My Fiancé Was Allergic to Me, But Not My Best Friend

My best friend, Lily, couldn't stop bragging in our Snapchat group chat about her wild sex life with her boyfriend. One day she was trying a new position in bed, the next she was showing off a million-dollar designer bag, and the day after that, she was wearing priceless diamond jewelry. Meanwhile, my fiancé, Ethan, treated me like the plague. He claimed he was severely allergic to my bodily fluids, so we had almost zero intimacy. Even if I accidentally brushed his hand, he would flinch and pull away immediately. Once, in the middle of the night, I had a burning fever of 102°F. I begged him to take care of me, but he just threw a cold glance at me and said, "Don't touch me. I can't stand it." I silently watched Lily post her happiness every day. I felt a mixture of heartache and envy. Until the night before our wedding, she suddenly posted a picture on her Snapchat story. "Tomorrow morning, I'll watch you marry her." I instinctively tapped the photo to zoom in. The man in the photo only showed his bare chest. But right below his collarbone, there was a tiny, faded scar. I had seen that scar countless times. It was exactly the same as the one on my fiancé's body. I sped all the way to the VIP lounge of the bar where Ethan was holding his bachelor party. Pushing open the heavy oak door of the private suite, I saw Ethan tightly wrapping his arms around Lily. The way he looked at her was filled with an adoration and tenderness he had never once shown me. The room was filled with rowdy laughter, and the two of them kissed passionately, completely ignoring the crowd around them. At that sight, my stomach churned, and I almost threw up on the spot. Ethan was the first to notice me. He abruptly let go of Lily, his face instantly turning pale with panic. "Chloe? What are you doing here?" I didn't say a word. I grabbed my designer clutch and hurled it straight at Lily's face. "Chloe Carter! Are you out of your mind?!" Ethan threw himself in front of Lily to shield her. In the chaotic scuffle, his hand swung out and slapped me hard across the face. With a sharp crack, a burning pain flared on my cheek. Yet, he didn't care about me at all. He gently wiped a speck of blood from Lily's lip, glaring at me as if I were his worst enemy. "Are you sick?!" "You just walk in and start attacking people?" I stared blankly at Ethan, my heart breaking into a million pieces. "You ask me why I hit her? I want to ask both of you. When the hell did you start screwing around behind my back?!" Ethan stammered for a long time, his face flushed with guilt, unable to utter a single coherent word. Lily snuggled deeper into Ethan's chest, putting on a pitiful, victimized act. "Chloe, don't be mad at Ethan. It's my fault. I just couldn't control my feelings." "But honestly, it's just your bad luck. Who told Ethan to be allergic to your bodily fluids?" "Besides, Ethan sleeping with me is better than him sleeping with some random stranger, right? Think of it as me test-driving him for you." My eyes locked onto the brand-new Bvlgari necklace around her neck. I had seen the payment record for this exact necklace on Ethan's phone weeks ago. I had even seen the box hidden in his closet. At the time, I foolishly thought it was a surprise wedding gift for me. On the night he bought it, I waited up for him until dawn, but he never showed. It wasn't until 3:00 AM that Lily brought him back, completely wasted. As if her words weren't humiliating enough, Lily kept going. "Oh, by the way, I taught Ethan a lot of positions that women love." "So on your wedding night, you won't have to worry about him not finding the right spot, or hurting you." Ethan gave Lily an appreciative look, then turned to scold me with deep annoyance. "Lily did all of this for our future. Look at you. So what if I slept with her a few times?" "We live in a sexually liberated society now. Do you have to be so uptight and dramatic?" He knew exactly how much his betrayal cut me, yet he used "freedom" as an excuse to force me to tolerate his disgusting behavior. I let out a cold, hollow laugh. "Since you want your freedom so badly, we don't need to have the wedding tomorrow!" As I turned to leave, Lily blocked my path. She pulled a black credit card from her pocket and smugly tapped it against my cheek. "Don't say I'm not a good friend. There's fifty thousand dollars in here. Consider it compensation for your emotional distress." Instead of taking the card, I kicked her hard right in the stomach. Caught off guard, Lily gasped in pain and doubled over, clutching her abdomen. I grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at me. "Keep this pocket change. Consider it your whore fee." The next second, a blinding pain exploded at the back of my head. I clutched my head and spun around. Ethan was standing there, holding a heavy crystal ashtray he had just smashed over my skull. "Don't blame me," he muttered, his voice trembling but cold. "You laid hands on her first." I looked down at the warm, sticky blood pooling in my palm. Then, the world went black, and I collapsed.When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed. The nurse told me that the hotel receptionist had called 911, fearing someone might die in that suite. After transferring the medical expenses back to the receptionist, I drafted a mass text message canceling the wedding and hit send. A few minutes later, Ethan kicked the hospital room door open, storming in furiously. "Chloe Carter! What the hell is the meaning of that text? Do you really think playing hard to get is going to make me crawl back to you?" By the last sentence, his voice carried a hint of desperate anger. I took a deep breath and looked at him calmly. "I'm not playing games, Ethan. Don't you love Lily? I'm stepping aside to let you two be together." Ethan choked on his words, a rare flash of guilt flickering in his eyes. "Don't be so impulsive. What Lily and I have is just a casual fling. It doesn't mean anything." As he spoke, he seemed to regain his confidence. "And honestly, it's your fault too. You're always so busy. Lily was the only one who stayed by my side." Every word out of Ethan's mouth was a complaint about how neglectful I was. But the only reason I had been working myself to the bone these past few years was because he asked me to help him start his business. To support his dreams, I put my Ivy League education on hold and refused to return home to inherit my family's estate. We were supposed to build a life together, but Ethan made a habit of dumping all the company's mess onto my lap. I was the one who drank until my stomach bled just to secure investors. I was the one who secretly begged my parents to use their connections to help him. Pulling all-nighters until 3:00 or 4:00 AM for business deals was my normal. Meanwhile, he was always "traveling for business," disappearing for ten days at a time. Back then, I was too naive to suspect anything, believing he was running around for the sake of our company. Now I realized that every single business trip was just a getaway to sleep with Lily. I pointed toward the exit. "Get out." Ethan pressed his lips together, silently walking over to the side of my bed. "I'm not leaving." He pulled out a fresh red apple and began peeling it in silence. Years ago, when I was hospitalized with a high fever, he had cared for me just like this. Back then, it was out of love. This time, it was purely out of guilt. Ethan tried to hand me the peeled apple, hoping to appease me. "I was too aggressive tonight. I'm sorry." When I remained silent, he grew frustrated and shoved the paring knife into my hand. "If you're still mad, fine! Stab me. Get it out of your system." I had no interest in playing his twisted games. I took the apple and sliced it into small pieces. But just as I took a bite, Ethan pushed his luck. "Since I've apologized, you need to go and apologize to Lily too." "She's still in the ER. The doctor said if you had kicked her any harder, her uterus could have been permanently damaged." I knew it. His sudden kindness was always laced with poison. The sweet taste of the apple instantly turned bitter in my mouth. "Ethan, the wedding is off. I am dead serious." His brow furrowed deeply. "But you attacked her first!" "If you just apologize to her, I will have my dad personally perform your mother's heart bypass surgery this month. I'll get her on his private schedule immediately." I had begged Ethan countless times about my mother's worsening heart condition. Every single time, he made excuses, saying his father was a world-class surgeon who couldn't show favoritism or let patients skip the line because it would ruin his reputation. Even when I offered to pay triple the price, he refused. Now, just to force me to bow my head to Lily, he could easily pull strings to make it happen. The person he was willing to break rules for was never me. Fortunately, he couldn't threaten me with this anymore. My dad had already pull some strings and found another top surgeon. They were planning to perform my mom's surgery right after the wedding anyway. I shook my head. "I will never apologize to her." Ethan snapped, standing up abruptly. "Fine! Let's see how long you can hold out!"I didn't take his threats to heart. I took a couple of sleeping pills and finally fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. When I woke up, I had over a hundred missed calls. Apart from Ethan, there were dozens from my parents. I quickly dialed my dad back. He said they were already on their way to the wedding venue. He scolded me for getting drunk and sending crazy mass texts in the middle of the night, telling me to hurry up and get dressed. I had a pounding headache and tried to explain over the phone. But the situation was too complicated to explain in a quick call. I had no choice but to rush to the hotel venue first. Ethan was already there, looking dashing in his custom tuxedo. Seeing me walk in, a smug, triumphant smile spread across his face. "I knew you'd show up." "But if you want me to marry you, you need to sign this prenuptial agreement first." I scanned the document. It stated that we could have no physical intimacy for the first three years of marriage. Holding hands would result in a $10,000 fine. Hugging would be $30,000. As for actual intimacy, just bringing it up would cost me $50,000. When he was hooking up with Lily, he at least had the decency to hide it. Now that we had initiated a confrontation, he didn't even bother to hide his disgust. He was openly putting a price tag on my body to force me into submission. In the heavy silence, my phone rang. It was my dad's cracking, tearful voice. "Chloe... your mom just had a massive heart attack. She's in the ER being resuscitated! Get to the hospital right now!" My hand shook violently. I turned to sprint out of the venue, but Ethan grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. His face was filled with displeasure. "It's just a prenup, Chloe. Do you really have to make up a lie to run away from it?" I didn't have the energy to argue with him. "My mom is dying! Let me go!" Standing nearby, Lily burst into a mocking laugh. "Wow, Chloe. Your lying skills are pathetic. Ethan literally just spoke to your mom on the phone a while ago, and now she's suddenly having a heart attack?" "If you don't want to apologize to me, just say so. I'm not that petty." Thinking of my mother fighting for her life in the emergency room, I swallowed my pride, grit my teeth, and uttered the words: "I'm sorry." "Can I leave now?" Lily arched an eyebrow and handed me a pen. Even after I signed the document, she stared at me with an amused, twisted grin. "My, my. Why are we suddenly so obedient?" Lily raised her hand and gestured. Several beefy bodyguards immediately stepped forward, slamming me down onto the cold marble floor. The moment my knees cracked against the hard ground, a wave of sheer humiliation washed over me. "Weren't you acting like a tough bitch last night when you kicked me?" Lily took a slow step forward, extending her designer heel right in front of my face. "Today is supposed to be your big day. I don't want to make things too hard for you." "Lick my shoe clean, and I might consider letting you go to the hospital." I looked up in utter disbelief. What shattered my heart even more was that Ethan just stood there, watching in silence, offering no objection. "Just lick it, Chloe," Ethan said coldly. "Once you do, we'll let you go." I bit my lip so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. But with my mom's life on the line, I had no choice. "I'll do it. Just keep your word." To the sound of mocking laughter and the flashing of phone cameras, I endured the most humiliating ten seconds of my life. "Can I go now?" I whispered, my voice trembling. Lily burst into hysterical laughter. "Look at you! What a good, obedient dog. You really do whatever you're told." She violently kicked my shoulder, sending me sprawling. "Let you go? In your dreams! I said I would consider it. I never said I actually would." My jaw clenched so hard it ached. "Don't push me too far, Lily!" Lily sneered contemptuously, grinding the sharp heel of her shoe directly onto my fingers. "Oh, sweetie, today I'm going to teach you what 'pushing it' actually means!" White-hot pain flared from my fingertips. Enraged, I lunged forward and bit her leg as hard as I could, wanting to tear a chunk of flesh right off her bone. Lily shrieked in pain, pulling her leg back, and screamed at the bodyguards in a frenzy: "Beat her! Beat her to death!" Fists and heavy boots began raining down on me like a brutal storm. I curled into a tight ball, using my arms to shield my head. Through a crack in my arms, the last thing I saw before blacking out was Ethan picking up a crying Lily, cradling her in his arms as they hurried away, leaving me to be trampled.Once the bodyguards had their fill of beating me, they left. I dragged my broken, aching body up and stumbled out of the venue, limping all the way to the hospital. The moment my dad saw me walk down the hallway, he swung his hand and slapped me across the face. "Look at what you've done! You were about to get married! Why on earth would you cheat on him?!" "Your mother was so shocked and angry she had a heart attack!" I froze, the pain of the slap completely lost in my confusion. "Dad... Ethan is the one who cheated. I never..." My dad shoved his phone screen right in front of my eyes. "Ethan sent these photos of you in bed with another man to your mother! Do you think we're blind?!" "Go call his father right now and get him to do the surgery! If your mother dies today, I will disown you!" The man in the photo was a complete stranger. I had never seen him in my life. I desperately wanted to explain, but looking at my father's tear-streaked, terrified face, I swallowed all my grievances. I pulled out my phone to call Ethan's father, but the call kept going straight to voicemail. My dad saw the contact name on my screen. He was a smart man, and he instantly realized that the top surgeon I had mentioned before was Ethan's father, Dr. Richard Sterling. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!" "You betrayed his son! Why would he ever agree to save your mother now?!" My dad grabbed my arm, dragging me down the hall where Ethan and Lily had just arrived. He pushed me toward Ethan, yelling, "Apologize to him right now!" Ethan rolled his eyes, looking incredibly smug. "What's the point of an apology, Mr. Carter? Your daughter was incredibly fierce at the wedding venue just now. She literally attacked people. The victim is right here." Hearing this, my dad's face contorted with even greater fury. "How did I raise such an ungrateful, shameless daughter? You cheat, and then you go around causing trouble!" My throat felt like it was blocked by hot coals. "Dad, that's not what happened..." "You still dare to lie!" My dad's anger flared up again. He raised his hand to strike me again, but seeing the horrific bruises and cuts on my face, his hand froze in midair. Ultimately, it fell to his side with a heavy, defeated sigh. "Your mother is still in that operating room, clinging to life. Stop being so stubborn!" Ethan put on a gentle, forgiving facade. "Mr. Carter, please don't be mad at Chloe. Don't blame her." "She probably just made a mistake in a moment of confusion. She was just angry and lashing out. I don't hold a grudge." He paused, his eyes shifting to me with a cold, calculating gleam. "But Chloe, you just said you wanted to call off the wedding. How can I possibly ask my dad to do this favor under these circumstances?" He was the one who fabricated those disgusting photos to frame me, yet here he was, playing the saintly victim. My eyes were bloodshot, and the veins in my temples throbbed violently. "What do you want, Ethan?" "Nothing much," he chuckled softly. "As long as you show some real repentance, I'll talk to my dad." "After all, we're about to be family. I don't want Mrs. Carter to actually pass away." Looking at my father's desperate, bloodshot eyes, I dropped to my knees. It wasn't the first time today anyway. I began to bow, slamming my forehead onto the cold hospital floor, apologizing to Lily. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have caused a scene at the wedding. I shouldn't have hit you." I kept pounding my head against the floor until blood began to trickle down my forehead. Only then did Lily fake a look of generosity and bend down to help me up. "We're best friends, Chloe. Of course I forgive you." She leaned in close, whispering in a tone only I could hear: "I was the one who came up with the idea for those fake photos." "And keeping you stalled here for so long... your useless mother is probably dead by now, isn't she?" The last string of sanity in my brain snapped. I leaped up and lunged at her throat. "I'll kill you!" Before I could even touch her, my dad kicked my legs out from under me, sending me crashing back to the floor. I looked up at him, my heart shattering into dust. "Dad! The photos are fake! They set me up! They are lying to you!" "I am the victim here!" But my dad didn't believe me. He shook with anger, grabbing a nearby plastic bin and slamming it against my back. "Enough! An apology would have solved everything! Why do you keep lying?!" "Do you really want to kill your mother?!" Compared to Ethan's sickening lies, my own father's lack of trust was what truly broke me. A mouthful of warm, metallic blood welled up in my throat and sprayed across the floor. I closed my eyes in absolute despair.