On the day we were supposed to take our wedding photos, my boyfriend, Jacob Phillips, suddenly disappeared.

The photographer asked if I still wanted to continue.

Wiping away my tears, I said, "Yes."

When I finished the shoot, I saw that Jacob's childhood sweetheart had posted a picture on social media. It was of the two of them, hand in hand, strolling at sunset. The caption read, "Together forever."

Everyone was waiting to see how the fiancée would react to this joke.

Calmly, I replied with just four words: [Perfect match for betrayal.]

——

After the photos were developed, I went to the cemetery and placed one in front of my mother's tombstone, tearfully saying, "Mom, didn't you always want to see me in a wedding dress? I took these just for you. How do I look?"

Half a year ago, my mom was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage.

Her greatest wish was to see me in a wedding dress, settled down.

Jacob and I had been together for six years and had already scheduled the wedding photo shoot.

But a week ago, my mom had a cerebral hemorrhage, and her condition was very serious.

I asked Jacob to drive us to the hospital.

Just as we were about to leave, he got a phone call. He told us to take a cab and hurriedly left.

Because we missed the critical time for emergency treatment, my mom passed away.

I cried my heart out at the hospital.

But Jacob never showed up.

After the heartbreak, I handled my mom's funeral on my own and went ahead with the wedding photo shoot as planned.

In the end, it was just me in the photos, as I had expected.

Returning from the cemetery, I prepared to pack my things and leave.

With my mom gone, my relationship with Jacob was over, too.

Jacob wasn't home.

I didn't need to guess to know he was with Samantha Brooks.

For the past three years, every time Samantha called, Jacob would drop everything and run to her.

As I finished packing, the door suddenly opened, and Jacob and Samantha walked in.

Seeing me with my suitcase, Jacob asked irritably, "Emily Turner, what's your problem now?"

His tone was full of accusation as if I had done something wrong.

Samantha ran over, smiling, "Emily, it was my birthday last week. I wanted to invite you and Jacob, but I didn't want to disturb you. You're not mad at me, are you?"

I looked at Jacob, feeling sorrow in my heart.

He explained righteously, "Samantha only has one birthday a year. I couldn't not go."

Even though my mom had a cerebral hemorrhage, he didn't care; he just wanted to celebrate her birthday.

Was this the man I loved for six years?

I suddenly couldn't remember what I had ever seen in him.

Fighting back tears, I said, "Do whatever you want. It has nothing to do with me."

With that, I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door.

Jacob grabbed my hand, angry, "Samantha already explained. Why are you being so petty?"

In his view, I was still upset about that day.

At first, I was, and I hated him.

But after my mom's death, I had come to terms with it.

Trying to reason with him only exhausted me.

I shook off Jacob's hand and coldly replied, "Jacob, show some respect. We are over."

"Over?"

Jacob was both surprised and angry. "Emily, just because I didn't take your mom to the hospital, is it really worth this?"

Samantha, pretending to be upset, said, "Jacob, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have called you that day. Otherwise, Emily wouldn't be mad."

Then she apologized to me, "Emily, it's all my fault. If you want, you can hit me to vent your anger."

As she spoke, she grabbed my hand, trying to make me hit her.

Her disgusting act made me sick.

Every time, she was the instigator, and every time she played the victim, Jacob would always defend her without hesitation.

It had become their unspoken agreement.

And I was the ridiculous spectator.

Just as I was about to pull my hand away, Samantha suddenly leaned back and fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

Jacob, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, quickly went to help her up, asking, "Samantha, are you okay?"

"As long as Emily isn't mad on you, I'm fine."

Jacob glared at me, "Emily, you've gone too far. Apologize to Samantha now!"

Samantha, holding Jacob's arm, smirked triumphantly, like a victor waiting for me to bow down and submit.

She had pulled this stunt many times.

In the past, to keep the relationship, I would swallow my pride and apologize.

But that only emboldened her, making her more unscrupulous.

Even Jacob had come to believe that it was always my fault.

I had had enough of living like this.

"Apologize? No way!"

I grabbed my suitcase and moved to leave.

Even another second looking at them made me want to vomit.

Jacob blocked my way, commanding, "Didn't you hear me? Apologize to Samantha right now!"

Being betrayed by the person I loved the most, all I felt was pain.

Pain so intense it took my breath away.

Pain that made me wish I were dead.

And when I was about to die from the pain, he added, "Why are you being so petty?"

"I said, no way!"

"If you don't apologize, you can forget about the surgery fee for your mom. Find your own specialist to perform the surgery!"

I had been holding back from breaking up with him.

On one hand, I still harbored a shred of hope that Jacob might come to his senses someday.

On the other hand, he had promised to cover the surgery costs.

Jacob was the general manager of Phillips Group, a family business.

I came from an ordinary single-parent family.

Jacob was exceptional. In college, many girls pursued him.

I liked him, too, but I only had a crush on him because our conditions were so different.

I didn't expect that he would confess his love to me in front of all the teachers and students at the school anniversary celebration during my junior year.

I was stunned at that time.

As my mind went blank, Jacob, holding flowers, walked up to me like a perfect prince and asked with a smile, "Emily, will you be my girlfriend?"

The crowd chanted, "Say yes, say yes..."

Tears streaming down my face, I took his flowers.

At that moment, I felt like the happiest woman in the world.

But everything changed when Samantha came into the picture.

He started prioritizing her.

No matter when, where, or what, if Samantha called, he would go to her immediately. Later, I found out they had dated in high school.

Only Jacob's parents disapproved, forcing them to break up.

I had argued with him about it many times and even thought of breaking up.

But for my mom's sake, I endured.

But now, he was using this to threaten me.

My heart bled, and tears rolled down my cheeks. "This has nothing to do with you!"

I pushed Jacob aside and resolutely walked away.

Seeing my unusual behavior, he panicked, grabbing my hand and shouting, "Are you crazy? Without the surgery fee and the specialist I hired, your mom's condition is incurable. This disease is deadly!"

So, he knew this illness could be fatal.

I wanted to ask him, if you knew it could be deadly, why did you leave?

At that moment, Samantha interjected, "Jacob, it's not that serious."

Jacob looked at Samantha in surprise.

She continued, "If this illness was truly so fatal, would Emily dare to leave just like that? She's been dependent on her mother since childhood, how could she bear to let her die?"

Jacob believed her.

He glared at me angrily and asked, "Were you lying to me all along?"

I had previously told Jacob that the mortality rate for a brain hemorrhage was very high and that we needed to arrange for my mom's surgery as soon as possible.

Jacob had agreed.

He even used his connections to bring in a top national specialist, saying that if this specialist performed the surgery, the chances of success would be high.

Unfortunately, before the specialist could arrive, my mom had already passed away.

"I didn't lie to you. This illness is indeed very dangerous. Even a slight mistake could..."

"Enough!"

Jacob shouted, cutting me off.

Samantha interjected again, "Emily, are you in such a hurry to leave because you want to take your mom on a trip? Jacob told me your mom always wanted to see The Grand Canyon, and you've been wanting to take her there. You've been clinging to Jacob all these years; you must have gotten a lot of money from him, right?"

I didn't explain this time because I saw the disappointment and anger in Jacob's eyes.

He fully believed Samantha while doubting me.

I suddenly found myself ridiculous.

I had once fantasized about marrying Jacob, having children, and building a happy family together.

But I never imagined that the person closest to me, my bedmate, would distrust me so deeply.

I felt leaving him was the right decision.

If I stayed, I worried they'd accuse me of fraud and take me to court.

"Explain yourself. Why did you lie to me?"

Jacob grabbed my arm fiercely, his expression menacing, his nails almost digging into the flesh.

I struggled and yelled at him, "Let go of me!"

"Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't."

"Then why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

I bit his arm hard.

In pain, he suddenly flung me to the ground.

My forehead hit the corner of the table. Everything went black, and my head buzzed.

Then, I felt an excruciating pain.

I covered my forehead, tears of grievance filling my heart. Though I didn't cry aloud, this was my final stubbornness.

I couldn't let Samantha see me break down.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was my best friend, Olivia Clarke.

I was supposed to move out tonight, so I asked Olivia to wait downstairs in her car to help me with my luggage.

Seeing I hadn't come down for a while, Olivia called.

I answered, "Hey, I'm coming down now."

Jacob asked, "Who's calling you?"

"Is it a man call you?"

Olivia heard this and got angry. "That vixen is at your place again? Is Jacob there too?"

"No."

"What's wrong with your voice? Are you crying?"

Her question made it harder to hold back my tears.

I bit my lip hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "No."

"They must have bullied you, right? Wait for me. I'm coming up right now."

Olivia was fiercely loyal and had a fiery temper.

If she saw me like this, she definitely wouldn't let it go.

Not wanting to have anything more to do with these two in front of me, I endured the pain and dizziness in my forehead, grabbed my suitcase, and tried to leave.

But Jacob wouldn't let me go, still furious, and asked, "Who just called you?"

I looked up at him, gritting my teeth. "Does it matter to you?"

"You're my girlfriend. You're contacting another man behind my back, and you say it's none of my business?"

"What about you and her?"

"We're innocent!"

I laughed coldly, "You went to find her last time and have been gone for a week. If I ran off to find another man and didn't come back for a week, how would you feel?"

"You..."

This was the first time I talked back to Jacob and the first time I saw him at a loss for words.

The feeling was incredibly liberating.

But then Samantha chimed in sarcastically, "Emily, are you saying you really have a man out there?"

Jacob's anger flared up again, feeling his pride was deeply wounded. "Tell me, who is the man?"

I was frightened by his fierce gaze.

Luckily, Olivia arrived just then.

Seeing my swollen, red forehead and Jacob and Samantha surrounding me, she erupted with rage, shoving Jacob aside and shouting, "Jacob, are you even a man, bullying your own girlfriend with a vixen?"

Jacob knew Olivia. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? If I hadn't come, who knows how badly you two would've bullied Emily."

Samantha snapped, "It's none of your business."

"And who do you think you are?"

"You..."

Jacob, finally catching on, asked me, "Was it her who called you just now?"

I didn't want to say another word to him.

So, I took Olivia's hand. "Let's go."

As we reached the door, he stopped us again and asked angrily, "Are you really going?"

"Yes."

"Do you really not care about your mom's life?

"Even though I don't know how much you've saved over the years, I can tell you that if your mother hadn't had the specialist I hired to perform the surgery, her illness would never have been cured!"

Then he put on a magnanimous front. "If you apologize to Samantha now, I'll pretend none of this happened."

Olivia exploded. "Even now, you're still blaming Emily for not caring about her mom? Jacob, do you have any humanity left?"

"What do you mean?"

"Her mom died last week, the night you ran off to find that vixen. You killed her!"