She Stole My Wedding, So I Left

My boyfriend Ethan Carter always had an excuse for Ava Taylor, his childhood sweetheart. She'd lost her parents when she was young, so according to him, I should cut her some slack. If she called in the middle of a date, he'd leave without a second thought and abandon me at the table. When he got his first paycheck, he spent every penny on a gift for her. He didn't even think of getting me anything. When a hurricane hit, he rushed to Ava's side and stayed with her for days. He didn't remember I existed until the danger was over. That was my breaking point. I told him to choose: her or me. He didn't take me seriously. He just laughed and leaned in to kiss me. "Jealous, baby? There's nothing between me and Ava. I only help her because I feel bad for her. You've always had everything. Can't you be a little more understanding? I promise it won't happen again! You're the only one I love!" We'd been together for five years, from college right up to our wedding. In the end, I gave him one more chance. A week later, I showed up for our wedding and found Ava standing at the altar in my wedding dress. "Baby, Ava has dreamed about having the perfect wedding ever since she was a kid. Just let her have this one." Chapter 1 I stared at Ethan Carter in disbelief. He said it like it was the most reasonable thing in the world. "Look how much work you put into this wedding. What if something goes wrong? "This way, Ava can have a trial run and make sure everything goes smoothly for you. We're practically family, so there's no need to thank us." I laughed in disbelief. Five years of love and this was what it had come to. "Fine. Then you can be her groom too." My calm response seemed to catch Ethan off guard. "Baby." Ava looked at him with a shy smile. "Ethan." Ethan took her hand and gave me the same promise I'd heard a hundred times before. "Baby, just wait. We'll have an even bigger, better wedding afterward! This is just Ava playing bride for a day. It doesn't count. You're the only woman I'll ever marry!" But I didn't want him anymore. The two of them walked down the aisle together, looking every bit like newlyweds. I turned around and walked out with my head held high. Then I texted the former labmate who had invited me to Europe a month ago. "I've changed my mind. I'm coming." On the way home, Ava posted a whole series of wedding photos. In one, she had her cheek pressed against Ethan's. They looked like a real couple. The caption read, "Today I'm the happiest bride in the world!" By then, my phone was flooded with messages from worried friends and family. I gave them a vague reply, then made up my mind. I would finish my current project and quit. The company belonged to the Carter family. I wanted nothing more to do with Ethan or his family. That evening, a client asked to meet. But when I arrived at the club, Ethan was waiting for me instead. He walked toward me in a tailored suit with 99 roses in his arms. "Baby, don't be angry." I turned to leave without a word, but the door beside me opened. Ava came out in tears. "Sophia, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Ethan only pities me." Ethan immediately dropped the flowers and rushed to comfort her. "None of this is your fault! Don't cry!" Just like that, I was the villain again. Behind the door, Ethan's friends began cheering. "Kiss her! Kiss her!" Some looked at me with pity. Others openly mocked me. I stared at Ethan. He gazed at Ava with such tenderness, completely lost in her. What a perfect pair of assholes. I burst out laughing and started clapping. "Congratulations on the wedding. I hope the two of you are happy forever!" Only then did Ethan finally look at me. His expression darkened. "Sophia, what nonsense are you talking about? I already explained that this was only to satisfy Ava's fantasy. Why are you being so petty?" With every word, he sounded more righteous, as if I were the one who had done something wrong. As though it were my fault that Ava's parents had died, leaving her all alone. As though it were my fault she was so fragile that she couldn't survive without Ethan. As though it were my fault she kept interrupting our dates, stealing my boyfriend, and had now even taken my place at my own wedding. And somehow, I was still expected to step aside for her. Again and again. Like hell I would. Chapter 2 Ava's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Ethan, I went too far this time. I've upset Sophia. I'm sorry. I only wanted to do a trial run so nothing would go wrong on her big day. This is all my fault!" With that, she lunged toward the corridor window. Ethan grabbed her around the waist just in time. "Don't talk like that. You were only trying to help." His face hardened as he turned to me. "Sophia, you didn't object earlier. Why are you causing a scene now? Any decent person would show some compassion. Are you going to apologize to Ava or not?" I'd heard that before. How many times had we done this? At first, I would argue. I'd tell him how unfair he was being. But the same thing happened so many times that eventually, I stopped fighting and simply gave in. Not anymore. I had had enough. I smiled coldly. "You're right. My mistake." My mistake was wasting five years in this mess, giving Ethan chance after chance and fooling myself into believing he might change. Ethan raised an eyebrow, suspicion flashing across his face. I turned to leave, but he reached for me. Just then, Ava's legs gave out, and she collapsed into his arms. "Ouch! Ethan!" Ethan instinctively looked down. Ava looked up at the exact same moment. Their lips met. The room erupted in cheers. I looked back at them. It felt like being slapped across the face a hundred times. Three seconds passed before Ethan finally snapped out of it and pulled away. When he saw me, he quickly wiped his mouth. "Sophia..." I pulled off the engagement ring he'd given me and threw it at him. "A wedding gift. Goodbye." My eyes stung as I hurried toward the exit, but Ethan chased me down and grabbed me by the shoulders. "Sophia, that's enough!" I froze. His next words chilled me to the bone. "You say you're sorry and then act like this. Aren't you tired of making a scene? I've told you a hundred times that this wedding with Ava means nothing. "You threw my engagement ring back at me? Are you trying to humiliate me? "You're the petty one who can't stand me taking care of Ava, and now you want to drag both our names through the mud!" The pain was so sharp that my tears dried up. So he hadn't chased me because he was afraid of losing me. He'd chased me down just to blame me. It had been exactly the same during the hurricane. The entire city had been placed under an emergency alert. Worried about Ava, he had spent three days and nights by her side. Only after the danger was over had he remembered to call me. Alone in the apartment, I had sprained my ankle and waited too long to get treatment. I still couldn't wear heels. And somehow, Ethan had still found a way to justify himself. I stepped back. I didn't even have the energy to be angry anymore. "Ethan, do whatever you like." He clearly hadn't expected me to stop arguing. His tone immediately softened. "Sophia, you have to believe me. You're the only one I love. Let's both take a step back and forget about what happened. Ava has always been sensitive and fragile. Be the bigger person." I'd heard those excuses so many times that they meant nothing to me anymore. Ava was fragile, so I had to be the bigger person. She had taken over the wedding I'd spent six months planning. She had worn the dress I'd flown to France to have made. The man I'd loved for five years and planned to spend my life with had kissed her right in front of me. And after all that, Ethan still wanted me to be the bigger person? My smile widened. "Sure. I'll be the bigger person. Ethan, let's break up. Then you can spend the rest of your life taking care of her." Before I'd even finished speaking, Ava called down from upstairs. "Ethan, I don't feel well." Ethan's expression changed, and he immediately headed upstairs. "Sophia, don't worry, you're the only wife I'll ever have! If you're upset today, go shopping. I'll pay for whatever you buy. I'll go sit with Ava first. Have fun." Then he hurried upstairs without even looking back. I watched him disappear and realized I'd seen this exact scene countless times before. All those sweet promises had never been about loving me. They were just words meant to shut me up so he could run back to Ava. He hadn't even bothered to look back at me. And if I went shopping, he'd only buy Ava something even better. He could never let Ava think she came second to me. Forget it. Why am I still standing in this cesspool, fighting another woman over a man like him? I'm done. Ethan, this is goodbye. From now on, our lives have nothing to do with each other. Chapter 3 I walked home alone. My phone kept buzzing with photos and videos from the party. Ethan, Ava, and all their friends were having the time of their lives. Everyone was raising a glass to the happy newlyweds. I put the phone down and started packing. That was when it hit me. After living with Ethan for three years, I'd barely left a trace of myself in this house. He said Ava was timid, afraid of the dark and terrified of thunder. The moment storm clouds appeared, she'd show up at our door, too scared to spend the night alone. Little by little, she took over a guest room, filled the bathroom with her toiletries, and even had a closet made for herself. Before long, half my vanity belonged to her too. Ethan just laughed and teased her fondly. "You're always buying useless things. Will you ever use all this stuff?" But she was spending his money, wasn't she? Funny. In all our years together, Ethan had never even added me to one of his credit cards. My chest tightened, but I forced myself to breathe. You can't force someone to love you. It's better to let go. Then something occurred to me, so I made a call. "Hello, about that car I ordered earlier. I don't want it anymore." The person on the other end sounded puzzled. "Ms. Harris? But didn't you already give the car to someone else?" I thought I'd heard it wrong. He meant the imported car Ethan had bought me as a wedding gift—the one I'd spent an entire month picking out. I gave it away? Since when? But the manager continued. "Ms. Harris, you transferred ownership of the car last month. It was collected yesterday." I froze. The manager sent me a photo of the contract. There it was. My signature. How is that possible? Wait. I remembered one night last month. I'd been buried in work when Ethan brought me dinner and casually placed a stack of papers in front of me. "Baby, I need you to sign these." I hadn't even bothered to read them. I'd flipped straight to the signature pages and signed my name. I had trusted Ethan completely. And he'd used that trust to trick me. I rushed back to the club and shoved the door open. Inside, Ava was sitting on Ethan's lap, wrapped around him. The others saw me and exchanged looks. Ethan jumped and immediately shoved Ava off him. Then he got up and stepped in front of her. His face darkened as he stared at me warily. Like I was the dangerous one. I didn't waste time arguing. I held up my phone. "Ethan, what is this supposed to be?" He glanced at it and laughed. "Baby, are we really going to fight over something this small? "Ava wanted a dream wedding, so of course she needed her Cinderella carriage. "You have good taste, and she fell in love with your car the moment she saw it. A new import would take too long, so I let her have yours. "When you and I get married, I'll buy you a better, more expensive car." The excuses and promises rolled easily off his tongue. He even smiled at me like he was comforting a spoiled child. In his eyes, I was always the problem. I was jealous. I was throwing a tantrum. I was fighting Ava for his attention. It never crossed his mind that he treated us differently. He never understood that every time he protected Ava, he hurt me instead. I bit my lip until I tasted blood. I remembered lying in his arms, scrolling through car after car on my phone. I'd spent a whole month choosing the perfect one. He told me, "Buy it! My bride deserves the best car in the world for her wedding!" And then he'd handed it to Ava like it meant nothing. This is absurd. How did we end up like this? I had known about Ava from the start, but Ethan used to know where to draw the line. He looked after her—he brought her an umbrella when it rained, called her during storms, and took her to the doctor when she was sick. But he had taken care of me too. When I had cramps, he'd hold me all night, rubbing my stomach with his warm hands. Back then, I'd never doubted his love. But little by little, the love that had once been mine became Ava's. The harder I tried to hold on, the faster it ran through my fingers like sand. I laughed at myself. Fine. She could have the damn car. "Ethan, I'm not here to fight. "If Ava wants the car, she can keep it. "But I paid 120,000 for it. Give me my money back. Now." Chapter 4 I turned to go the moment the words left my mouth. But Ava stepped in front of me. "It's only a car, but you came all the way here just to embarrass Ethan. Don't you think that's too much?" I rolled my eyes. "Spare me the act. Would Ethan have given you the car if you hadn't asked for it?" Ava's face crumpled, and tears spilled down her cheeks. "Sophia, you've gone too far!" Ethan suddenly shoved me. Hard. I crashed into the coffee table, sending glasses and bottles smashing across the floor. Broken glass sliced into my arm. Blood poured from the cuts. Ethan glared at me. "You signed the car over, and no one said you couldn't still drive it! Ava just wanted to be a bride for one day, but you have to make a huge deal out of everything!" Then he wrapped his arms around Ava and gently comforted her. Ava melted against his chest. "I'm sorry, Ethan. It's my fault for coming between you two. Maybe I should leave the country." "Don't be ridiculous. How could I let you go abroad all by yourself?" Then he grabbed me by the hair. "Sophia, don't think you can drive Ava away. I'm warning you for the last time. Enough is enough!" His eyes were colder than an enemy. Strangely, I felt nothing. My heart had already gone numb. He kicked me behind the knees and forced me to the floor. Then he shoved my head down, making me bow to Ava. No matter how I struggled, I couldn't break free. Once. Twice. Three times. He kept going until he'd slammed my forehead to the floor twenty times. Blood ran down my face. Eventually, everything went black. When I woke up, I was back home. The wounds on my forehead and arm had been bandaged. Ethan sat by the bed, gazing at me with concern. "Baby, you're finally awake. Look what you've done to yourself. You got hurt and gave yourself a fever, all over a wedding. Was it really worth it?" I kept my face blank and nodded. He sighed in relief and opened his mouth to continue. Then Ava walked in. "Ethan, the tests came back fine. We can go ahead with the IVF." I stared at Ethan. He cleared his throat and tucked the blanket in around me. "Baby, calm down. Ava is an orphan. She dreams of having someone she can truly call her own. "She doesn't trust any other man. I've always been like a brother to her, so of course I have to help." He said it like donating his sperm to another woman was nothing. I burst out laughing. I laughed harder and harder until I couldn't stop. Ethan's face darkened. He shot to his feet. "You clearly need more time to calm down. There's no talking to you when you're like this." He and Ava left hand in hand. As the door closed behind them, the last bit of love I had for Ethan disappeared with it. Ethan, there's nothing left between us. Once they were gone, I got up and finished packing. Then a package arrived. I opened it and laughed. I unfolded what was inside and placed it beside the front door. Ethan, this is my last gift to you. There's no need for us to meet again.