My boyfriend caught some rare virus, and it looked like he wasn’t going to make it.

To get him the cure, I slept with the director of the research institute.

Clay Danhauser survived. He got down on one knee, teary-eyed as he proposed to me.

But a few days later, I caught him trying on wedding suits—with my college roommate.

When I took the courage to confront him, he just sneered. “The thought of you sleeping with another man makes me sick! I deserve to marry someone clean and innocent—not someone who’s been passed around like a dirty cheap toy!”

His words left me no choice but to yank off the ring, throw it at his face, and walk away—straight into a marriage my family had set up.

On my wedding day, dressed in my gown, I ran into Clay—dressed as the groom.

He spat, “You shameless slut! You think you can crash my wedding and make a scene? You must be begging to die!”

I tried to explain, over and over, but he wouldn’t listen. Instead, he tore my gown and started hitting me.

When my groom Clifton Danhauser showed up, Clay’s composure quickly changed.

“Uncle,” he said with a fake smile, “this crazy woman says she’s marrying you. I couldn’t just sit back and let her ruin your reputation, so I put her in her place.”

Not long after, Melissa Gilmour, my college roommate, announced her wedding.

I liked her Facebook post, and she immediately messaged me.

[Girl, get over to The Wedding Atelier. I’ve got a surprise for you!]

The surprise? A slap in the face.

Her groom was my fiancé Clay.

“Wow, Lorraine, you’re such an idiot!” Melissa said, laughing. “The Danhausers are super rich! Did you really think they’d want garbage like you?”

“I told Clay I was the one who got the cure. Guess what—he believed me! Now he can’t even look at you without feeling disgusted. You actually thought he’d marry you, huh?”

Clay slid his arm around her waist. His words were as cruel as they were cold. “You’re nothing but a slut! You’re not good enough for me.”

I watched his lips move, but I couldn’t hear much past the ringing in my ears.

My legs were giving out, but before the world went dark, his voice cut through the haze. “I don’t care if you pass out. Get the hell out of here! You’re ruining my day!”

I managed to curl my lips into a bitter smile.

This was the man I’d loved for six long years! The one who’d stood with me on a snowy mountaintop and promised we’d grow old together. Now, all of a sudden, he was a monster, tearing me down with every cruel word he could think of.

Everyone knew how deeply I loved him.

I was the daughter of a wealthy, powerful family, but I’d cut ties with my parents just to be with him.

People always say you shouldn’t meet someone too perfect when you’re young. But he checked off every box of what I imagined my first love to be.

Bright, handsome, romantic, sweet, thoughtful…

I thought we’d be happy forever.

Then, during a business trip to South Africa, he caught a rare virus. The hospital issued three critical condition notices in one night.

I heard about a research institute in the city that had developed an experimental drug. It wasn’t on the market yet, and there was no way to buy it.

So I tracked down the director at some exclusive club. Pushed past his bodyguards. Offered him my body in exchange for that life-saving drug.

My Clay recovered.

The day they moved him to a regular room, he proposed to me, crying.

But that same night… a video surfaced online—me, tangled up with another man. It went viral.

Terrified I’d lose my fiancé, I lied. Told him the woman in the video wasn’t me.

He said he believed me.

But after that, he grew colder. Distant.

I knew he was slipping away, but it still broke me when I saw him and Melissa flirting.

When I fainted, they left me on the floor. It was the bridal studio staff who took pity and called for an ambulance to rush me to the hospital.

When I woke up, my parents were sitting by my bed, holding my hand. Both their faces were full of worry.

With a scratchy voice, I said, “I’m coming home. I agree now to the arranged marriage.”

I’d put them through so much over the years. Maybe it was time to stop fighting and just do what they wanted.

The wedding was set for three days later.

I didn’t know anything about the guy I was supposed to marry, and honestly, I didn’t care enough to find out.

Before I blocked Clay, I saw his post pop up on my feed

[I was blind for six years, loving someone I never should’ve. But well, the universe has been kind. A sweet girl saved me, and from now on, she’s the only one I’ll ever love.]

I skimmed past it, but my chest tightened like a thousand tiny needles pricking at me all at once.

Then his wedding invite showed up. That was already bad enough, but what really got me was realizing his wedding was on the same day—and at the same hotel—as mine.

Changing the date or venue wasn’t an option. I had no choice but to deal with it.

Still, I figured the hotel had multiple floors for different reception halls. What were the odds we’d run into each other, right?

The morning of the wedding, just as I finished my makeup, my best friend called. She’d gotten lost and ended up on the wrong floor, so I grabbed my gown and went to find her.

I barely made it out of the elevator when I ran smack into Clay and Melissa.

His face darkened instantly. “Damn, you really can’t let me go, so you’re here to crash my wedding, aren’t you?”

Melissa scoffed, then spat out, “What’s this, a TV drama? You think you can just steal my groom? You’re digging your own grave here! What makes you think you have the right to show your face here? You’re nothing but a desperate loser who’d hook up with a guy twice her age!”

I stood there, refusing to move, and Clay yelled, “Get lost!”

Swallowing the humiliation, I forced myself to calmly explain, “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not here for you. I’m looking for someone. Once I find her, I’ll leave.”

Melissa shook with belly laughter. “Looking for someone? Are you stupid? That’s really the best excuse you could come up with? Come on, even a kid wouldn’t believe that!”

“I’m looking for Jewell,” I clarified. “She came to my wedding but ended up on the wrong floor!”

Melissa blinked at me like I’d just grown a second head.

“Your wedding? Today’s my wedding! Are you out of your mind? If you’re sick, go get help! Don’t stand here embarrassing yourself.”

I met her stare head-on. “Look, today is my wedding too. I’m marrying someone else. Clifton.”

Clay froze for half a second, then, before I could react, he slapped me across the face.

“Shut your mouth! My uncle doesn’t even like women, let alone you! Don’t you dare drag him into your lies unless you wanna get yourself killed?”

I flinched, but before I could defend myself, his hand clamped down on my wrist like a vice.

“I’m not lying,” I managed to choke out. “I’m going to marry Cli—”

Before I could finish, his hand raised in the air and struck me again.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” he growled. “You show up here, lying about marrying my uncle, just to make trouble? What, you think you can scare me off with your nonsense, huh?!”

The corners of my mouth were bleeding, and it felt like they were about to split open.

But then he grabbed my hair again, and the sharp, needle-like pain shot through my scalp with even the slightest movement.

The man who used to be so gentle with me was now nothing but cruel!

“C-Clay,” I gasped, “if you don’t believe me, call your uncle.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “What a joke! If my uncle was getting married, don’t you think I’d know? Stop acting, Lorraine! I’m sick of it already!”

My vision blurred with tears, but through the haze, I saw someone sprinting toward us.

It was Jewell!

She froze for a second, taking in the scene, then launched herself at Clay, clawing at his hands.

“Y-You son of a bitch! How dare you treat Lorraine like this?! Let her go, or… or… I’m calling the cops!”

Jewell’s voice was shaky like she was about to cry when she shouted at Clay.

She shoved him hard and then pulled me into a tight hug.

Meanwhile, Melissa crossed her arms, her voice hinting with sarcasm. “Jewell, so it is you! What, did you lose your mind? She’s here to steal my groom, and you’re helping her? You two must be in on this together. A pair of lowlifes, both of you!”

Jewell was so angry that her face turned pale, and she shot back, “Steal your groom? Bullshit! You two—a cheater and a homewrecker—have no right to talk! Lorraine is getting married today, and she’s the real bride!”

She helped me to my feet and started steering me toward the elevator.

“Ugh, I’m so stupid! I can’t believe I got lost and made you go through this,” she said with guilt. “Your face is so swollen. I don’t even know if makeup will cover it. We can’t miss the ceremony—we’ve gotta hurry!”

But before we could take another step, Clay blocked our way. His voice was cold, cutting. “You think you can just leave when you can’t keep the act going? This isn’t some place you can walk in and out of as you please. You ruined my bride's mood! You’re not going anywhere until you apologize!”

By now, the guests had started gathering around us. Most of them didn’t have a clue what was going on, but plenty recognized me—they were Clay’s friends.

Whispers were already spreading through the crowd, and a few people were starting to question if Melissa was his other woman.

After all, no one had heard a word about me and Clay breaking up. Then, out of nowhere, they get a wedding invitation? Of course, people got suspicious.

But Clay was willing to drag me through the mud again just to save Melissa’s face.

“Lorraine,” he sneered, “if you hadn’t been screwing around with other men, we’d still be together. I was trying to make this breakup clean and civil, but you shamelessly showed up here!”

He looked me up and down, adding, “A slut like you wearing a wedding gown? That’s a disgrace to the gown itself—you don’t deserve it!”

Then, before I could react, he yanked the veil right off my head. Next, his hand shot down to grab at my dress.

Jewell snapped; she kicked him hard in the knee, stepping between us to shield me.

“How many times do I have to say it before it gets through your thick skull?! She isn’t here to ruin anything! Her wedding is today too—just on another floor!”

But the crowd started murmuring, their whispers turning into sharp, pointed stares. Even his friends seemed to believe him; they looked at me like I was trash.

Clay let out a sarcastic laugh like the idea of me getting married was some kind of joke. “Her? Someone’s marrying a slut like her? Come on, who are you trying to fool?”

He kept saying that I was a slut, completely ignoring how desperate I was at the moment.

This was the same man whose attending physician I’d once handed the experimental life-saving drug. Back then, he’d thanked me, saying I was his savior and that he’d love me forever.

But not even half a month later, he’d become a completely different person.

I’d barely managed to convince myself to let him go, but now he was here, trampling all over my dignity again!

Taking advantage of Jewell’s hesitation, Clay grabbed at my gown again. This time, he tore off a piece of the fabric.

A chill ran down my back and arm, and I felt the strap slip off my shoulder.

Jewell snapped out of it and quickly pulled off her coat, wrapping it around me.

Clay sneered. “What’s with the innocent act? A desperate woman like you, throwing yourself at anyone—shouldn’t you love all these eyes on you?”

Melissa, clinging to his arm, scoffed. “With all the men here for the wedding, you probably already have a target, don’t you? Let me make one thing clear—we still have our reputations. Don’t you dare drag us down with your filth!”

Jewell’s anger boiled over. She grabbed her bag and hurled it at them.

“You disgusting pair of shits—shut the hell up!”

Someone from the crowd snickered. “Oh, look at her—looks like we struck a nerve.”

More people chimed in. The things they were saying were disgusting and unbearable.

We were completely surrounded, and not a single person listened to our side. We wanted to escape but couldn't find a way out.