On our wedding day, my husband’s first love announced that she was pregnant.

“I have already prepared the divorce papers. I’ve decided to leave Cassian completely.”

My best friend stared at me in shock. “Didn’t he say he was finally going to make your relationship public? Why are you suddenly divorcing him?”

I gave her a bitter smile.

After seven years of a hidden marriage, Cassian finally agreed to hold a wedding for me.

Yet at that very wedding, his first love, Thalia, walked in holding a pregnancy test report and calmly announced that she was carrying his child.

Over the years, every time I became pregnant, Cassian made me abort it. And now, he was having a child with another woman.

“Agreeing to marry you was only out of responsibility,” he said coldly. “Don’t forget, if you didn’t look like Thalia, I would never have signed an agreement to stay secretly married to you for seven years.”

Cassian stood in front of her, shielding her and the child, his gaze sharp and indifferent as it landed on me.

I looked like an outsider.

The wedding ended in absurdity.

I had always known he did not love me. What I never expected was that three days later, when my mother was on her deathbed, I begged him to drive me to the hospital.

He abandoned me on the side of the highway. Rain was pouring down in sheets. All because his first love had called him.

By the time I finally reached the hospital, I was soaked through, shivering uncontrollably. My mother only had enough strength left to hold my hand once before she passed away.

That moment broke me completely.

I kept telling myself that Cassian was only emotionally distant, not cruel.

But in the hospital, I saw a post Thalia had just shared online. The caption read:

“I just said I wanted a little cake, and he dropped everything to buy it for me. Love or no love is really that obvious.”

Then she sent me a photo.

In the picture, he was crouched in front of her, patiently and carefully wiping the cream from the corner of her lips. The man I had loved for so many years, a man so obsessed with cleanliness that he hesitated for three seconds even before holding my hand, was now lowering his head, his movements gentle, as if he were protecting a priceless treasure. The warmth in his eyes was something I had never dared to hope would ever be meant for me.

In that instant, something inside my heart shattered completely.

So all my effort over the years had been nothing more than futile self-warming. And she, without trying at all, had become the one he was willing to approach, willing to cherish.

That night, I made a decision.

A week ago, I quietly placed the divorce agreement on his desk. There was no confrontation. No questions. No tears. The next day, his signature appeared on it, careless and rushed, as though he were handling a matter of no importance at all.

Soon, I would finally walk away from this love that had only ever belonged to me alone.

……

In the seventh year of our secret marriage, he finally agreed to give me a wedding.

I thought it was the beginning of a thaw between us. I never imagined it would be the opening chapter of my nightmare.

The priest had just finished reading the vows. Before I could speak, the doors were shoved open.

Thalia rushed in, holding a child about five or six years old. In her hand was a pregnancy test report. In the next second, she dropped to her knees in the middle of the red carpet, sobbing so hard it tore at the air.

“Cassian, I’m pregnant. Can you pause the wedding first?”

Her voice trembled, pitiful and fragile, as if she might faint at any moment.

Then she lifted her tear filled eyes toward me and crawled forward a step, almost begging.

“Melody, please don’t hurt the child in my womb. Cassian stayed child free with you for seven years because your uterus was injured. He couldn’t bear to let you suffer again. But you can’t ignore his feelings. You can’t force me to abort my baby just because you can’t have children.”

The moment her words fell, the entire hall erupted.

I froze as if struck by lightning.

So he had not only betrayed me. He had already had a child with another woman.

What hurt even more was the little boy beside Thalia, lifting his head timidly and calling out in a clear voice, “Dad.”

My chest tightened. I could barely stay standing.

So this was their second child.

Cassian immediately walked over and helped Thalia up. His movements were so gentle they stabbed straight into my eyes. By habit, he drew the mother and child into his arms, as if that was where his real home had always been.

Then he looked up at me, his gaze cold and empty.

“I agreed to the wedding only to fulfill my responsibility.”

“Melody, if you hadn’t looked like Thalia, I would never have agreed to that seven year secret marriage.”

Every word carved into my heart like a blade.

“Now that she’s back, I finally understand. The only person I ever wanted to marry was her. No one else.”

In that moment, I finally understood that my seven year marriage was nothing more than her replacement.

After saying that, he took off his wedding ring without hesitation, as if casting away a meaningless connection.

Then he took the woman’s hand, placed his other hand on the child’s shoulder, and the three of them walked down the red carpet like a family.

He never looked back.

He did not spare me a single extra glance.

I stood there, my fingers clenched tightly around the bouquet that symbolized happiness, the stems crushed pale white in my grip.

Tears fell one by one onto the petals, blurring my vision.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind. There was only one month left on our secret marriage agreement.

I pulled out my phone. My fingers trembled as I dialed a number I had never called in seven years.

When the call connected, my voice sounded hoarse and hollow, like it had crawled up from the abyss.

“Father, I’ve made my decision. In one month, I’m willing to come back and inherit the family estate.”

The moment the words left my mouth, it felt as though I had completely let go of this absurd marriage.

The guests whispered and pointed, watching a farce with no one willing to take responsibility.

I stood alone at the center of the empty stage, my mind a tangled mess.

Only after the last person left and half the lights were turned off did I drag my heavy wedding dress and sit down on the steps.

My throat burned, unable to form a single word, while tears kept falling.

I ripped off my veil and threw it to the ground. In that instant, I suddenly felt that all my insecurity, endurance, and expectation over the past seven years were laughable, like a dream.

Today should have been the happiest day of my life.

He had promised me a wedding of the century.

Just a week ago, we were still choosing rings engraved with each other’s names, smiling like ordinary lovers.

But in the end, seven years were still not enough to warm a heart that had never belonged to me.

I dragged my heavy steps back to the house we had shared for seven years.

When I took off my wedding dress, it felt as if I were tearing away the last layer of my obsession.

Just when I thought the night would end in nothing but collapse and silence, the door lock suddenly clicked.

I froze.

Cassian came back.

The moment he pushed the door open, my entire body stiffened. I even forgot how to breathe.

Following closely behind him were Thalia and her son.

In that instant, a loud ringing filled my ears, as if someone had violently torn down my final line of defense.

The three of them stood at the entrance. It was a warm, intimate picture, yet it stabbed my eyes until they burned.

I stared at them for a long time. My throat felt stuffed with cotton. It took all my strength to force out a sentence.

“Cassian, what do you mean? The wedding just ended and you already can’t wait to bring your woman and child home? What about me? Where do you plan to put me?”

He pushed in the last suitcase, his manner relaxed, as if he were simply moving house, not crushing seven years of my marriage underfoot.

“Melody, don’t overthink it.”

His tone was calm, even carrying a hint of natural justification.

“I just think the place they were renting is too poor. It’s not suitable for a child.”

That single sentence blocked every last trace of hope inside me.

Today, he ran away with another woman at our wedding.

Now, he openly brought her and her child into this house.

I was not even worthy of an explanation.

So it turned out I was even more ridiculous than I had imagined.

My nose stung. Tears spilled out uncontrollably. I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself, but the tremor in my voice refused to stop.

“Cassian, what exactly do you want? If you want me gone, just say it. We can go to the civil office and settle it. But why do you have to humiliate me like this?”

His expression turned cold at once, his words sharp as blades.

“Melody, why are you still not understanding human language? I made it very clear at the wedding today. Thalia is the one I truly want to marry. You are just a substitute. Don’t forget your place. Otherwise, I really will throw you out.”

That sentence was even crueler than the one he said at the wedding, that no one but her would ever do.

At that moment, Thalia carefully hugged the child tighter. Tears clung to her lashes. She looked innocent and wronged.

“Cassian, I’m sorry. If I hadn’t appeared so suddenly, things wouldn’t have turned out like this. I was just afraid your family would use the child to threaten you, so I brought him here. I really never meant to destroy your marriage with Melody.”

She spoke as she lowered her head, wiping her tears.

The next second, Cassian pulled her into his arms with visible pain in his eyes, his movements gentle, as if afraid she might break.

“Silly girl, what are you talking about?”

His voice softened completely as he coaxed the woman in his arms. “Don’t listen to that mad woman. Stay here without worry. There will always be a place for you in this house. The one who was wrong was me. I forced you to leave back then for the sake of family利益. I never should have let you go.”

He gently stroked Thalia’s back, his tone filled with guilt and indulgence.

“Do you remember? That year I lost consciousness while surfing at sea. If you hadn’t jumped in to save me, I would have died long ago.”

I froze.

I stared at Thalia in disbelief.

She was clearly guilty. Her eyes darted around, her fingers gripping the child’s clothes tightly.

I could not help laughing. The sound came out bitter and absurd.

“So, Thalia, the hero Cassian talks about was you? You really are brave. Saving someone at sea like that… and I knew nothing about it.”

My voice was light, but sharp.

Because the person who truly jumped into the sea to save him was me.

And now, the credit had fallen into her hands.

The next second, a sharp pain exploded across my cheek.

“Melody, you scared her. If you really can’t stand them, you can move to the storage room.”

I was too stunned to speak.

“You… you want to throw me out?”

He seemed to realize his words were too harsh. His tone paused, then softened.

“That’s not what I mean. Since I married you, I’ll support you for the rest of your life. But the other things don’t concern you. You just need to do what you’re supposed to do.”

“What I’m supposed to do…”

I repeated softly, a tight, bitter smile caught in my throat.

“Cassian, what do you take me for? Something that only knows how to lie obediently at your feet… trash?”

He looked at me with nothing but impatience and disdain.

He took a dazzling diamond necklace from a bag and handed it to me like alms.

“This is compensation. There’s no need to make a fuss about what happened at the wedding. Whether you’re jealous or insecure, put it away. Thalia is the woman I love. She’ll be living in this house with you from now on. Behave yourself.”

My heart felt as if it had been crushed alive. I swayed, fragile as a leaf that could scatter with a single breath of wind.

Cassian frowned irritably, shot me an annoyed glance, then wrapped an arm around Thalia and the child and went upstairs without hesitation.

Then I heard a series of dull thuds.

One suitcase after another was thrown down from the master bedroom, crashing against the stair landing.

Finally, he stood upstairs and tossed down a cold sentence.

“Move your things to the guest room. From now on, the master bedroom is for Thalia.”

Bang.

The master bedroom door slammed shut.

I stood amid the mess, tears falling uncontrollably.

Seven years of a secret marriage, and in the end… I didn’t even have a basic place to stand.

I really was like trash, completely discarded.

Cassian took his son and drove to the supermarket, enthusiastically preparing a lavish family dinner for that mother and child.

Before leaving, he ordered me coldly.

“Take good care of Thalia. While I’m gone, you’re not allowed upstairs.”

Like he was giving orders to an irrelevant servant.

In an instant, only Thalia and I were left in the house.

She changed into soft loungewear. Her slightly rounded belly seemed to flaunt her now unshakable position, the true lady of this house.

She stood at the top of the stairs and called down to me.

“Melody, I want some freshly squeezed orange juice. Bring it up.”

She paused, a flicker of malice flashing through her eyes.

“If you don’t… I’ll have Cassian send your golden retriever away. I’m pregnant. I can’t be too close to pets.”

Pain stabbed sharply into my chest.

That golden retriever was the dog I adopted in the second year of our child free marriage.

For six years, it kept me company through countless lonely nights. I treated it like my own child.

Now it had become someone else’s weapon against me.

I forced myself to stay calm, squeezed the orange juice, and carried it upstairs.

But just as I handed it to her, she suddenly grabbed my arm and twisted her body.

The glass fell from her hand and tumbled down the stairs, shattering into pieces on the first floor.

The next second, she screamed.

“Ah! My stomach!”

She staggered back as if struck, then rolled down the stairs.

Bang. Bang.

Each impact felt like it was smashing into my heart.

She collapsed on the floor clutching her stomach. Her forehead was split open, blood streaming down the side of her face, staining the floor red.

At that exact moment, the front door opened.

Cassian and his son stood there, frozen by the horrifying scene before them.

“Thalia!”

He dropped the shopping bags and rushed over, pulling her tightly into his arms.

Her voice trembled, pitiful like a frightened little rabbit.

“Cassian, my stomach… it hurts so much… our baby…”

“Don’t be afraid. I’m taking you to the hospital right now!”

Cassian lifted her up, but as he turned around, his eyes locked onto me with vicious fury.

That look felt like it wanted to tear me to pieces.