The night before our wedding, I got a text from Elena’s childhood friend, Dale Smith.

[Happy Wedding. I left your gift in Lenny’s belly. Hope you like it.]

I was so furious I stormed off to confront Lenny. And when she couldn’t dodge my questions anymore, she finally admitted the truth—hesitant, stammering and guilty as hell.

“It was that night after the class reunion. We had too much to drink. Dale offered to take me home. One thing led to another and…”

“I swear, it was just one time! Who knew I’d get knocked out? But don’t worry. Dale wouldn't care for marriage. He said he’ll raise the baby and we don’t have to be involved.”

That same night, Dale showed up at our apartment with a suitcase in hand, like he owned the place, declaring he was moving in to take care of pregnant Elena.

Elena curled up in his arms and when she looked at me, there was this look—like I was some unwanted intruder.

“Clifton, Dale is the baby’s father. Isn’t it only fair that he’s involved during the pregnancy?”

“How about you leave for now and when the baby’s born, you can come back and take care of me after delivery?”

——

If I hadn’t heard it with my own ears, I wouldn’t have believed the woman I loved for eight damn years could say something so shameless.

In a split second, the face I used to find so beautiful, so enchanting, became utterly unfamiliar—and repulsive.

I was too stunned to form a response and Elena took that silence as agreement.

“Come on, Dale, I’ll show you around.”

She wrapped her arm around his like it was the most natural thing in the world and led him through the apartment.

“This is the office and that’s mine and Clifton’s room. Your room will be—”

“Silly,” Dale reached out and pinched her cheek. “You’ve always kicked the blanket off in your sleep. I’m gonna sleep in the same bed as you. So I can keep better eye on you.”

Lenny blushed like a schoolgirl and gave him a gentle punch in the chest. “Stop it,” she pouted—but she didn’t object.

If anyone had walked into our home right then, they’d have thought they were the couple about to get married—and I was just some awkward third wheel.

But honestly, that feeling wasn’t new. It had been hanging over me ever since she first introduced me to Dale.

Elena and I had met overseas. We were both international students from the same community, bonded at a college alumni gathering. Shared culture, shared hobbies—it was easy to fall in love.

We spent seven carefree years studying abroad, then came back home together and started meeting each other’s families.

It all went downhill the moment we started introducing friends.

From the very first meeting, Dale made his presence known. He pulled Elena into his arms right in front of me and gave her this long, gross, three-minute French kiss.

By the time I managed to pry them apart, Dale was laughing, mocking me for being so uptight. And Elena just brushed it off, saying they were like siblings, grew up wearing the same shirts and shorts—that there was no way they’d ever fall for each other.

Back then, I was so in love with her, I swallowed everything despite the jealousy. 

At every gathering afterward, Dale acted like he was trying to provoke me on purpose—always hugging Elena, touching her, painting me as the jealous boyfriend in front of our friends.

I tolerated it all, thinking that once we got married, Elena would start setting boundaries.

Never in my worst nightmares did I think they’d hit me with this surprising ‘wedding gift’.

Elena pulled Dale into our bedroom, like I wasn’t even standing there. And before long, I started hearing those all-too-familiar sounds.

“Hmph… you’re so good, Dale…”

Through the crack in the door, I saw her—limp, like a boneless doll, draped across Dale’s lap, her body moving with his in slow, deliberate rhythm, her face flushed and full of desire.

Dale was rubbing her temples and look up to shot me a provocative grin.

They were both half-naked, their bodies practically pressed together.

My blood rushed to my head. I shoved the door open and stared coldly at Elena, who looked annoyed by the interruption.

“That’s it! I’m calling off the wedding, Elena!”

“What? You can’t be serious!” Elena sat up in bed, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“We already sent out all the invitations! Our families, friends—they’re all expecting the wedding! You can’t just cancel it.”

“Can’t you grow up?” she sneered. “We’ve been together for years. How could you just say that? Does it never cross you mind that it’ll hurt me?”

She looked genuinely offended, like I was the one who screwed up. It made me want to laugh. 

I had to bite back a bitter laugh as I blinked away the sting in my eyes. 

“What, you want me to marry you while you're pregnant with another man’s baby?”

“Why not?” Lenny replied, dead serious. “I’m still early in the pregnancy. I’m not even showing. And even if I was, so what? We’re married. No one’s gonna ask questions. Our parents won’t suspect anything.”

I stared at her. She was so calm, not a trace of regret or shame on her face, which made me wonder—how could her mind be so twisted?

I clenched my fists, trying to keep my voice from cracking. “Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I don’t want it?”

She laughed. Flat-out laughed. Dale, standing beside her like a smug bastard, scoffed openly.

“Why wouldn’t you?” he sneered. “Everyone knows you’re crazy about Lenny. You’ve been her pathetic lapdog for years. She’s already agreed to marry you. Just take the win and stop throwing tantrums. Be a man. Stop being such a drama queen before you ruin a good thing.”

Dale always loved talking down to me and I used to put up with it for Elena’s sake. But now? I was done.

I stepped forward, my eyes locked on his. “Who the hell do you think you are? I’m talking to Elena. You have no business butting in.”

He didn’t expect me to fight back. His face twisted for a second, but then he switched tactics, shooting a pitiful look at Elena.

“Lenny,” he murmured, turning to her with a sorrowful expression, “It seems your fiancé doesn’t want me here. Maybe I should just leave. I don’t want to be the one who causes a rift between you.”

“Or,” he continued, “we could stay at my place?”

Lenny immediately stepped in front of him like I was being the unreasonable one here, her tone patronizing and tired. “Okay, okay. I get it. You’re throwing a fit because you don’t want to move out and be away from me, right? How about this? I’ll stay with you on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, I’ll be at Dale’s. Sundays, you two can take turns being with me. Sounds fair, right?”

The way she laid it out so matter-of-factly—like she was being generous—made me want to throw up.

I couldn’t tell if she’d gone completely insane from the pregnancy hormones, or if this twisted logic had always been inside her.

But it didn’t really matter anymore.

From the moment she chose to cheat on me, to roll around in bed with Dale like I didn’t exist, she made it clear—there was no going back.

“Let’s not make this more complicated than it has,” I took a deep breath and steadied myself. “Elena, I’m breaking up with you. We’re done.”

Her face froze. Then her expression twisted, moving quickly from shock to outrage.

“Are you really doing this? You better be ready to live with that decision, because I won’t be giving you a second chance.”

She still didn’t believe I meant it.

I stared straight at her, the love I once had now buried under the weight of betrayal and disgust.

“The moment you slept with him, you stopped being someone I could ever forgive.” I squeezed the words out through clenched teeth.

Elena’s face was full of fury as she shoved me hard.

“Fine! Then just get out! Who needs your forgiveness anyway? Think you’re so high mighty?”

She was clearly furious.

Dale pulled her into a protective hug.

“Easy, Lenny, being mad won’t be good for your health. You’re carrying our baby, remember?”

At that, Elena shot me a fierce glare.

“Can you see that? Dale’s just my friend, but he cares so much about me. While you? You’re my fiancé and you don’t care about me the slightest!”

Her voice dripped with disgust.

“Alright, Clifton, I think you’d better leave. Lenny’s probably just upset right now. When she’s calmer, I’ll let you know.”

Dale waved me off impatiently. But I stayed cold and calm.

“Are you two serious? This is my house.”

I fixed them both with a cold stare.

I bought this house especially for our wedding, every inch decorated with Elena’s ideas.

Maybe it was because she’d lived here too long, or maybe she never believed I’d really break up with her—either way, she still acted like this was her home.

“Are you even a man?” Elena exploded again.

“Your house? You bought this house because of me. Can you even live here without me? Now I’m pregnant. This is exactly time when I need care and you can’t even give me a place to stay?”

Her entitled excuses made me lose any will to talk sense into her.

I took a deep breath.

“I’ll give you ten minutes to pack your things and leave. After that, I’m calling security.”

Without another word, I walked out of the house.

Behind me, Elena’s shouting filled the air and Dale wasn’t shy about calling me petty and jealous. But none of that mattered anymore.

Like I said, from the moment Elena cheated, forgiveness was off the table forever.

They wasted several cigarettes before finally dragging themselves out of the house.

Elena stared at me with venom.

“Clifton, no matter how much you beg me later, I’m never coming back here!”

She didn’t forget to threaten me as she left.

I just found her noise annoying and slammed the front door hard enough to echo through the empty house.

When the world finally settled into silence, I collapsed inside the house and cried my heart out.

As I overcome with grief, I realized—everything we had was severed, by my own hand.

Not long after, I got a call from Elena’s mother.

“My daughter says you kicked her out? How dare you?”

Mrs. Humphrey wasted no time launching into a tirade.

Mr. Humphrey joined in, bombarding me with questions.

“How could you go back on your word? You promised you’d tolerate anything Elena did, yet now you’ve thrown her out? Your promises mean nothing. What good are you as a son-in-law? I’m warning you—you need to beg Elena to come back right now, or the wedding three days from now is off.” Mr. Humphrey was even less patient than his wife.

Hearing their words chilled me to the bone.

I’d always taken care of Elena’s family. She told me her parents spent everything sending her abroad to study, so since then I never let her or her family spend a dime on me.

She said her dad liked his whiskey; I regularly sent over bottles of top-shelf bourbon and scotch.