She Broke Her Bones for a Man Who Betrayed Her

Seven days until the wedding.

To fit into the mermaid dress my fiance had custom-ordered, I went to the hospital and had two ribs removed.

I'd just finished a meal with him, and the moment I could, I found an excuse to slip off to the restroom and make myself throw up.

The burn of stomach acid brought tears streaming down along with everything else.

Before I could even clean myself up, I heard my fiance's familiar voice.

"I already told her. If she still can't fit into that dress in seven days, we'll push the wedding back."

"You're awful, you know that? That dress was made to my measurements. Unless she shaves down her bones, how's she ever going to squeeze into it?"

"Please. She can't even lose weight for me. You think she'd shave her bones? She's the one who can't get her act together. No one else to blame."

He wanted to delay the wedding again. This would be the third time.

Well, if this dress wasn't mine, then I wouldn't wear it.

1

When I came back to the private room, Ken Delgado was staring at my best friend Lucy Pruitt, his eyes lit up.

While I was gone, she'd already put on the mermaid dress.

And of course it fit her perfectly, every curve of the waist hugged just right.

Not like me, who could pull it on but never once get the zipper up.

"Lucy, you look gorgeous in that dress!"

Ken didn't bother to hide the admiration in his eyes.

Then he turned to me, his voice noticeably colder.

"Where'd you go? What took so long?"

"You never came back, so Lucy tried the dress on for you."

"Huh. Suits her."

I pulled out a chair, sat down, and picked up my chopsticks for my favorite barbecue ribs.

Lucy caught that I was upset and hurried to take the dress off so I could wear it.

"Mon, put it on again and see how much off it still is. We'll figure out a way to slim you down, or we'll alter the dress!"

I didn't even lift my head. I kept eating.

I didn't tell them that after having two ribs taken out, I could just barely fit into this dress now.

Watching me dig in, Ken's face soured.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever do is eat!"

"At this rate you'll never fit into it in your life!"

"What a waste of everything I put into this!"

I looked at him coldly and said, one word at a time,

"You're right, I can't fit into it. So why not give it to her?"

Ken's face stiffened. He frowned and snatched my chopsticks away.

"Don't talk nonsense! Lucy only tried it on for you!"

"You're jealous her figure's better than yours, so do something about it! How do you still have the appetite to eat?"

He gripped my chin and forced me to look at Lucy.

"Look at her. That's the kind of figure that makes wedding photos!"

"You need to lose the weight, seriously. Otherwise you can't wear a dress this beautiful, and our wedding will just have to get pushed back again! I don't want people laughing at me for marrying a fat fish!"

If he really wanted me to lose weight, he wouldn't order a whole table of my favorite dishes to tempt me.

He wouldn't curse me for not taking care of my body every time I fasted to slim down.

And he definitely wouldn't mock me into giving up every single time I tried to exercise.

The joke was on me. I didn't want him to worry, so I'd quietly had two ribs removed.

Then ate plenty in front of him and slipped away behind his back to make myself vomit it all up.

Just to be his beautiful bride.

I got a fresh pair of chopsticks and kept eating.

At that, Ken's brows knotted together.

"Mon, you've already eaten plenty. If you keep this up, does that mean you don't want to marry me?"

Lucy chimed in, just as anxious.

"Mon, I know you've never been able to resist good food, but to be the most beautiful bride, let's watch what we eat, okay?"

As she spoke, she took out some special diet pills from her bag and stirred them into a glass of water.

"This is a fat-burning meal I had someone buy for me. Just one glass and you'll feel full even if you don't eat all day!"

Looking at the dark, nauseating sludge in the glass, this so-called meal replacement, I instinctively pushed it away.

"I won't drink it. If it comes to that, then we just won't get married."

Losing weight for a man is the stupidest thing there is.

Never mind that at five foot seven and a hundred and ten pounds, I was nowhere near fat!

Ken and Lucy both froze at that.

"Not get married?"

"My family's already sent out the invitations, and we've changed the date twice. You say we're not getting married and that's it? You don't think that makes me look like a fool?"

So he did remember the wedding had already been rescheduled twice.

It just didn't stop him from scheming for a third delay.

What was even more laughable was that the shock on his face didn't look faked at all.

"Mon, don't say things you don't mean!"

"The truth is, the reason Ken wants you to lose weight is that there's no time left to have the dress remade!"

"Let's just tough it out a little, okay?"

"Once the wedding's over, you can eat however you want!"

Lucy and Ken exchanged a glance, and then they forced that dark stuff down my throat.