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623words
And to make me feel secure, he put most of what he owned in my name.
On my twentieth birthday, in front of everyone, he said,
“I will only ever have one wife: Sylvia.”
“If I ever fail her, I hope I die a miserable death.”
Then he turned to me, his eyes full of undeniable emotion.
“Sylvia, I love you.”
“I will give you a family. I will never let you cry from sadness again.”
Eight years had passed. He never mentioned marrying me again.
But I kept loving him, like I had been for the past eight years.
At the jewelry store, I picked up the pair of rings I'd custom ordered a year ago, which were originally planned to give to Leo when he proposed.
But it looked like I wouldn't live to see that day.
So I decided I would propose to him instead.
I wanted to tell Leo, “Marry me. Otherwise, I won't be around for it.”
Looking down at the pair of rings worth seven figures, that sickly-sweet voice from the phone echoed in my head.
I knew who it was: Lina, the new secretary Leo hired a few months ago.
In the past eight years, countless charming women had popped up around him. Leo was an iceberg to all of them.
Lina was the only exception.
Leo took her to all kinds of events, which had been only for our dates.
He punched a reporter for accidentally bumping into her.
And the tattoo of my name on his chest had been removed for her…
Right then, my phone buzzed in my purse.
An unknown number sent me a photo.
Leo in an expensive, perfectly tailored custom suit, his hair impeccably styled.
Lina in a wedding dress, smiling radiantly with her arm hooked through his.
Instantly, it felt like all the blood in my body froze.
The words that followed made my heart ache so much I could barely breathe.
“Leo married his secretary behind your back. I'll send you the address.”
“I'm curious to see what you'll do about it.”
Leo's vows were the first thing I heard when I rushed to the venue. The guests were cheering for them to kiss.
Lina, in her wedding dress, blushed.
Staring at his wife with an easy smile, Leo took a step forward, cupped the back of Lina's head with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist.
Then he kissed her without any hesitation.
Amid the noise and celebration, I stood frozen, looking blankly at the man I'd loved for eight years, the man I saw as my salvation, until finally I couldn't hold back the tears.
Just then, one of Leo's friends noticed me, his face going pale.
Flustered, he blocked my path. “Sylvia, Leo didn't mean to hide this from you —”
I pushed past him and walked straight toward the altar.
The crowd fell silent. The joyful atmosphere vanished instantly.
Leo's eyes met mine. There wasn't any trace of guilt or panic on his face.
When I stood right in front of him and Lina, seeing how furious I was, Leo instinctively stepped in front of her, frowning.
“Sylvia? What are you doing here?”
How ridiculous.
My boyfriend of eight years married another woman behind my back, and when I found out, all he said was “What are you doing here?”
It felt like my heart was being sliced apart. Tears fell uncontrollably again.
I asked him, my voice choked with pain,
“Leo… why did you marry her behind my back?”
“And why… why did it have to be on our eight-year anniversary?”
Leo looked at me, silently and impassively.
