A guilty look flashed across Chad's face. "Are you teasing me, Sadie? You're my only bride. How can there be anyone else?

"If you don't like the idea of Josie trying on the wedding gowns, I'll stop her from going."

Chad was giving in to Sadie in every way.

Sadie said, "It was just a slip of the tongue. Miss Moore is about the same size as I am, so we should let her try out the wedding gowns in my place."

Chad was clearly relieved. He held Sadie's hand and said, "Once the wedding is over, you can retire and have a good rest."

Sadie stared at Chad. She had no idea what he really meant.

He was the one who hurt her, but he was also making plans for her to rest.

However, Sadie no longer trusted Chad.

No matter what Chad said, all Sadie replied was, "All right."

Chad refused to leave Sadie's side the entire day. He was worried something might happen to her. Even the nurses praised his considerate demeanor.

"You're so lucky to have a boyfriend who loves you so much, Miss Ellis."

When it was close to evening, Chad claimed his buddies wanted to meet her, so he went downstairs to bring them to her ward.

Sadie got out of bed and went to see a nurse at the counter.

"May I know who sent me to the hospital?"

When she passed out on the road, she vaguely remembered seeing Blake walking toward her with an umbrella.

However, Blake was disabled. How was he able to walk?

The nurse said, "A man admitted you to the hospital, but he didn't leave a name."

Sadie looked disappointed. She did not even have a chance to repay the person who saved her.

While she was in a daze, she suddenly heard familiar voices behind her.

"It's your wedding in a few more days, Chad. If you plan to dump Sadie on your wedding day, you need to make sure you don't come out of it with a bad name.

"Everyone in this circle knows you have an intimate relationship with her. If you choose to dump her on your wedding day, you'll be remembered as a heartless bastard. That’s why we came up with a good plan for you.

"We can put together a video edit of her AIDS report and the men she slept with and play it for everyone. That way, your reputation won't be affected, and everyone will feel sorry for you. Isn't this a good plan?"

Chad frowned at the plan. He said grimly, "I do hate her, but isn't it too cruel to treat a woman this way?"

His buddies got upset on his behalf. "You're being too soft on her, Chad. She never gave you a second thought when she betrayed you back then."

"That's right, Chad. Have you actually fallen for her? Marrying a slut like her would kill your family."

Chad was silent for a while before replying, "Go ahead and do what you need to."

"All right. Will you make her sleep with men again before the wedding?"

Everyone started discussing this. Sadie could not stand to hear any more, so she ran toward the stairs.

She crouched in a corner and curled up there, trembling.

Chad had never trusted her. He even thought she had cheated on him.

She should have known that her job as an escort would always be dirty in the eyes of others, regardless of whether she sold her body or not.

When Sadie vanished, Chad turned the hospital upside down in search of her.

His eyes reddened when he finally found her at the stairs. He acted as if he were deeply in love with her.

"What happened to you, Sadie? You scared me when you disappeared. I can't live without you!"

Chad pulled her into his arms and refused to let her go.

Sadie had gone numb from crying. She made up a random excuse. "I was just missing my mom."

Chad was relieved and comforted her gently. "It's okay. You still have me. I'll always stay by your side."

Sadie closed her eyes. Tears streamed down her face and fell to the ground.

Besides the day he went off to try on his wedding suit, Chad kept close to Sadie the next few days.

The day before the wedding, Chad's buddy dragged him off, claiming to hold a bachelor party for him.

That night, Sadie and Josie were the only ones left in the villa.

Josie served Sadie a glass of milk with a smile. "Tomorrow is your wedding, Sadie. Chad reminded me to get you a glass of milk to help you sleep better."

Despite knowing the truth, Sadie still felt a sharp pain in her heart as she watched everything unfold right in front of her.

Chad was not willing to dirty his hands for the last time, so he got someone else to do the work for him.

Sadie sneered.

Chad was dragged off by his buddies for a drinking session. Everyone was celebrating the occasion.

"Congratulations, Chad! The video can probably be edited now. All we need to do is wait for the big show tomorrow."

Chad suddenly grabbed the man who spoke by the collar. He asked sinisterly, "What video? What did you do to Sadie?"

Everyone pulled them apart when they saw how agitated Chad was.

"Why are you getting mad about this, Chad? We're doing this to help you."

"We know you can't bear to get this done, so we worked together with Josie to do it. All you need to do is pretend nothing happened."

"You can continue being the good guy. We, your dear friends, will take the blame for it."

Chad had a heavy feeling in his chest. There were red veins in his eyes as he bit his lips until they turned pale.

He suddenly stood up to leave, but his friend's words stopped him in his tracks.

"Are you planning to stop this from happening, Chad? It's too late. All you'll see when you get back is her in bed with another man. If that's really what you want to see, we won't stop you."

Chad's head lowered as he clenched his fists tightly. He did not understand what was wrong with him. Sadie was getting what she deserved. She had brought this onto herself, but why was he feeling so sad about it?

One of his friends came up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "It's too late now, Chad. You'll just have to wait for your wedding tomorrow. Just don't mess up when the time comes."

…

The next day, Sadie finished with her makeup and stared at herself in the mirror.

She had always looked forward to marrying Chad and having a family.

Yes, she was about to get married, but not to Chad.

She changed into her wedding gown, but it was not the one Chad had chosen. Blake had sent the gown to her.

The makeup artist had seen a lot in her line of work, and even she could not help but gush over the luxurious, intricate design of Sadie's wedding gown.

"Your wedding gown is gorgeous, Miss Ellis. Your husband really treats you well."

Sadie nodded stoically.

Nobody was bothered to pick Sadie up, so she went alone to the wedding venue.

Chad was a new member of the upper society’s circle, which was why he had invited many important figures to his wedding.

When the doors to the wedding hall opened, and Sadie walked slowly up the stairs, the guests began whispering amongst themselves.

"Mr. Simmons is such a romantic. If he's willing to marry this kind of woman, it must be true love."

"Tsk! My family would beat me to death if I wanted to marry someone like her. Sadie is great in every way, but she's not the kind of woman you can show off in public."

"Stop it! Chad must really love Sadie. Did you see her wedding gown? I heard it used to belong to the late Queen. A mysterious person bid on it in an auction. I didn't expect it to be Chad."

Their whispers were loud enough for Sadie to hear everything.

She soon arrived at the middle of the stage, but Chad was nowhere to be seen.

The host quickly tried to smooth things over. "Looks like our groom is testing his bride's sincerity. He has organized such a grand wedding for the bride, so it's only fair that she show her sincerity in return.

"Miss Sadie Ellis, are you willing to take Mr. Chad Simmons as your husband, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

Sadie was supposed to reply, but she kept silent with a cold look in her eyes.

The host broke out in a cold sweat out of nervousness. He smiled and said, "Well, it looks like our bride has some pride. I believe the groom has already arrived, but he’s hiding somewhere to observe the beautiful bride.

"Let's put our hands together for the groom!"

All the guests were cooperative, but Chad never appeared. Just as everyone was getting impatient, Chad's friends stood up as they had planned.

They looked at each other while smiling nastily. They were about to announce that the wedding had been cancelled and that the groom was not be attending.

However, the doors to the hall slowly opened.