Betrayed, Broken, Married Up

At the wedding venue the next day, I stood off in a quiet corner, waiting for Philip to come find me.

Then Teresa showed up uninvited, her voice soft and syrupy.

"Guess I'll never get to marry Derick in this life. Summer, can I at least experience a wedding night before that?"

I didn't respond, but Derick cut in like he was being perfectly reasonable. "Stop being jealous. What's wrong with helping Teresa fulfill a wish? Do you have to be this petty?"

When I ignored him, Teresa pouted, her tone turning pitiful. "I mean, it's understandable if you don't agree. After all, Derick is your fiancé…"

"Sure."

I didn't feel like wasting another second on them. I gave a perfunctory answer and stood up to leave.

As she passed by me, she suddenly winced.

"Summer… What are you doing? My foot really hurts…"

I looked at her terrible acting and couldn't even be bothered to react.

But Derick's face darkened. He shoved me to the ground and snapped, "I knew it! All that generosity was fake. You can sleep with someone else, but I can't?"

"Generous? Watching my fiancé sleep with someone else means I'm generous?" I looked straight at them. "Don't push it!"

"I'm pushing it?" he shot back. "At least Teresa's clean! What about you? Spreading your legs for some random guy? That's one thing, but who knows what else you picked up?"

"I told you, nothing happened that night! Why won't you believe me?" I snapped.

Derick suddenly raised his voice.

"Teresa showed me the pictures! A man and a woman alone in a room, and nothing happened? Who would believe that?"

In the photo, a man whose face couldn't be seen walked into my room, a half-finished bottle in his hand.

"Summer, I loved you so damn much. All these years, I never even touched you. And you gave the most important thing to some nobody!"

"I've already paid for it, haven't I? These five years…"

He cut me off, furious, "That's what you owe me! That's what you should've done! It's not enough. Not even close!"

"I…"

Before I could say anything else, he pulled Teresa into his arms.

"Teresa gave me her first time. Only a clean and proper woman like her deserves to be my wife. Got it?"

"Oh, stop… You're making me shy," she said, her voice soft and sweet. "You have to take responsibility for me, okay?"

"Don't worry. I will. After all, what matters more than purity?" Derick looked at me with open disdain. "Let's go. Don't let trash ruin your mood."

I said nothing. I was so sick and tired.

But Teresa suddenly turned back and walked up to me again. I wasn't sure what she wanted.

She tilted her head, thinking for a moment, then smiled.

"I'm taking your wedding. You're not mad, right? Don't blame me. You're the one who couldn't keep yourself in check. A wedding hall is a sacred place. Someone like you doesn't belong here."

I let out a cold laugh. "I don't want to marry him anyway. I was just wondering who could take him off my hands. You showed up right on time."

She burst out laughing. "You don't want it? More like, no one wants someone like you! Give me a break."