When I was setting up my wedding place, I found a pair of black lace panties in the seam of the bed.

I was slightly stunned. It wasn't my panties.

I called Jeremy Fletcher, my boyfriend, who was working overtime, to ask about it, even though I knew he never answered calls while working overtime.

But the phone was quickly answered.

"Sorry. Perhaps it's mine. You can throw it away."

The person who answered the phone was Sally Blake, Jeremy's secretary.

I threw the panties into the trash can.

I knew Jeremy and I would no longer have a future.

——

"Hello? Jeremy? What's with the thing in the seam of our wedding bed?"

After the phone call connected, I pinched the bridge of my nose.

I tried hard to make my voice sound calm, collecting myself.

There was an unsettling silence on the other end of the line.

Just when I thought he had nothing to say, a young, clear female voice suddenly rang out.

"Sorry. Perhaps it's mine. You can throw it away."

I recognized that voice. It was Sally, Jeremy's secretary.

My heart sank to the bottom in an instant, and my voice turned cold.

"Where is Jeremy? Let him answer the phone."

Sally seemed to hesitate for a moment, then looked in a certain direction and spoke with a barely noticeable hint of satisfaction in her tone.

"Jeremy? He is working overtime. What else do you think he's doing? What do you want to talk to him about? I can tell him for you."

Before I could speak, I heard Jeremy's voice.

"Sally? Can you pass me the bathrobe?"

At that moment, I froze, not knowing how to react. I instinctively gripped my phone and was about to question.

Yet before I could open my mouth, the phone was hung up in the next instant, leaving only silence in the room.

I stood in situ, looking at the panties in my hand. Then I looked around at the carefully decorated room, feeling a surge of indescribable anger and disappointment.

Then I immediately threw the panties into the trash can.

Tomorrow was our wedding day, and Jeremy went to get a room with his secretary today.

What the hell was he thinking?

I took a deep breath and sent a message to Jeremy.

[Jeremy, the wedding is canceled. I won't marry you.]

Then I began to pack up and get ready to leave this place that was once home and was now full of irony.

I couldn't understand. I was looking forward to getting married, and all of a sudden, this happened.

After packing up, I found that the things I had over the years were surprisingly few. A large suitcase was enough to hold all my memories.

I carried the suitcase and took a last look at this festive yet absurd wedding place. I closed my eyes and let tears well up in my eyes.

It'd be a lie to say that I wasn't sad. All women in this world looked forward to their wedding.

But now, thinking about this was simply meaningless.

After returning home, I turned off my phone, isolating myself from the world.

Then I opened a bottle of wine and silently drank until midnight. The alcohol numbed my nerves and temporarily made me forget all the pain.

Then I fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I was awakened by the loud sound of the doorbell.

Having a splitting headache, I opened the door groggily, only to find Jeremy standing at the door in formal attire.

He was wearing the suit we had chosen together before. It indeed complemented his tall figure.

But I felt nothing but ironic.

My hair was messy, I didn't change into the wedding dress, and I was without makeup. Seeing me like this, Jeremy immediately frowned and questioned me.

"Andrea! What the fuck?"

His yelling made me slightly sober. I frowned.

Before I could say anything, Jeremy scolded me harshly.

"Do you have any idea how much you embarrassed me today?"

His angry roar worsened my headache, and I sounded displeased when I said.

"At least it beats a future life in turmoil."

I had never spoken to him like this before, and he immediately glared at me.

"What did you say? Are you saying that marrying me will put your life in turmoil? If you had thought so, why didn't you discuss it with me earlier?

"It's our wedding day today! How could you be so willful? Is this a game to you?"

I clicked my tongue, feeling speechless about his loud voice. He really wasn't worried about attracting my neighbors' attention at all.

"Is it me who thinks my life will be in turmoil? I don't have to lay the matter between you and Sally out, do I?

"Jeremy, it's fine if you have no shame. I don't care. But I care about my reputation. The neighbors can hear you. Save yourself some dignity!"

Jeremy's expression changed slightly when he heard my words, and then his gaze started to wander. He didn't want to meet my eyes and immediately changed the topic.

"We can talk about anything else later. Let's finish the wedding first. Our relatives and friends are all there. Are you going to embarrass my parents like that?"

"I'm not going."

I decisively refused him, holding the doorknob and about to close the door. Jeremy reached out to block the door, gritting his teeth.

"It's my parents! They want to talk to you face to face!"

Hearing him mention his parents twice, I couldn't help but feel guilty. His parents were nice to me, treating me like their own daughter. It was a pity that Jeremy was a cheater.

No matter what, I didn't show up at the wedding today, and I left them embarrassed.

Jeremy failed me as well as the years of effort I put in.

"Fine. Wait here."

Without waiting for Jeremy's response, I slammed the door shut with a bang. After washing up, I opened the door again. He looked furious, but he didn't dare to say anything. Seeing that, I was amused.

When we arrived at the scene, the guests, except for a few close relatives of the Fletcher family, had already left. When they saw me, a few elders started to scold me.

"Andrea, how could you? You can be as willful as you want at usual times, but it's the wedding we're talking about. How could you go back on your word just like that?"

"Andrea, you decided not to show up at the last minute. How are we going to..."

"That's enough, guys."

Joanna Fletcher, Jeremy's mother, stopped them. She was as gentle as ever. She signaled Jeremy to take me into the private room so as not to be pointed fingers at by their relatives.

Maxwell Fletcher, Jeremy's father, was in the private room. When he saw me, he stood up anxiously.

"Andrea! We were looking for you everywhere! If you were aggrieved or unhappy about the wedding, you could have told us. Why didn't you answer the phone?

"We can always talk things out!"

Joanna led us to sit down and then sighed softly.

"Andrea, Maxwell is right. You can talk to me about anything. After all, you'll be part of the family. I've always treated you like my own daughter."

Looking at them, I felt even more guilty.

They had treated me really well. I often saw people posting conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law online, but there had been almost no conflicts between me and Joanna. But now, I had made up my mind. No one could make me have a change of heart.

I bit my lip and shook my head.

"Joanna, Maxwell, the wedding isn't the reason."

Saying this, I looked at Jeremy.

After sitting down, Jeremy had been silent, and now he even pulled a long face.

Seeing this, Joanna had a vague guess that it was because of Jeremy, and she sighed.

"Jeremy, did you upset Andrea?"

"I wouldn't dare to."

Jeremy said stubbornly. Seeing that he neither admitted nor took the initiative to tell the truth, I sighed, not knowing how to tell them.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and then the person came in without waiting for a response.

It was Sally, who was dressed up and holding gifts. She came in on high heels and said congratulatory words right after. It seemed she didn't see me.

"Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Fletcher, I'm late. Happy wedding..."

She turned around and paused when she saw me. She was stunned.

"Hello, Andrea. You're here too."

Sally forced a smile and tried to greet me in a relaxed tone.

I couldn't help but feel ironic. I was the bride, yet she said "You're here too". Her words seemed particularly unnecessary.

It made me feel like I shouldn't have been here. Then who should?

Sally?

Sally walked up to me, and as she greeted me, I keenly noticed a ring sparkling on her ring finger. Subconsciously, I furrowed my brows. I suddenly had a bad feeling.

Then I turned my head to look at Jeremy. Sure enough, he had the same ring as hers on his finger.

I felt a slap in the face.

At my wedding, my husband and his secretary were actually wearing wedding rings.

No wonder Jeremy always came up with excuses, refusing to wear the wedding ring. Now I knew why.

If I came here to get married without knowing anything, when we exchanged rings on stage, Jeremy would have to take off his and Sally's rings in advance. Didn't he find it troublesome?

Was this my wedding with Jeremy, or was it Sally's?

I suppressed the anger and remained silent.

Jeremy's parents noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere. Joanna quickly invited us to eat, saying that if there was any problem, at least we should eat first before fixing it.

I wanted to clarify and leave right away, but I didn't because I felt guilty about Joanna and Maxwell, and I didn't want to embarrass Joanna.

So, we all sat down and waited for the dishes to be served.

After all the dishes were served, Joanna kept putting food on my plate. She didn't ask me why I didn't come to the wedding scene.

Instead, she just kept saying, "Andrea, try this. It's delicious.

"This is the signature dish. Do you want me to peel the shrimp for you?"

I said no politely and involuntarily looked at Jeremy.

He was sitting with Sally. The two seemed to have endless things to say, and his expression was no longer that cold.

Sally looked so tender, completely ignoring the presence of his parents and me, the bride.

I saw Maxwell elbow Jeremy. Only then did Jeremy realize that he had gone too far. He reluctantly turned his head and picked up a crab for me.

I looked at the crab and then at Jeremy, feeling a bit helpless.

Today was my period, and I shouldn't eat crabs, but he seemed to have completely forgotten.

I quietly threw away the crab. Joanna and Maxwell saw the whole thing.

They couldn't help but look at Jeremy and Sally next to him. Her plate was already full, and he was still peeling shrimp.

It seemed pretty clear that he wasn't peeling for me.

I didn't want to waste any more time here, so I grabbed a tissue to wipe my mouth and stood up, decisively speaking.

"I'm sorry. I think I've had enough to eat. Jeremy and I have officially broken up, and I will split all the expenses of this wedding with him."

"Who says you get to call the shots?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Jeremy glared at me gloomily.

Sally suddenly stood up and asked anxiously with a worried expression on her face.

"What's going on, Andrea? Why... It's so sudden. Is there a misunderstanding?"

She was such a big phony. She disgusted me.

I walked towards Sally, looked into her eyes, and said coldly.

"Really? You don't know why I'm calling the wedding off?"

A hint of provocation flashed in Sally's eyes, and then she said innocently.

"What are you talking about, Andrea? How could I know?"

A crisp sound rang out.

I couldn't bear it anymore and slapped her. Then I said coldly.

"Stop asking when you already know the answer."

"What are you doing, Andrea?"

Jeremy rushed over immediately, shielding Sally behind him. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and then couldn't help but sob.

"How could you ... hit me..."

Seeing that she was crying, Jeremy was about to step forward to scold me.

"Andrea! You've really gone too far! No matter what, you can't..."

"That's enough, Jeremy!"

Maxwell suddenly coughed loudly and then grabbed Jeremy. Joanna, sensing something off, quickly spoke up.

"Sally, you should leave first. This is a family matter. Although you are Jeremy's secretary and friend, we might still ask you to leave first."

Sally looked at Joanna, then at Maxwell, and stomped her foot. Then she left in a huff.

Jeremy still wouldn't let me off.

"Andrea! Good for you! How dare you hit my secretary! You ran away from the wedding and are so arrogant! I'm glad I didn't marry you!

"Whoever marries you will be the unluckiest man in the world!"

"Jeremy! Shut up!"

Joanna scolded, but Jeremy ignored her and continued.

"If you regret it now, too late. I no longer want to marry you!"

He was so ridiculous. Since he was like this, I didn't need to save him any dignity.

"I regret it? How come I didn't realize before that you were so full of yourself, Jeremy?"

Jeremy's eyes widened instantly, and I slapped the table.

"How dare you accuse me? Whoever marries you will be the unluckiest woman in the world! Which bride would find someone else's lace panties in the seam of the wedding bed the day before the wedding? The panties aren't mine, are they? I had no idea you were into such things, Jeremy!"