I Dumped My Fiancé Before Our Wedding

Carly Perkins clutched Zamir Peterson’s shirt, her voice gentle, her eyes calculating. “Zamir, your wedding to Sol is tomorrow. Why not spend the night with me and the baby?”

Zamir dropped his gaze. He knew exactly what she was doing—trying to pull him in—but his mind drifted, unbidden, to Sol Kelly’s cold, piercing stare. Irritation he couldn’t explain washed over him. He pulled away from Carly, his tone ice-cold. “I’ll have someone take you home. Until the baby’s born, don’t come to the office.”

“Is this Sol’s doing?” Carly’s voice cracked as she clung to his shirt. “How can she be so selfish? She doesn’t appreciate how hard you work. You’re killing yourself trying to give her a better life, and all she does is cause drama…”

Zamir’s icy stare shut her up. “Do you really think you get a say in what happens between Sol and me?”

Carly bit her lip, suddenly too scared to speak.

Before, even a little jab at Sol would’ve earned Carly his sympathy. But today? His whole demeanor was different.

After two years of bending over backward to please him, Carly realized she still couldn’t measure up to Sol Kelly.

Why?

What did Sol have besides a pretty face? Carly was the more attentive partner. The more capable assistant. She was sure of it.

A deep resentment curled in her chest. As she watched Zamir walk away without a backward glance, a scheme took shape—something vicious. If Sol Kelly lost face before the wedding, would Zamir still marry her?

She snatched up her phone and sent Sol a message.

...

Zamir got back to the house in Sandy Bay. He opened the front door to nothing but darkness and the chill of silence.

Panic hit him out of nowhere. He rushed through the entryway. Sol was nowhere.

Frowning, he dialed her number—only to find he’d been blocked.

He grabbed the landline and tried again.

“Where are you?”

Sol was lounging on the bed. Surprise flickered across her face when she answered. Wasn’t he supposed to be with Carly right now?

She kept her voice calm. “I went out to buy a few things. Are you keeping tabs on me?”

She planned to leave tomorrow, and she didn’t want any complications before then.

Zamir’s tone softened instantly. “The thought of our wedding tomorrow got me nervous. I wanted to see you.”

Was he checking to make sure she hadn’t run off? Afraid of being humiliated alone on their wedding day?

Sol’s voice turned deliberately soft, compliant. “Traditionally, the bride and groom spend the night before the wedding apart. It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony. Zamir, if you’re going to marry me, don’t break the rules.”

The same woman who’d sworn in broad daylight that she wouldn’t marry him had suddenly changed her tune?

Relief washed over Zamir. She just couldn’t do without him after all.

“Sol, don’t worry. If you still can’t accept me within a year of marriage, we’ll adopt a child from the orphanage. We’ll live a good life. What happened with Carly won’t happen again.”

Sol laughed coldly to herself. She didn’t believe a single word.

“Okay. I believe you. Now go back.”

“See you tomorrow.”

The second she hung up, a message alert pinged.

Sender: Carly Perkins

[Sol, I’m pregnant. But don’t worry—I won’t fight you for the Mrs. Peterson title.]

Attached was an ultrasound, the outline of the gestational sac glaring up from the screen.

Expression blank, Sol filed the message—along with every previous provocative text from Carly—into an encrypted document.

She replied: [Meet me at the Downtown Café.]

...

“Sol…”

Carly spoke cautiously, but Sol’s gaze was unwavering, steady as an ancient well. No hatred. Only a disquieting emptiness.

Carly dropped the act. A smug smile spread across her face.

“I love Zamir, and I’m carrying his child. I won’t leave him. He told me he can’t resist my young body, and he even agreed to let you raise the baby. I assume you’re not the type to raise another woman’s child?”

She took a sip of coffee, her tone casual, like she was talking about someone else’s life.

“Why don’t you tell me about you and Zamir?”

Uncertain what Sol was up to, Carly assumed she’d given up and eagerly started bragging about her time with Zamir.

“Last March, on your birthday, Zamir took me to Paris on a business trip. He chartered a yacht and spent the whole night showing me the lights along the Seine. In April, you had your appendix out. After he signed the surgery consent, I told him a bulb had gone out, and he left you to stay with me. During the June storms, he said he was working late, but he was really with me at the office… And your second anniversary? I told him a client was giving me a hard time, and he rushed over—leaving you behind.”

As Sol listened, every word was a needle. It stung—but it also cleared her mind.

Every understanding gesture she’d made had become an excuse for his betrayal. Every faithful wait had become the backdrop for his little romance with Carly.

On her birthday, she’d made a table full of his favorite dishes, only for him to call at the last minute and say he had to travel. The day of her appendicitis surgery, while she lay there in pain, he used “urgent business” as an excuse to be with another woman. On their anniversary, she waited two hours in a new dress, only to be brushed off with “I’ll make it up to you.”

Every sacrifice she’d made had been a farce.

Her lips curled with bitter irony. “If you love Zamir so much, why don’t you take my place at tomorrow’s wedding?”

Carly hesitated, but the idea tempted her.

“You’d really let me?”

Sol recited a code.

“That’s the entry code for Sandy Bay. Go tonight.”

Carly eyed her suspiciously.

“You’re not setting me up?”

If Zamir found out she’d impersonated Sol, he’d be furious. He’d make a scene.

“We’re having a traditional wedding. During the ceremony, you’ll keep your face hidden beneath an opaque veil until the groom lifts it at the altar. Zamir cares about appearances. He won’t make a scene. Once the ceremony’s over, there’s no going back. Didn’t you say he can’t resist you? Use your charm. He’ll be at your mercy.”

Her words hit Carly like a shot of adrenaline. Her resolve wavered again.

“And you?”

“I’m leaving Manchester. Never coming back.”

With that, Sol stood and walked toward the café exit.

Watching her go, Carly dialed a number.

“Do it. Just like we planned. Get HD footage of every part. Don’t miss a single detail!”

Her voice bubbled with excitement and malice, her eyes gleaming like a serpent poised to strike.