My husband, Dominic Moore, insists on having his first love, Irene Cobb, at our wedding ceremony.

Just when it's time for the bride to enter the hall, he suddenly asks for the ceremony to be paused for three minutes. Then, he gets off stage and pulls Irene, dressed in a white gown, out of the crowd.

Right in front of all the guests, he takes her by the hand and walks her down the aisle, saying, "I promised Irene I'd walk her down the aisle someday."

The tearful Irene throws herself into Dominic's arms before saying to my in-laws, "Mom, Dad. Although I won't get to be your daughter-in-law, I still want to address you as Mom and Dad just once."

She turns back to Dominic and kisses him passionately.

The guests exclaim in shock and whisper among themselves, eager to revel in my humiliation.

However, I simply open the doors with a smile. I take off my veil and place it on Irene's head.

"Why do you say you won't get to be their daughter-in-law? Since you like this cheating scumbag so much, I'll give him to you."

Because of what I said, Irene Cobb fainted right there in Dominic Moore's arms. But even as she passed out, she continued to wrap her arms tightly around his shoulders, refusing to let go.

And, without hesitating for even a second, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her off in a hurry to take her to the hospital. While leaving, he didn't forget to rebuke me in front of everyone, calling me a petty and small-minded woman.

Dominic said I couldn't even be gracious for three minutes—that I was deliberately trying to ruin the wedding ceremony.

I had been with Dominic for ten years and legally married to him. His parents, Gordon Moore and Molly Porter, finally agreed to let me have a wedding ceremony after I got pregnant with his baby.

Until ten minutes ago, I still believed that he would settle down, and I'd finally have a happy family of my own.

But now, my own mother was ashamed of me. She threw her bag at me and wailed for me to get Dominic to turn back.

Dad was also looking at me like I was his biggest disappointment. He tore off the pin I had pinned to his suit myself and stomped on it.

Molly, who never had any regard for me in the first place, was scowling as she publicly berated me. She said I had no sense of propriety and lacked proper upbringing.

Clenching my arm tightly, she declared in a sharp voice, "If you want to marry into the Moore family, you need to learn how to be a virtuous and obedient wife.

"Even if you feel like you've been wronged, you'd better keep it to yourself. Since you ruined this wedding ceremony, don't expect there to be another one."

As I took in Molly's nasty, unpleasant expression, it finally hit me that genuinely loving someone else with all my heart didn't mean I would get the same in return.

After being with Dominic for ten years, I no longer wanted to be the Moore family's daughter-in-law.

Before I could say anything, Molly yanked me by the arm and shoved me out of the building.

"If you fail to get Dominic to turn around, don't bother coming back either."

I turned my head back around, only to see that the doors had slammed shut behind me.

A torrid rainstorm was crashing down in front of me, while behind me was the lively atmosphere inside.

Even though I was standing there in a wedding gown, it seemed as though I had been abandoned by the entire world.

Before my tears could fall, the doors opened. Mom and Dad walked up to me.

The moment I saw them, all the hurt I had been holding back came rushing out. Keeping my voice down, I called out lightly, just like I did as a child, "Mom."

However, Mom's expression turned nasty.

"I'm not your mom! I told you from the start not to throw any tantrums, but look what you've done! You angered Dominic and drove him away.

"You also ruined the wedding! How are your father and I supposed to hold our heads up in front of everyone now?"

Her cold, harsh voice felt like a dagger stabbing me in the heart.

"Hurry up! Do as your mother-in-law said and go after Dominic. If he doesn't want you anymore, what's going to happen to that baby in your belly, huh?" Mom snapped.

Without saying anything else, Mom and Dad went back inside, and the doors slammed shut once more.

I stood in place, my tears falling at last.

The wedding ceremony had been held at a villa on the outskirts of the city. Even though I wanted to get a cab, my phone had no reception. I had no choice but to get an umbrella and walk out into the storm.

The pouring rain soaked into my wedding gown, the white fabric soon turning a filthy shade of gray after getting caked with mud.

It was just like the state of my love life.

There was no way of knowing how long I had been walking. My gown kept getting heavier thanks to the rain.

When I saw my heels, all bloodied and raw, I let out a self-mocking laugh. What a perfect wedding ceremony this had been.

Lost in my thoughts, I finally got cell reception, and over a dozen messages from Dominic popped up.

"Are you intent on making my life miserable, Evelyn? I've told you long ago that Irene is just like a younger sister to me. Why did you have to insist on getting jealous at the wedding ceremony?"

On and on his messages went, every single word an accusation. He didn't show even a shred of concern for me, nor did he say a word of apology.

Not wanting to entertain him, I was just about to put my phone away when I got a call from an unfamiliar number. When the call connected, Irene's voice rang out.

"Dom, Evelyn will be upset that you abandoned her like that. Either way, she's pregnant with your child…"

However, Dominic simply replied gently, "You're too kind-hearted, Irene. She only got pregnant to force my family to throw her a wedding ceremony. How can she or the baby compare to you?"

The phone slipped from my hand and hit the ground with a dull thud.

But of course, how could I possibly compare to Irene?

Two months ago, when I had gone downstairs at night to get a drink of water, I slipped by accident and ended up breaking my tailbone. As the blood pooled beneath me, I was so terrified that I hurriedly shouted for Dominic, who was getting ready to go out.

But he simply reprimanded me icily, "Don't you have hands and feet, Evelyn? Do you not know how to call for an ambulance yourself? Stop bothering me. I've got an urgent matter to deal with."

By the time the ambulance arrived, I had already fainted and nearly suffered from a miscarriage.

I was hospitalized for an entire month after that, and not once did Dominic show up.

It was not until yesterday that I found out he had gone off in a rush because Irene said she was scared of lightning, and he needed to keep her company.

As I recalled that incident, my hands clenched around my gown, snapping the manicure I had gotten done specially for the wedding ceremony. Nevertheless, the physical pain couldn't hold a candle to the agony in my heart.

Finally, I reached the bottom of the hill. I had just called for a cab when Dominic called.

"Evelyn, you gave Irene such a fright that she's getting a panic attack. Get your ass over here and apologize to her at once!"

Gripping the umbrella that was being whipped around by the roaring wind, I informed him that I was still on the outskirts of the city.

Just then, hail began falling from the sky, thumping loudly as the pieces of ice hit the ground.

Dominic heard the sounds, and his voice became a little anxious. "Has it started to hail? Didn't you stay back at the villa? I'll come over now and—"

Before he could finish, I heard Irene crying in the background.

"This is all my fault, Dom. I shouldn't have come back… If I'd known this would happen, I should've just died on the streets somewhere…"

Dominic immediately put his phone down and comforted her softly. By the time he started talking to me again, his voice resumed its previous indifference.

"Evelyn, I'm giving you half an hour. Get to the hospital now and apologize!"

The icy hostility in his voice made me shudder, but it also made the last of my love for him disappear.

"I'm not the one who needs to apologize, Dominic. Let's get a divorce."

Dominic's breath hitched, but he soon responded mockingly, "Everyone in Amberton knows that I've knocked you up. If you leave me, who would want to be with a pregnant woman like you?"

At last, the umbrella buckled under the storm and fell to the side.

As I stood there with the wind whipping around me and the hail crashing onto me, my mind slowly cleared.

I dropped the call just as the cab I called for arrived.

After stroking my tiny belly bump, I wiped my tears and said to the cab driver, "Take me to the hospital, please."

…

As I lay on the operating table, I suddenly felt like I could hear the baby's pulse inside of me. He seemed to be telling me not to cast him aside.

I deliberated for a long time, but in the end, I called Dominic.

"I'm at the hospital, Dominic. You—"

Dominic cut me off with a snort, commanding, "If you're already at the hospital, hurry up and get over here then! This time, you'd better apologize to Irene. Or else, don't even think about getting me to forgive you."

I swallowed back the words on the tip of my tongue, ended the call, and informed the doctor he could proceed with the procedure.

"Are you sure about this?" the doctor asked softly. "The baby's perfectly healthy. Maybe you should talk to the father first?"

"That won't be necessary. He doesn't care."

…

After leaving the hospital, I went back to the house and packed my things. The house was filled with wedding favors and wedding gifts, reminders of the wedding ceremony that was supposed to have taken place.

Clearly, Dominic hadn't come home at all in the last few days. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let these things remain in the house, sullying his eyes.

Halfway through packing, Mom called me. "Eve, have you managed to appease Dominic yet? Has he forgiven you?"

Her voice was full of anxiety and hopeful anticipation, but not a hint of concern for me.

I told her I was divorcing Dominic.

After a brief silence, I was hit with a torrent of tearful reprimands. Mom told me not to be willful—that I should endure all the humiliation for the sake of being Dominic's wife.

I swiped at my tear-covered phone screen and ended the call.

Once I managed to compose myself, I went to work and submitted my resignation letter.

Dominic showed up at the end of the workday. In the ten years we had been together, it was the first time he had waited for me after work.

I wanted to walk away, but he grabbed me and hauled me into the car.

"It's just a wedding ceremony. Must you kick up such a huge fuss over it? You're not a young woman in your early 20s anymore, Evelyn. Why are you still using the threat of divorce to gain attention?"

Dominic reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a velvet jewelry box before tossing it to me. When I opened it, I saw a pair of rings inside.

"What are these?"

Dominic, who had started driving, responded matter-of-factly, "Irene didn't like the old pair of wedding rings, so she tossed them for me and chose a new pair for you."

Then, with an expression that made it seem like I had hit the jackpot with this, he added, "This pair is a lot more expensive than the other one. That should be enough to satisfy you, right?"

Scoffing, I tossed the box back at him and retorted, "Save it. You should give something this expensive to Irene instead. I wouldn't dream of having it."

Dominic's expression darkened. "Don't push your luck, Evelyn! If not for the baby you're carrying, do you think my family would've publicly acknowledged you as my wife so easily?"

He was right. Even though we were legally married, our marriage was never made public. The wedding ceremony was only a pitiful act of charity by the Moores, solely because I got pregnant.

There was no point in stubbornly holding on and allowing them to trample on my feelings like that.

Resisting the urge to cry, I turned my head to the side and said, "You're right. I'm not meant to get so lucky, so when you're free, let's file the divorce paperwork."

Dominic slammed on the brakes, and the car screeched to a stop.

"Evelyn, you're the one who groveled at my parents' feet, begging them to agree to let you marry me. Who do you think you're fooling with this phony act of yours, huh?"

In the past, I would have tearfully apologized at once if I saw him this angry. Now, however, I didn't even feel the slightest inclination to clarify matters.

It was a call from Irene that broke the tension in the car. "I have a splitting headache, Dom. Can you come over?"

"Let me off at that intersection over there," I said.

Taken aback, Dominic looked at me in disbelief. "You're not angry?"

I shook my head, my expression calm.

When I used to be in love with him, this certainly would have made me angry. Now that I didn't love him anymore, I wasn't going to waste my energy on being upset.

Once the car came to a stop, I tried to get out, but the doors were locked.

With mixed emotions in his eyes, Dominic grabbed my hand and said, "I'll be right back after checking on her. Wait for me here. I'll come and pick you up."

Flashing a polite smile at him, I yanked my hand out of his grasp and said, "Don't bother. I can hail a cab just fine."

Swallowing, Dominic remained silent for a while before unlocking the doors. "You're pregnant. Forget about the cab. I'll come back for you."

Shaking my head once more, I declined his offer.

"Must you insist on acting like this, Evelyn?"