I stood behind them and asked, my voice flat and unbothered:

"Don't you even want to know what I was there for?"

That one sentence stopped Greta in her tracks.

She turned around and looked at me with shameless contempt.

Her voice dripped with disbelief:

"What for? What else would anyone be doing sneaking around an OB-GYN clinic?"

"Either you caught something, or you were getting rid of something!"

"You have the nerve to bring it up? I don't even have the stomach to hear it."

"The Weiss family is one of the most prominent families in the capital. You've dragged our name through the mud."

"Mark my words. The $500,000 betrothal gift gets returned in full. The house, the jewelry, and every cent of today's reception comes out of your pocket!"

I ignored her and fixed my gaze on Harrison.

"You don't want to know either?"

Harrison's face was flushed scarlet with rage, and the way he looked at me was the way you'd look at something filthy on the bottom of your shoe.

His fists were clenched. His mouth opened, then closed. He wanted to curse me out but couldn't find the words.

Greta immediately stepped in front of him, jabbing her finger at my face:

"You shameless tramp! Even now you're trying to play on my son's soft heart!"

"Even if he believed you, I never would! Don't you dare try to sink your claws into him again!"

Marilyn shuffled forward from the side, sobbing.

"I didn't want to cause a fight between you and Harrison."

"But I couldn't keep lying for you either, sis."

"This is all my fault. I should never have followed you that day. I wish I hadn't been so curious."

She reached for my hand as she spoke, as if begging me to forgive her.

Harrison watched the scene, and his expression softened instantly.

"Sandra Cobb, she's your own sister. One of you is pure and kind, and the other is cheap trash. I must have been blind."

Those words carved through whatever hope I had left, and the last scrap of it crumbled to nothing.

So this was who I'd been all along in the eyes of the man I'd loved for eight years.

We went from school uniforms to wedding gowns. I truly believed we'd be happy forever.

But everything changed the day Marilyn was found and brought home.

My parents, who once cherished me like the apple of their eye, started telling me to give way to my sister in everything.

They said she'd suffered so much during all those years she was lost.

Harrison, whose gaze used to orbit around me alone, began glancing her way more and more.

He'd toss out little comments: "Your sister is so much more innocent than you."

And maybe she was. I'd spent those years building a company, closing deals, single-handedly pulling my family into the upper echelons of the capital's society.

I'd seen too many mind games, too many schemes, too many transactions dressed up as relationships.

I wasn't innocent anymore. I weighed every cost and benefit. I kept score. I cared about winning and losing.

Compared to Marilyn, who called herself a "curious little darling" and played sweet and naive, I wasn't exactly endearing.

So I swallowed the explanation sitting on the tip of my tongue, pulled out the freshly issued marriage certificate, and tore it to pieces right in front of Harrison's face.

"If that's how it is, then today's wedding is off."

The sound of ripping paper cut through the silence.

As the certificate split in two, something complicated passed across Harrison's face.

I pulled the ring off my finger and threw it into his chest.

"Harrison Weiss, from today on, you and I are done. Completely."

Harrison clutched the ring and said nothing.

Greta let out a cold laugh:

"Anyone watching would think you were some kind of virtuous martyr!"

"Get this straight. You're the one who cheated on my son. If anyone's calling off this wedding, it's him, not you!"

"A tramp who's had eight abortions, dumped by my son for what she is. Who else would ever want you?"

"The betrothal gift? The property deed? The jewelry? Hand it all back. Every last piece!"

All of that was with my parents.

They rushed forward immediately:

"In-laws, how about you take a look at our younger daughter?"

My mother shoved Marilyn right in front of Greta.

"Sandra is dead to us. We'll disown her from the Cobb family today."

"But our younger daughter Marilyn is not only beautiful, she's sweet and innocent. She's a perfect match for your Harrison!"

My father bobbed along beside her, nodding and bowing:

"Exactly! The betrothal gifts have already been paid, the reception's all set up. It'd be a shame to let it go to waste, right?"

Of course.

This was their real plan all along.

The family I had treasured my entire life was willing to grind me into the dirt just so my sister could take my place and marry my fiancé.

Marilyn, now thrust into the spotlight, dropped the sobbing act in an instant.

She blinked those big, dewy eyes and pointed at her own nose with a look of clueless wonder:

"Huh?"

"You want me to marry Harrison?"

She scrunched her brows in a show of hesitation, then gazed up at Harrison with a bashful blush.

"But would Harrison even like a curious little thing like me?"

Harrison looked at me, then looked at Marilyn.

"I like women who are pure and innocent."

"Not social butterflies like your sister."

"She's had eight abortions. Every man in the capital's already had his turn. Marrying her would make me the laughingstock of the whole city!"

"You're the real deal."

He tilted Marilyn's chin up and kissed her right there.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

"Not bad, not bad! Swapping brides is a great idea!"

"Call it resource reallocation. Nothing goes to waste!"

"Right? All they need to do is change the name on the marriage certificate!"

"Every man would rather marry a blank page like Marilyn than yesterday's news like Sandra!"

Hearing all this, Greta's stiff expression finally cracked into a thin smile.

"Fine. We'll do what your family suggests. The bride is swapped."

Applause filled the room.

Everyone seemed to think it was a brilliant solution.

No one cared about my humiliation. No one cared about the lies smeared across my name.

"Wonderful. Truly wonderful!"

I let out a cold laugh, brought the microphone to my lips, and clapped along as I walked onto the stage.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"You want to cause another scene?"

"It's settled! Get lost, you shameless tramp!"

Greta jabbed her finger at my face, screaming.

I ignored her completely and pointed at Marilyn, who was curled up in Harrison's arms below the stage.

"You and your son are so sure she's a blank page?"

Harrison and Greta exchanged a glance, neither understanding what I meant.

Only Marilyn, still nestled against Harrison's chest, couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through her body. But her mouth kept up the act:

"I don't understand what you're talking about, sis."

"You will. Very soon."

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

Three minutes later, someone came crashing through the doors.

"Marilyn Cobb, you conniving little tramp! Get out here!"

Every head in the room turned toward the entrance.

The color drained from Marilyn's face.