Chapter 2

A collective gasp echoed through the wedding venue!

Just as Amber was about to hit the wall, the host rushed forward and pulled her back.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Brandon shot me a blaming glare, then hurried to comfort her.

My parents, too, rushed over, their faces full of heartache as they hugged and soothed her.

Amber sobbed, “Don’t save me! Just let me die! I won’t live much longer anyway!”

“It’d be better to grant Stella’s wish! If she can live happily, then dying like this would be a worthy end for me, her sister.”

Her words instantly threw me back into the eye of the storm.

Sure enough, Mom, after hearing that, stood up furiously and walked over, slapping me hard across the face. “I don’t have a daughter with such a wicked heart!”

I clutched my stinging cheek, my eyes welling with tears.

I stared silently at my mom.

From the day I was born until now, she’d been like an invisible presence, lurking in the shadows. She never cared if I was sad, or if I was humiliated.

But the moment Amber was involved, she’d appear without hesitation.

It had always been like this, ever since I was a child.

Brandon looked at me with disappointment. “Amber is your own sister, and you’re trying to force her to her death. Your heart is too cruel.”

“Apologize to Amber right now, or our wedding is off, forever!”

*Slap!*

I swung my hand hard, slapping Brandon. “You’re disgusting!”

The wedding I had dreamed of since I was a teenager finally ended in utter humiliation.

After storming out, I went straight back to our apartment.

When Brandon returned, I had just finished packing my belongings and was heading for the door with my suitcase.

He grabbed my hand, rubbed his temples, and said impatiently, “Is this really worth all this drama, for such a small thing?”

“It’s only for a year, then I’ll be back with you. Can you just stop making a scene?”

I yanked my hand free. “A scene?”

“Brandon, we’ve been together for so long. Did you ever truly love me? If you had just said you fell for someone else, I would have stepped aside immediately.”

“But what did you do? You secretly got together with my sister, and then you humiliated me at our wedding in front of so many people!”

The memory still sent shivers down my spine. “What did you take me for?”

Brandon paused, then said, “Stella, I’m sorry you were wronged.”

One simple "sorry you were wronged" to gloss over the deep wounds he inflicted.

How pathetic.

I lowered my gaze, no longer feeling any shred of love for him.

“Brandon, we’re over,” I said.

The moment he chose to hurt me, we were done.

“Get out!”

With that, I shoved him and his suitcase out the door, then quickly slammed it shut.

This apartment was mine; *he* was the one who had to leave.

Ignoring his knocking on the door, I went back to the living room and sank onto the couch, feeling utterly defeated.

Brandon and I had been together for seven years.

During my senior year of high school, he joined my class as a transfer student, a year older than me. Because he was an orphan, he was aloof and quiet, but he treated me differently.

After graduation, we naturally started dating.

We had our sweet moments, and our arguments too.

He told me his biggest dream in life was to marry me and give me a home.

When he made that promise as a young man, his face was sincere, his eyes filled with love.

I genuinely believed we’d go from school sweethearts to husband and wife, but I never even knew when he and Amber started their affair!

I buried my face in my hands, trying not to cry.

But the sobs wracked my body.

I stayed in the apartment in a daze for three days until my best friend, Chloe, rushed back from out of town. The moment she walked in, she hugged me, her eyes red with tears.

She was my childhood friend, and she’d been away on a business trip, unable to make it to my wedding.

“I shouldn’t have been away on that trip. I should have been with you, it’s all my fault…” she cried inconsolably.

After a long while, she finally stopped, sniffling. “Stella, they humiliated you like this. We absolutely cannot let them get away with it!”

“And with your sister’s manipulative nature, she definitely has more tricks up her sleeve!”