Chapter 1

Two days before our wedding, my fiancée went behind my back to meet her first love.

By the time I rushed to the beach, the sun was setting over the water. They were locked in a passionate embrace, kissing deeply and pouring their hearts out.

Kelsey sobbed against his chest.

“I love you,” she cried. “We will never let each other go again.”

Their friends stood around them, cheering and whistling in celebration.

When Kelsey noticed me, a flicker of panic crossed her face. But she quickly regained her composure.

“Mason, everyone was just messing around,” she said casually. “Don’t take it to heart.”

I let out a faint laugh and clapped my hands.

“With an atmosphere like this, it would be a shame if you two didn’t just head straight to a hotel room.”

01

After leaving the beach, I sat in the back of the cab, my mind in complete turmoil.

My phone buzzed incessantly in my pocket. When I opened social media, my feed was flooded with photos and videos of Kelsey and Damian kissing by the ocean.

Below the posts, their mutual friends left hundreds of comments congratulating them.

Pain pierced my chest like countless needles, making every breath an agonizing struggle.

Kelsey had not called or texted me even once to explain herself.

Meanwhile, the likes and cheers on her post continued to pour in.

I let out a bitter smile.

Throughout our relationship, I had treated Kelsey like a queen, catering to her every whim.

Whenever we argued, I was always the first to back down and apologize. She was always so proud, so why would she ever think of explaining anything to me?

I returned to our apartment, completely drained. Looking at the romantic red decor we had set up for the wedding, everything suddenly felt jarring and utterly foreign.

Her past mockery echoed in my mind.

“Red looks so tacky,” she had scoffed. “Mason, what kind of grown man gets obsessed with such flashy, useless decorations?”

Now I realized the truth. She only wanted a home with Damian; I was merely a distraction to kill her time.

We had not always been like this.

We fell in love in college and were known as the golden couple on campus.

Back then, so many people envied what we had.

I genuinely believed I would marry Kelsey and build a warm, happy family with her.

Everything changed six months ago when Damian returned from abroad. Kelsey turned into a completely different person.

At first, I thought they were just coworkers.

She often came home late, claiming she had unavoidable overtime and client dinners.

I honestly thought she was working hard for our future.

Looking back, she was probably staying up late at the office just to reminisce about old times with him.

Later on, the company held team-building retreats, but Kelsey never brought me along.

When I asked her about it, she claimed the company was swamped with tight deadlines and had canceled the trips.

I trusted her completely. Only later did I find out the retreats were never canceled.

During those trips, Kelsey openly flirted and acted affectionate with Damian in front of everyone.

Whenever I tried to sit down and talk with her, a single call or text from Damian would pull her away immediately.

She grew increasingly impatient with me, acting uneasy whenever we spent more than a few minutes together.

“Why are you so disgusting?” she would snap. “Damian and I are completely innocent. Your mind is just filthy!”

“Can you stop making a scene? I am out here busting my back for our future, and what are you doing?”

“Instead of acting paranoid all day, why don’t you go make some real money?”

It was not until her close friend, Tessa, let the truth slip that I learned the whole story.

Damian was her childhood sweetheart and her unforgettable first love.

When he moved overseas for college, Kelsey dated me purely out of spite.

When Tessa told me this, her eyes were filled with pity.

The revelation struck me like lightning. Everything finally made sense.

I remembered how strangely her circle of friends looked at me whenever Kelsey introduced me to them.

Those looks were never friendly; they were condescending, amused, and mocking.

All those weird, uncomfortable moments over the years resurfaced one by one, suffocating me with grief.

Tears silently rolled down my cheeks. Seeing them together on the beach today had shattered the last piece of my illusion.

I was finally ready to let go of the woman I had loved for six years.

I was exhausted, and I refused to fool myself any longer.