The Bride's Revenge A Surprise You Can't Survive

Laughable. He hadn't bothered to verify a single thing before deciding that anonymous message came from me.

Fine. If I was already convicted, I might as well earn the charge.

I picked up my backup phone, ready to send the evidence straight to the university email for Lily Graves's school.

Carter saw what I was doing and went straight to threats：

“Veronica! You leak anything, and we're done!”

I actually laughed. Right there, I snapped a photo of that pregnancy test report and posted it to my social media, announcing the wedding was off.

Funny thing was, the man who'd just threatened to break up with me didn't like that one bit.

He pulled me aside and lowered his voice：

“The wedding date's already set. You're really going to blow up our entire relationship over something this small?”

“I already told you, Lily and I are a pay-by-the-day arrangement. There's no feelings involved.”

“Even if there's a kid, it won't change how I feel about you. Why do you have to make this into a whole thing?”

“Worst case, I'll have her move out right now. You move into my place, and I'll find her somewhere else to carry the baby. But I am not accepting a breakup!”

So. Cheating on me for three years behind my back was "something small."

Branding me as the other woman in front of my own neighbors was "how he felt about me."

Giving me the wedding but giving the marriage certificate to another woman and having a child with her was his idea of sincerity.

I would rather die alone than spend another second with this piece of trash.

I grabbed the broom from the corner and pointed it at the door：

“I'm counting to three. If you two aren't gone, don't blame me for burning it all down!”

“Veronica! What is wrong with you? This is nothing, and you're screaming breakup, canceling the wedding? Is that really necessary?”

He held my stare for three full seconds, realized I meant it, and shoved Lily straight into my study to shield her.

Then he went to my bedroom and started packing my bags：

“You have a problem, take it up with me. Don't scare Lily. She's just a naive little girl.”

“If you still want to marry me, come back to my place right now. This apartment's perfect for her while she's carrying the baby.”

“You're already twenty-nine. Even being a virgin, you'd be hard-pressed to find another man who treats you as well as I do.”

“Lily's pregnant, so she can't exactly keep working with me anymore. You and me living together just makes perfect sense. Stars aligned.”

Stars aligned. What a beautiful way to put it.

It was the first time I truly appreciated the sheer range of the human species.

My phone buzzed.

A message from the private investigator I'd hired.

One glance, and every scattered fragment clicked into place.

No wonder Lily looked so familiar.

A plan formed in my mind instantly.

I couldn't help it. The corner of my mouth curved up on its own.

If Carter had been looking at me, he'd have known that smile meant somebody was about to have a very bad day.

But he was too busy pulling out a blood test report：

“My results came back. I'm completely clean! That should put your mind at ease, right?”

“I know you didn't blow this up because of what we had together, and I know you feel wronged. So when I said I'd marry you, I meant it. I'm not going back on my word!”

I tested the waters：

“So what's your plan?”

The moment he sensed me softening, delight spread across his face.

“Lily and I have been through a lot. I can't make her get rid of it. But I don't want you to be upset either, so……”

“For everyone's sake, our wedding goes ahead as planned, but we hold off on getting legally married.”

“Once the baby's born and registered, I'll divorce her and get the marriage certificate with you. How's that sound?”

I stood there stunned, unable to believe those words had actually come out of a human mouth.

But I swallowed the profanity clawing up my throat, stayed silent for a long time, and finally said：

“Okay.”

The second he saw me yield, tears actually spilled down his face：

“Ronnie, I knew it. You've always been the reasonable one. I knew you'd understand my situation.”

His hands were shaking as he reached for me, trying to pull me into his arms.

But Lily suddenly clutched her stomach and said she felt sick.

Carter shot me an apologetic glance, then rushed her out.

Over the next few days, he didn't have time to contact me at all.

The pre-wedding footage we were supposed to film together got canceled on his orders.

I was happy to be left alone. It gave me all the time I needed to dig up everything there was to know about Lily Graves. All I had to do was wait for the wedding day.

Just as I'd predicted, Lily would never let our ceremony go ahead now that she had a pregnancy to leverage.

She shoved a freshly minted marriage certificate right in my face：

“Veronica, I'm Carter's legal wife. What right do you have to stand here and marry him?”

I smiled and turned to Carter：

“Is that how you feel too?”

He kept shooting Lily looks, trying to signal her to stop, but she'd already handed the prenatal report to Jill Rowe.

Jill switched sides on the spot, pulling Lily close and calling her daughter-in-law.

She shoved me aside and announced they'd be holding the wedding for these two instead.

Through all of it, Carter never once looked at me.

My phone just kept buzzing.

【Ronnie, I'm begging you, don't make a scene here!】

【I owe you a wedding and I'll make it up to you double, I swear!】

【Oh, and starting tonight, move into my place!】

I didn't reply. I just smiled and connected my phone to the projector.

The next second, images scrolled across the screen that shocked every person in the room.

Jill slapped Lily across the face：

“You filthy slut! You think you're fit to marry my son?”