Chapter 1

It was my wedding day, and my fiancée’s high school sweetheart showed up to “congratulate” us. The two of them locked themselves in the bridal suite, claiming they needed to catch up.

I was worried about holding up the ceremony, so I begged Ashley to come out.

She didn’t care, yelling through the door that I was a heartless jerk.

“If Ethan hadn’t dumped me years ago, you never would have had a chance with me. You should be thanking Ethan for his ‘generosity’.”

“Ethan and I share precious memories, and I need to relive them one last time before getting married.”

“We’re about to get married anyway. Just think of this as my last bit of freedom before settling down!”

She stubbornly insisted on delaying the wedding by half an hour, making me the laughingstock of my family and friends.

When Ashley refused to open the door, I turned to her best friend, Brooke, who was also the maid of honor.

“Do you want to get married? If you say yes, I’ll marry you right now!”

Brooke’s perfectly made-up face registered shock. Then, she laughed nervously.

“Today’s supposed to be your big day with Ashley. You’re kidding, right?”

“Maybe Ashley will come out in a minute. Why don’t you just wait a little longer?”

I shook my head, a bitter smile twisting my lips.

“You’ve seen it. I’ve given her every opportunity, but she refuses to budge.”

“The wedding planner has everything scheduled, and the perfect moment is slipping away.”

“Instead of everyone waiting for her, I’d rather just marry someone else.”

Today was supposed to be the day I married Ashley Carter. Her first love, Ethan Miller, was invited to the wedding.

Knowing that our relatives and friends were here, I swallowed my annoyance and greeted him with a quick hello before going to welcome guests.

But while I was busy with that, Ashley kicked everyone out of the bridal suite, locked the door, and insisted on “catching up” with Ethan inside.

No matter what I said, she wouldn’t come out to get married.

If the bridesmaids hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve kicked the door down.

It was already late enough, and she wanted to push it back another half hour?

By the time we finished the ceremony, dinner would be midnight snacks!

Brooke twisted the fabric of her dress, looking troubled. “But Ashley’s my best friend. And I’m her maid of honor…”

I understood her hesitation. I didn’t want to put her in an awkward position.

I stepped closer and lowered my voice.

“With so many family and friends watching, and the wedding staff waiting, I can’t do this alone.”

“Just help me out this once. I’ll explain everything to Ashley later, and I’ll make a post on social media.”

“I won’t let you do this for free. Just send me a link to whatever purse or dress catches your eye; consider it a thank-you gift!”

Brooke bit her lip, then knocked on the door a couple of times. When Ashley still refused to open up, a determined look settled on her face.

“Okay, I’ll help you this one time.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed her hand, and headed towards the stage.

As soon as the emcee saw us on stage, he launched into his opening speech, rambling on for what felt like forever before finally getting to the exchange of rings.

Brooke offered me her hand with a polite smile, her skin pale and slender.

I quickly pulled out a ring and slipped it on her finger, then waited as she did the same for me.

The emcee announced that the ceremony was complete. The next second, Ashley pushed open the doors to the ballroom, her wedding dress a mess.

She spotted the rings on our fingers and screamed, rushing onto the stage and pointing at Brooke.

“You snake! I thought you were my friend! Now you’re trying to steal my man!”

“Today’s my wedding! I’m the main character. Why do you get to wear my wedding ring?”

“Give me back that ring right now, before I slap the taste out of your mouth, you man-stealing tramp!”

Brooke’s eyes welled up with tears, and she didn’t even dare argue.

Ashley got even angrier at her meekness, raising her hand to slap her.

I stepped in front of Brooke, taking the hit for her. I glared at Ashley, my voice cold.

“Haven’t you caused enough trouble? If you hadn’t been holed up in the bridal suite, Brooke wouldn’t be standing here.”

“Instead of admitting your mistake, you blame Brooke for everything. You’ve really disappointed me.”

“Let me tell you something: I’m divorcing you right now and marrying Brooke!”

Ashley was completely enraged by my words, hitting and yelling at me like a wild woman.

I grit my teeth and took it, refusing to say anything to soften the blow.

If Ashley wanted to be stubborn at a time like this, she could face the consequences.

Seeing that Ashley was about to pass out from crying, Ethan stepped out of the crowd and wrapped his arms around her.

He comforted her, “A wedding is the most important moment in a woman’s life. The fact that he treated you this way shows he doesn’t care about you, doesn’t love you enough.”

“If you were marrying me today, I’d treat you like you were made of glass. I would never be cruel enough to ruin your wedding.”

“Ashley, you don’t have to sacrifice your future happiness for a man who doesn’t love you.”

Ashley looked up at him, her eyes filled with emotion.

“Ethan, you’re right. After all these years, you still know me better than anyone.”

“Take me away from here. I can’t stand to look at those two traitors!”

Ethan comforted her for a few more moments, then tossed a half-hearted threat my way before leading Ashley out.

I laughed sarcastically, not bothering to stop them.

If she wanted to leave, then there would be no going back!

I took Brooke’s hand and went back to greeting guests.

It was late at night when the last guest left.

Brooke and I collapsed in chairs, exhausted. I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly, thanking her.

“I really appreciate your help today. Let me take you home. Send me the links when you’re ready.”

Brooke quickly waved her hands, refusing the gift.

She did me a huge favor today, so I definitely wanted to thank her properly.

After I dropped her off, I messaged her again on Facebook Messenger. Then, I took a shower and went to bed.

Ashley didn’t come home that night. It was obvious who she was with.

I was extremely hurt and decided on divorce. I put on my jacket and went to her parents’ house to ask for the dowry back.

When I married Ashley, her mother had demanded a $38,800 dowry.

My family had emptied our savings to come up with the money, and my company was already behind on payments to suppliers.

Since Ashley and I didn’t actually get married, I obviously wanted that money back.

I demanded that her mother return the money as soon as I walked in.

Ashley’s family had all been at the wedding and knew what had happened.

They were too embarrassed to get involved.

Her mother frowned. “I can’t believe you’re asking this as a newlywed husband. No one asks their wife’s family for money the day after the wedding.”

“The dowry is for the bride’s parents; there’s no reason to give it back. No matter what the situation may be!”

“If you marry my daughter, you have to give me the money. Now that you’re married, you don’t want to give me the money. How can you be so heartless?”

I snorted, “You saw what happened last night. I didn’t marry Ashley.”

“You didn’t stop her from leaving. Now that I’m asking for the money back, you won’t give it to me!”

Her mother started yelling.

“She has legs. It’s her choice to leave. What does that have to do with us?”

“In any case, my daughter has married you. There’s no way to return the dowry!”

I was angry and about to argue when Ashley’s younger brother, Austin, punched me in the face.

“You jerk, asking for the money back after getting married. There’s no way.”

“Are you leaving? If not, don’t blame me for what happens next!”

He waved his fist, threatening me.

Since he was being so rude, I didn’t need to be polite either.

I pulled out my phone and called the police. “Hello, police, this family committed fraud and assaulted me!”

I gave them the address.

Ashley and her mom didn’t expect this.

Austin wanted to hit me again, but his mother stopped him, changing her tone and trying to reason with me.

“Son-in-law, we’re already family. Why make a big deal out of this?”

“Besides, you’re already married. You gave us the money. We didn’t complain about your rudeness. Why are you being so aggressive?”

“Drop the charges, and we can pretend this didn’t happen!”

I didn’t listen to her, standing in front of the door to prevent them from closing it.

The police arrived and asked about the situation. Because the amount of money was significant, they suggested that we go to court.

But Austin was guilty of assault, and the police demanded that he apologize and pay $3,000.

Austin started yelling again, trying to hit me, but the police held him back.

The noise attracted the attention of neighbors, who came to see what was happening.

After learning what had happened, they started gossiping about Ashley’s family.

Ashley’s family had lost all face.

Finally, her mother, feeling ashamed, paid me $3,000 and apologized for Austin.

I reluctantly agreed and left with the police.

The family had become infamous in the neighborhood.

After leaving her parents’ house, I immediately handed over the wedding video and the audio recording of Ashley’s family refusing to return the money to my lawyer. He would file for divorce and reclaim the dowry.

Two days later, Ashley and her mother came to my house to apologize.

As soon as Ashley saw me, she knelt in front of me and begged, “Honey, please drop the charges. I still love you. I don’t want to get divorced.”

Her mother tried to smooth things over. “Yes, son-in-law, don’t you see? It was just a small argument; there’s no need to get divorced.”

I didn’t help Ashley up. If I didn’t need to get the dowry back, she wouldn’t have come back.

I refused coldly. “I’m not dropping the charges. If you’re smart, you’ll return the money. Otherwise, I’ll see you in court!”

I knew that the $38,800 had been used to buy Austin a luxury car.

Ashley’s family didn’t have the money to pay me back.

Ashley hugged my leg and cried, covering her stomach and sobbing.

“What about the baby in my stomach if we divorce?”

“The baby is already two months old and has a heartbeat.”

I froze, looking down at Ashley.

We were both getting older and had planned to get married and have a baby this year.

So, we hadn’t been using protection.

Her mother handed me the pregnancy test, pointing to the ultrasound photo.

“Son-in-law, you don’t want the baby to be born without a father. Ashley followed that Ethan guy because of hormones, and she now knows she was wrong.”

Ashley nodded, promising not to contact Ethan again.

Looking at the tiny figure on the ultrasound and thinking about my parents, who were eager to have a grandchild, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I decided to forgive Ashley this time.

I called my lawyer and dropped the charges in front of Ashley and her mother.

Ashley burst into tears of joy.

In the following days, Ashley acted like the perfect wife.

She cooked for me, bought me gifts, and posted lovey-dovey photos on social media.

As soon as she posted, Brooke sent me a message asking if Ashley and I had gotten back together.

I didn’t hide anything and told her that Ashley was pregnant.

Brooke took a long time to reply and wished me happiness. After that, she ignored all my messages.

Everything was fine for the better part of two weeks.

One night, my business dinner was canceled at the last minute. So, I went home early.

Before I could go upstairs, I saw Ashley getting out of a black car.

From my angle, I could see Ethan in the driver’s seat.

He smirked and smiled at me smugly before driving away.

The anger in my heart exploded, and I marched over to Ashley.

Ashley was wearing heavy makeup and a low-cut minidress.

I could smell alcohol and cigarettes on her.

“What the hell are you wearing? Were you with him at a bar?”

“Didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t contact him? How many days has it been since you were with him?”

Ashley denied it and even lied to me, saying it wasn’t Ethan.

I was so angry that my chest was about to explode. I grabbed Ashley and tried to confront her.

Ashley desperately tried to stop me. I was so angry that I pushed her away without thinking.

I don’t know what she hit, but she clutched her stomach and cried out in pain.

Afraid that something had happened, I rushed her to the hospital.

Her mother arrived and told the police, “Police officer, my daughter said that he hit her and caused her to come to the hospital.”

“I want to sue him for attempted murder. Arrest him now!”

I immediately argued and explained that it was a misunderstanding.

But her mother insisted that I wanted to kill Ashley.

The police grabbed my shoulders and handcuffed me.

“We’ll investigate after the victim is conscious. Come with us now.”

I was escorted out of the hospital in front of everyone.

At the police station, the police started to take my statement.

I told them everything and told the police that there were security cameras at the entrance of every building.

The cameras would have captured Ashley and me arguing.

The police contacted the property management and obtained the surveillance footage. It clearly showed that Ashley had not hit anything and cried out in pain.

To avoid misreading, the police replayed it more than ten times.

The police were a little embarrassed and suggested that we settle this privately before releasing me.

I went home exhausted after everything that had happened.

Before I could take a shower or change, Ashley called.

As soon as I answered, she yelled at me, “Do you have a conscience? You didn’t even bring me breakfast!”

“If you hadn’t hit me, I wouldn’t be in the hospital. I’m barely forgiving you for this.”

“I want shrimp porridge. Bring it to me now, or you’ll regret it!”