I'd picked out with so much care and tossed it aside.
Lucian, pushing 30, was an associate professor at some university. He had this perfect image, everyone thought he was top-tier. People kept telling me I was lucky to be with him, that I should be grateful. I had bent over backward to be the perfect fiancée, constantly reminding myself of all the nice things he'd done. But cheating? That was my dealbreaker. I didn't want to sign up for a lifetime of drama. I wanted a happy marriage, not a never-ending soap opera.
I only told my mom and my best friend about the wedding, so when I decided to call it off, I gave them a heads-up. My mom was in shock, telling me to sleep on it, but when I told her about Lucian's betrayal, she went quiet. After a long pause, she finally said, "Okay, honey. If you're sure, I've got your back."
Once I made up my mind, I packed my bags and checked into a hotel. I couldn't care less about what was supposed to happen the next day. I stayed there for a couple of days, trying to catch my breath.
Just when I thought I was in the clear and could go home, Lucian showed up at my hotel room. His face was drained, dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in days.
"Have you calmed down?" His voice was quiet, strained.
I snapped back to reality, giving him a cold look. "What does this have to do with you?"
"Wendy, stop making a scene. I've been really tired lately," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, exhaustion in his eyes.
I let out a cold laugh. "No wonder you're tired, trying to juggle two women at the same time."
"What does your tiredness have to do with me?" I shot back. Even looking at him made me feel filthy. I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist.
His warm hand on my skin made me jerk away like a startled animal, glaring at him. "Don't touch me!"
Lucian flinched, his face full of surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.
"I don't want to hear your excuses. We're done. Just show some respect."
His voice deepened, a hint of frustration creeping in. "Wendy, I couldn't find you on our wedding day. You weren't answering my calls or texts. I've been running around dealing with this mess. Can't we talk about it? Why does it have to be this hard?"
"Talk about what? What's there to talk about? You booked a hotel with someone else, remember?" I said, my voice icy.
"I'm sorry, I'm not interested. Do whatever you want. It's none of my business," I added, turning to leave.
Lucian's eyes darkened, and his face twisted into something cold. "People with dirty minds see everything as dirty."