The Wedding I Gave Away

Start Reading

The night before the wedding, someone sent me a VIP hotel room key.

The room number was the same one where Lucas had proposed to me.

I thought it was a romantic surprise he'd planned before our wedding.

But when I pushed open the door, I saw him tangled in the sheets with another woman.

After they finished, he casually pushed the woman away from his embrace.

He lit a cigarette, and through the smoke, smiled carelessly:

"Nothing personal. I was just tired of hiding it. Figured I'd let you find out early, so I wouldn't have to explain after the wedding."

He flicked his cigarette ash and added:

"Don't worry, you're still my one and only wife."

"You've been with me for ten years. You've made enemies with plenty of powerful people in business. If you don't marry me, you won't find anyone else willing to take you!"

"Tomorrow, everything goes as planned. Just one thing"

"The wedding's yours, but the marriage certificate goes to her."

He thought I'd at least ask why...

But I simply took off my engagement ring, set it down quietly, and walked away.

The next day, Lucas stood waiting for me in his groom's tuxedo at the church.

I didn't run. I didn't hide.

I walked straight up to him with my mortal enemy on my arm, flashing a marriage certificate:

"The wedding's yoursbut the marriage certificate? I gave it to him."

"Here she comes, here she comes--the bride's finally out."

By the time I came downstairs, a crowd of reporters had already gathered at the hotel entrance.

Camera flashes popped like firecrackers.

"Miss Gwen, how are you feeling on your wedding day?"

"Miss Gwen, what do you think about the century wedding Mr. Shaw prepared for you?"

I didn't say anything.

Under the bodyguards' escort, I got into the car.

The wedding was set at St. Patrick's Cathedral in the eastern part of the city.

Lucas stood on the steps in his white tuxedo, his face wearing an expression of complete confidence.

This morning he'd called, saying he'd gone seven rounds last night and his body couldn't take it--he needed to catch up on sleep.

He couldn't pick up his bride.

He was absolutely certain I would still show up.

His best buddy, Brian, was the first to whistle.

"She still came!"

He elbowed Lucas with an ambiguous grin.

"That's our Lucas for you--living it up the night before the wedding, and the bride still shows up in her wedding dress like a good girl. What do you call that? That's what I call well-trained!"

Another friend, Jason, chimed in.

"Damn right. With the way he was going at it in that bed yesterday, anyone else would be collapsed by now. But our Lucas can still stand here as the groom. Gotta hand it to him."

The group erupted in laughter.

Lucas's lips curved slightly.

His tone was casual. "Gwen's been with me for ten years. Who else would marry her besides me?"

He glanced down at the engagement ring I'd taken off yesterday.

"Throwing a tantrum is normal. But in the end--"

He paused, his voice confident. "She'll still walk up to me and put her hand in mine."

Brian gave him a thumbs up.

The car door opened.

I stepped out in my white gown.

Sunlight fell on the wedding dress, refracting into scattered sparkles.

A flash of admiration crossed Lucas's eyes.

He gave a sincere compliment. "Gwen, you look absolutely beautiful in that wedding dress!"

But before he could touch my hand, his vibrating phone pulled his attention away.

Looking at the contact name on the screen, his lips unconsciously curved upward as he stepped aside to answer.

"What's wrong? Didn't I tell you to call later?"

A lazy, coquettish voice came through the phone.

"Lucas, I'm flying abroad this afternoon... so I made an appointment to get our marriage certificate in ten minutes. Can you swing by the county clerks office I want to get the marriage certificate before I leave."

"Ten minutes?" Lucas chuckled low. "That urgent?"

After hanging up, Brian leaned over. "Who was it?"

"Vivian." Lucas pocketed his phone, his eyes brightening a few degrees. "She's flying abroad this afternoon and insists on getting the certificate before she leaves. She acted all cute and I couldn't say no."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "What about the wedding here--"

"What's the rush?" Lucas was unconcerned. "The wedding ceremony takes an hour or two. I'll go to the marriage license bureau first--ten minutes, that's it. You know Vivian's personality. If I don't humor her, she'll really cry at the airport."

Brian wisely said nothing more.

Lucas walked over to me, draped his arm over my shoulder, and had the photographer raise his camera.

"Come on, take a picture for me. A keepsake."

Click. Done.

He glanced at his watch. "Alright, that's it for now. I need to go or I'll miss the appointment."

He turned and strode toward another car.

"Lucas!"

I stood in place and called out to him.

He paused mid-step and looked back at me.

His eyes still carried that careless confidence of someone who had everything under control.

"If you leave today," I said, word by word, "I'm replacing the groom."

He froze for a moment, then laughed--a scornful, confident laugh.

"Replace the groom? Where are you going to find one? You really think life is a TV drama?"

"Everyone in Bayport knows you're mine."

"Of course... if you really have the ability to find someone willing to marry you, I suppose I could let you go--"

He pulled open the car door and tossed back a light, teasing remark.

"Stop making a scene. Be good and wait for me. Those wild cards out there, I know how to handle them, okay?"

The groomsmen behind him exchanged glances.

Brian chased after him a couple steps. "Lucas, you're really leaving--"

"You guys hold down the fort. It's not like I'm not coming back."

Lucas closed the car door, his voice carrying a hint of impatience. "That girl is too hard to deal with. I don't want to create trouble for myself."

The car started and drove away.

I stood in place, the hem of my wedding dress lifted by the wind.

The photographer beside me stood awkwardly with his camera.

No one spoke.

I looked down at my left ring finger, now bare, and slowly curved my lips into a smile.

Lucas, go ahead.

Go get your certificate.

As for this multi-million dollar century wedding--I'll gladly accept it.

I lifted my dress and walked into the church.

Guests were seated, the officiant was in position, the wedding march was playing.

Everything was perfect, except the groom wasn't there.

Brian caught up with me, forcing out a smile.

"Lucas had something urgent to handle. He'll be right back. Just take a seat for a bit."

Jason also came over with a laugh.

"Right, right. Lucas always has things under control. Today's your big day--he'll definitely be here soon."

"Exactly, Lucas never drops the ball on important matters."

The group chattered on, making "the groom ran off" sound like he'd just stepped out to pick up a package.

I glanced at the clock at the front of the church. 10:40 AM.

"Okay, I'll wait for him."

I calmly sent them away.

Brian clearly relaxed and quickly had someone bring me tea and water.

I waited.

But who I was waiting for, you don't need to worry about.

This wedding had been hyped up for three months.

Most of the groom's important relatives were in attendance.

I looked around, my gaze falling on every detail.

The white rose waterfall by the floor-to-ceiling windows, the crystal bead curtains hanging from the dome...

Even the font on the guest place cards had been specially designed by a designer he'd commissioned.

Lucas was that kind of person--when he did something, he did it to perfection.

He was like this when pursuing me, and like this when planning the wedding.

He made this wedding the talk of the entire city, made it into every woman's dream wedding...

But even his cheating was this extreme.

No room for redemption, no explanations.

In his logic, being good to someone and hurting that same person never conflicted.

And I only had one option: accept it.

In the lounge, my best friend Harper, who'd specially flown in from Portside to be my bridesmaid, helped me with my dress, her face full of indignation.

"Is Lucas sick? Running off to register a marriage with another woman on his wedding day? Did his brain get caught in a door?"

She sat down beside me huffily, tugging at her bridesmaid dress.

"I thought he was just talking. Even if... did it have to be today?"

Her voice carried the fire of righteous anger on my behalf.

"When you two were planning this wedding together, he searched every flower shop in the city just to pick your bouquet. When you tried on wedding dresses, his eyes got red faster than yours."

"I was so envious I was practically jealous, and I even beat up my clueless boyfriend!"

She paused, her voice dropping. "Who could have known he'd turn around and pull something like this?"

I didn't respond, just kept scrolling through my phone.

On social media, Vivian had just posted an update.

The photo showed a man's shirt and women's underwear scattered on the floor.

"Someone said he'd only come for ten minutes, but ended up not wanting to leave~"

She'd deliberately tagged the location--and it wasn't the county clerks office.

Mutual friends had already commented. "Vivian, who are you trying to piss off?"

Vivian replied. "Whoever's waiting in a wedding dress and can't find their man!"

I took a screenshot with an expressionless face.

"Gwen, stop waiting!" Harper snatched my phone away. "Look at this! What kind of person is this?"

"You came back from England after graduation just for him. Do you know how angry your parents were?"

"Back then, Lucas was nothing. And you still dared to make a ten-year bet with your parents! Now you've lost everything."

"If it weren't for you working day and night all these years, helping him with proposals, pulling in investments, and quietly using your connections as the shipping magnate's daughter to get his projects off the ground, could he have achieved what he has today?"

"And he turns around and gets cozy with the investor's daughter!"

"I really couldn't see it--he's so good at pretending! He waited until the night before the wedding to finally let you discover he was sleeping around with someone else."

"I can't believe he would stoop so low--deliberately showing you, making you see and hear exactly what he thinks of you with your own eyes and ears!"

Harper got more and more upset, her eyes reddening.

"Gwen, stop waiting. You should live for yourself for once!"

"Harper, thank you for coming today. As for Mom and Dad... after the wedding, I'll go back and admit I was wrong."

A bet is a bet.

Today was the day I accepted the price of losing.

After calming down my best friend and myself, I walked toward the terrace at the end of the hallway for some air.

Just as I was about to push the door, I heard several men's voices inside.

The groomsmen, hiding out here smoking.

"So Lucas really isn't coming back?"

"He said Vivian's glued to him and he can't get away. Told us to stall for him."

Brian exhaled smoke. "How long do you think Gwen will put up with this?"

"Look at her today--wedding dress on, red carpet walked, groom gone--and she didn't even frown."

"To have a wife like this, what more could a man ask for?" Jason sighed. "Lucas really doesn't know how good he has it."

"Lucas has no attention for that right now. Vivian's got him wrapped around her finger--the man's lost his soul."

The group laughed.

Then someone made a video call. "Lucas, you finally picked up. Gwen's still waiting. Isn't it inappropriate for you not to come back?"

Ambiguous sounds came through the phone.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Lucas's voice carried both impatience and the hoarseness of desire. "I can't make it back. Just take care of the relatives and friends."

"Okay, okay, Lucas, you do you." Brian said with a grin. "Gwen's much easier to handle anyway..."

Before he could finish, I pushed open the terrace door.

The smiles froze on their faces.

Brian hid his phone behind his back.

I looked at them. "The wedding starts in three minutes. What are you hiding out here for? There are over three hundred guests sitting out there. Are you going to make them wait? Or let them watch the joke?"

As soon as I finished speaking, the group burst out laughing.

"Gwen, stop it." Jason waved his hand while laughing. "Three minutes? Is that enough? Our Lucas doesn't finish that fast. He can't make it..."

"It's enough."

I calmly interrupted, then turned and left.

Brian then remembered the video was still on and glanced at the screen.

"Lucas, Gwen says the wedding starts in three minutes. You'd better hurry."

Lucas's low laughter came through the phone, carrying the lazy aftermath of passion.

"Three minutes? Does this woman have some kind of misunderstanding about me?"

A woman's soft giggle came through the speaker, saying something sweet.

"Lucas..." Brian asked quietly. "So..."

There was two seconds of silence on the other end, then Lucas's impatient voice came through. "Go ahead and help me hold down the fort. I'll come over when I'm done here."

When he said "done," another coquettish sound came from the woman in the background.

Brian quickly hung up the video call.

The group frantically stubbed out their cigarettes, straightened their suits, and filed out of the terrace.

As he caught up with me, Jason said quietly.

"Gwen, we all know about you and Lucas after all these years. He does have feelings for you, it's just... you know how men are."

I didn't look at him or respond.

Actually, until yesterday, I still didn't want to believe he'd developed a taste for the new and grown tired of the old.

Vivian was an investor's only daughter, fresh out of college.

Ever since they met once at a celebration banquet, his gaze toward her had been off.

Back then I thought I was being paranoid.

After all, we'd been together for ten years. If I didn't understand him, I wouldn't have persisted this long.

So I chose to trust him through many ambiguous moments, many late-night messages left unread.

I didn't believe that after all our struggles, just when we were about to build our life together, we would lose to a girl fresh out of college.

But he gradually became eager to tear off his mask, getting more and more outrageous.

He stopped hiding it, even deliberately making sure I found out.

Then he packaged his betrayal as a gift.

"How could someone as outstanding as me have just one woman? But my heart belongs to you. No one but you can be Mrs. Shaw."

Expecting me to be grateful.

Harper was right--he was too good at pretending.

He pretended right up until the day before the wedding before finally tearing off that last layer of disguise.

In the cruelest way possible, making me see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears exactly what he considered me to be.

He pretended until I had no way out.

"Gwen, walk slowly on the red carpet later. We'll back you up from behind."

"Right, right. Lucas said when he's done he'll come over. You just go through the motions first."

They thought I was just going through the motions at the wedding.

Thought I'd walk the red carpet alone in my wedding dress, stand before the priest, and wait for a groom who might never show up.

Then smile and say "I do" to an empty groom's spot.

This was the script Lucas left for me.

The groomsmen stood on either side of me, their faces still wearing those "everything's under control" smiles.

The church doors slowly opened, and a figure stood in the backlight.

Then everyone's smiles froze.

Lucas stubbed out his cigarette and buckled his belt.

"You're really leaving?" Vivian sat on the bed wrapped in sheets, her face full of displeasure. "You promised to stay with me all day. I only agreed to postpone getting the certificate because of that, and now you're just leaving?"

"I have to go." Lucas picked up his jacket. "She only gave me three minutes. If I don't get there, with her temper--you know how she is--"

"What temper?" Vivian pouted. "Isn't she supposed to be so understanding?"

"Understanding is one thing, but today's different." Lucas checked himself in the mirror, adjusting his collar. "The century wedding--I promised her that."

"Then why did you come to me?"

"Didn't you insist?" Lucas smiled, walked over and pinched her cheek. "Be good. I'll be back tonight."

Vivian swatted his hand away and turned around. "So when are we postponing the certificate to?"

"We'll see." Lucas answered perfunctorily, picking up his phone from the nightstand.

The screen lit up. His messages had exploded.

Voice messages one after another, and the last one was a video from Brian.

He frowned and casually clicked it open.

His eyes widened.