When my son turned seven, finally, Jonas Moreau said he'd marry me.

But on the night before the wedding, Mitch West had a depressive episode, and just like that, Jonas canceled everything.

He looked at me and shook his head. "Andy, you've let me down."

My son? He glared like he hated me. "Why does someone like you get to be healthy? I wish you weren't my mom!"

They both pointed at me... like I was some criminal.

Their words crushed me, but after that, I called my dad.

"Dad, I'll do it—I'll marry that guy from the Rockefellers."

As it happened, Jonas decided to marry Mitch—on the same day.

On my wedding day, when the wind lifted my veil, Jonas and our son finally realized who I was.

And—this shocked me—they both freaked out.

——

I'd gotten a text from Jonas after I called my dad.

[Come pick up Ashier at the hospital.]

I reached the hospital room, but when I heard what was happening inside, I froze.

His voice—it was so soft that I barely recognized it. He was gently wiping each tear that dropped from Mitch's eyes.

"Why are you crying? Didn't you say it was okay for me to marry her? Now you're saying you don't want me to?"

Mitch shook her head as more tears ran down her face.

Then, Jonas smiled at her and lightly tapped her nose.

"I knew you didn't mean it. That's why I didn't plan a single thing for that wedding."

I had spent 10 years with this guy—10!

Nine of those years, I'd asked him to marry me.

At first, he said, "Boo, I'm too young. I wanna have fun."

Then, after I almost died giving birth to his child, he said, "Boo, with our son just born, it's best to focus on taking care of him right now. We can think about marriage later."

Excuse after excuse, year after year.

Until seven days ago, he finally agreed.

But it turned out it was just because Mitch told him it was okay.

Before that, I was over the moon like an idiot.

I worked day and night to prepare—choosing the dress, designing the invites, barely sleeping, and trying to make everything perfect in just a week.

Now I get it—why did he suddenly agree to marry me after delaying it for years? He never planned to marry me at all.

Mitch wrapped her arms around him, crying, "If you don't marry her, what about your kid?

"You're worried now?" Jonas teased, smiling softly at her. "Weren't you the one who pushed me to her in the first place?"

Before he could say more, my son ran into Mitch's arms, clutching her tightly.

"Momma Mitch, are you leaving me too? I don't want to go back to Maleficent!"

Jonas laughed his ass off.

Then the three of them hugged like some perfect family.

That's when Mitch turned her head and noticed me watching at the door.

She smiled—not a nice smile but a smug, "I win" kind of smile.

At that moment, everything became clear.

She was the one who had sent me that text, using Jonas's phone!

Just to humiliate me!

Strangely enough, though, it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would.

I just turned around and walked away. On the way out, I texted my dad.

[Set the wedding for next month.]

It was pouring rain, and I walked all the way home in it.

By the time I got there, I was drenched and burning with a fever. I collapsed into bed and didn't wake up until the next morning.

When I opened my eyes, it was Jonas shaking me awake.

He looked at me differently this time—gentler.

"Boo, I made you something to eat. Even if you're sick, you shouldn't just sleep on an empty stomach, okay?"

First time in 10 years he'd ever made something for me.

But I almost puked when I looked at the bowl of pasta in his hands.

Just before he came in, I'd seen Mitch's latest Instagram post.

[Jonas keeps making food for me. I'm so full, but ugh, I hate wasting it.]

[Well, he said someone's dying for his leftovers. Ooh, who's gonna be the garbage this time?]

Jonas looked at me like he was waiting for me to take a bite. But before I could, he casually brought something up.

"Andy, Mitch's depression is getting worse. She doesn't have anyone to look after her, so I'm thinking of bringing her home."

He paused for a moment, then added, "After all, you caused this mess, so I'll make up for it on your behalf.

Hearing his self-righteous tone, I couldn't help but laugh sarcastically. So that's what all this was about, huh?

Just then, my little boy Ashier came running over while carefully holding a bottle of aspirin.

"Mom! Here, take this! It'll make you feel better!"

He smiled so sweetly.

"This way you won't spread your sickness to Momma Mitch!"

I turned cold and stared straight at Jonas.

"I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I make up for a mistake I didn't make?"

I held Ashier's hand tightly and looked at him with anticipation.

"Ashier, let's say Mommy has to leave... Are you gonna come with me?"

He's my child, a part of me, so a glimmer of hope lingered in my heart.

But in the next second, my boy yanked his hand away and shouted, "I'm staying with Aunt He forever! I'm not going anywhere with you!"

My heart sank instantly.

Jonas pulled Ashier behind him, dumped the bowl of pasta into the trash, and looked down at me with disdain.

"Hey, Andy, who are you kidding? Come on, you begged me to marry you every year! Ha! No way you'd actually just run away now."

With that, he took Ashier by the hand and walked out of the door.

Before they left, I heard him muttering to himself, "Ugh, I really made the right decision to put you under my name when you were born. If it had been on hers, who knows what kind of mess we'd be dealing with."

Ashier chimed in with his tiny voice, "I'm happy you didn't marry her, Daddy!"

The door closed behind them, and my strength gave out. My fever was relentless, sapping my energy.

Trembling, I dragged myself to the hospital

After a few IV drips, the fever subsided somewhat.

Feeling slightly better, I took out my phone and spent hours carefully drafting apology messages to every guest who had been invited to our wedding. I humbly explained that the wedding was canceled.

But the replies baffled me—many guests said Jonas had told them the wedding was still going ahead as planned.

One friend, someone I was close with, hesitated for a while before finally adding me to a group chat.

The group's name? Wedding in Progress.

The admin of the group was Jonas, and just as I joined, he sent a chat.

[Folks, we can't wait to see y'all at my wedding with Mitch! See y'all in a month!]

So it's true—the wedding was still happening. The only difference was that... the groom had a new bride.

I scrolled through the chat history, finding messages from him even late at night. He had been meticulously planning every detail of the wedding, handling everything himself.

Someone then mentioned: [In a month? I heard the Rockefellers are also holding a wedding next month.]

Jonas replied smugly. [Guess Mitch and I are really meant to be. Even a big-shot family like the Rockefellers wants to share our spotlight!]

I stared at the chats with my face expressionless. Without a word, I left the group.

Probably seeing the notice that I left the group, Jonas immediately called me.

"Andy, you... Do you know everything? H-Hey, let me explain…"

But before he could continue, I heard Mitch's voice in the background. "Jonas, how do I look in this wedding dress?"

In the next second, Jonas completely forgot about me.

"Andy, just stay home and wait for me to explain. I'm a bit busy right now."

Just with that, he hung up.

Not long after, I saw Mitch's post on Insta—pictures of her and Jonas in their wedding attire.

When I got back home, Jonas still wasn't there.

Ashier was sitting alone in the living room. The moment he saw me, he walked up, tugged at my sleeve, and said, "Mom, can you take me to the amusement park? Please?"

At first, Ashier and I had a great relationship. We used to go out and have fun together.

But ever since Mitch appeared, Ashier started growing distant, even resentful toward me.

It had been so long since I'd seen this sweet side of him, and for some reason, it softened my heart.

I couldn't help but give in. I took him to the amusement park.

But something felt off.

While we were there, he seemed completely distracted, his mind elsewhere.

I asked cautiously, "Ashier, are you not having fun? Should we head home?"

The moment I said that, he tensed up. "No! I love it here! Don't go home!"

But I could tell something was wrong. "Baby, your face looks pale," I said. "Let's head back so you can rest."

I took his hand to leave, but he yanked it away.

That's when I squinted. "What's going on at home?" I asked, my voice turning cold.

At that, he couldn't hold it in any longer. His face turned red, and he exploded. "You think I want to spend time with you? You're so annoying!"

He raised his voice even more. "If it weren't for Dad saying Mitch is going to give me a little sister, I wouldn't even bother coming with you!"

What the heck? In broad daylight, Jonas couldn't even hold his lust! He even used our son to send me away so he could fool around with Mitch!

Anger surged inside me, but I stayed calm on the outside. Even as Ashier kept hurling insults, telling me I shouldn't have been his mom, I forced him into the car and drove home.

The moment we got to the door, I heard it...

The bed shook violently and the unmistakable wild sound of their delight echoed from inside.

It took a while before Jonas finally came out.

As soon as Ashier saw him, he ran over excitedly. "Daddy, is Momma Mitch going to have my little sister?"

I thought, at the very least, he'd have the decency to avoid answering in front of me.

But no. He ruffled our son's hair and said with a smile, "This time, Momma Mitch will definitely give you a sister."

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to leave that hell for good.

I was about to head to the bedroom to grab my things, but Jonas blocked the door.

He gave me a disapproving look. "She's tired right now. Don't disturb her."

Then, as if nothing was wrong, he pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on my head.

"Andy, I didn't tell you earlier because I was afraid you couldn't handle it," he began to explain.

He reasoned, "Mitch just wants someone to love her. She's depressed. Can't you give her some space?"

And he had the nerve to promise, "Once she's better, I'll divorce her and marry you."

The scent of lust lingered on him, making me want to throw up.

I shoved him away and snapped, "If she needs someone to love her, she can just find someone else! Why does it have to be you?"

"Listen," he said, "I'm the only one she trusts."

That made me laugh so bitterly that tears began to well up. "So, sleeping with her in my bed—was that part of her therapy too? Did she also want a kid with you, huh?"

Before Jonas could reply, Ashier stepped forward. "It's me! I'm the one who wants Momma Mitch to have a baby sister for me!"

Right then, Mitch walked out of the bedroom, rubbing her sleepy eyes, wearing my pajamas.

"What's going on?" she asked groggily.

Jonas and Ashier rushed to her side, speaking in unison. "Nothing. Go back to sleep. We'll handle this."

From behind them, Mitch shot me a smug, triumphant look.

At that moment, I didn't even bother packing. I just rushed straight out the door.