He Kissed His Secretary In Front Of Me

At the party the night before our wedding, my fiancé's secretary suggested a game: boyfriend swap. "Oops, looks like I'm with Lucas!" She put on an apologetic smile. "You don't mind, do you, Rachel?" Then she tipped her face up and kissed Lucas Grant, deep and slow. He held her by the waist and glanced over at me with a smile meant to shut me up. "It's a game, Rachel. We're getting married tomorrow. Let her have her fun." Everyone was waiting to see how far I'd let them push me. I'd spent 5 years chasing him and given up my career to run errands at his company. They were sure I loved him too much to leave. None of them knew I'd been CFO of a publicly traded company. I opened the job offer sitting in my inbox. A real position. A salary to match. And I clicked Accept. He could keep flip-flopping between us. I was done waiting. "Round two! Lucas and Chloe again! Come on, you two are perfect together!" The guests clapped and whooped. "This time, pick her up with one arm and kiss her for 5 minutes!" Squeals filled the private room. Chloe Parker gave a coy little protest and nestled against him. In his tailored suit, Lucas scooped her up with one arm and kissed her. His tongue slid into her mouth. I could hear every wet kiss. Through the gaps in her ragged breathing, Chloe shot me a challenging look. "Rachel, be a sweetheart and time us. The full 5 minutes, okay? No cheating." I dug my nails into my palms, my chest aching. Those 5 minutes dragged on like torture. When it was over, Chloe had another idea. "It's my birthday tomorrow. Why don't we keep the game going? Consider it your birthday present to me, Lucas." The room fell silent. "Are you serious?" someone muttered. "He's marrying Rachel tomorrow morning." Chloe pouted. "It's just a game. Rachel's been fine with it all the other times. What's one more?" Everyone looked at me. They already knew where this was headed. I took a breath. "Lucas, explain this." He swirled his whiskey. "Chloe's young. She's never been married. Of course she's curious about a wedding. Be the bigger person. Let her have this." Let her have this. I knew that line. 5 years ago, it had been his secretary's job. His company was just getting started and needed money. Chloe came with financial backing, so I'd been told to step aside. For the past 3 years, he'd promised me a wedding every year. Each time, I'd picked out a dress and shared my wedding plans on social media. Then his message would come. Lucas: Sorry. The wedding's off. Next time. Chloe was ill and needed him. Something had happened to Chloe's family. Couldn't I just let Chloe have this? Three canceled weddings. I'd become a joke to our friends and family, the woman he kept on hold. In our circle, I was the crazy, desperate girlfriend who wouldn't take a hint. "Then what am I, Lucas? Your mistress?" He rubbed his brow, weary of me already. My eyes were burning, but he leaned close and lowered his voice so no one else could hear. "She'll wear the dress. We'll go through the motions. That's all. Be a good girl, and you're still the one I'll legally marry. You'll still be Mrs. Grant." She got the wedding. I got the paperwork. How thoughtful of him. He wasn't humoring her. He was using this nasty little game to make her his bride. "Don't bother, Lucas." I stepped away and slowly took off the ring he'd given me when we got together. "We're done."