They Betrayed Me, So I Ruined Their Wedding

Chapter 3

But I hadn't logged into any of my social media accounts since I woke up in the hospital.

Zoey grabbed my wrist and screamed in my face. "Ellie! A person's got to have some self-respect. Are you really trying to ruin me?! Stanley saved your life! I fixed your face! Even that job you have in Scandinavia was all arranged by us! Stanley and I never asked you for a single thing in return, so how could you bite the hand that feeds you like this?!"

Mid-shouting match, the fresh stitches on my wrist ripped right open.

Plop… plop.

Drop after drop of blood soaked into my bedsheet, leaving dark, spreading stains across the white fabric.

And all the while, Stanley just stared at me, his gaze heavy with disappointment.

I drew in a deep, shaking breath and spoke slow and steady, "It wasn't me."

But Stanley didn't believe a word. He snatched my phone, typed on his birthday without a second of hesitation, and unlocked it instantly.

Then he jabbed his finger at a fourteen-thousand dollar transfer record on the screen and snarled his question at me.

"If it wasn't you, then what is this?"

He had no idea that money was the advance I'd taken out to pay for my mom's upcoming surgery.

He slammed the phone into my chest, pulled Zoey behind him protectively, and stormed out without a second glance.

Thirty minutes later, Stanley posted his and Zoey's marriage license to the official Lewis Group account.

The date on the document was seven years ago.

It was the exact same day Stanley and I had officially started dating.

They'd already gotten their marriage license that day.

My chest ached so bad my heart went completely numb, but not a single tear would fall.

Public opinion flipped on a dime.

Hundreds of netizens flooded my pages, calling me a homewrecker who'd deliberately tried to tear a married couple apart.

All my personal information got doxxed within hours. My work email was flooded with hateful messages, and my social media DMs turned into a rotting swamp of nothing but slurs and insults.

Worst of all, my boss back in Scandinavia called me directly to fire me on the spot.

Stanley had crushed every single thing I'd spent years building, all without breaking a sweat.

Then old rumors about my dad abandoning my mom and me all those years ago got blown way out of proportion.

"Ellie's dad dumped her mom, and now Stanley dumped her! Mother and daughter are both born to be homewreckers. It's in their blood!"

"She was so proud of herself posting those chat logs, thinking she'd hurt Miss Zoey? What a joke!"

"This is so disgusting. How does this woman even have the face to keep breathing? Ellie and her mom can just go die already!"

My old college class group chat blew up with this new gossip too.

A: Wait, hasn't Stanley been dating Ellie this whole time? How is he married to Zoey?

B: You guys don't know the real story, do you? Stanley has only ever loved Zoey! Remember that earthquake back in college? He only ran into the rubble to save someone because he thought the person trapped was Zoey!

C: So that obsessed creep Ellie has been clinging to Stanley for years? Wow, she's been a homewrecker since our student days?"

When I read that message, my knees went weak, and I almost crumpled to the floor.

Right as I was about to fall, Zoey stepped forward and caught me by the arm.

She stared at my deathly pale face and grinned, sickeningly sweet.

"Ellie, do you know why Stanley chased you in the first place?" She leaned in close, dropping her voice to a low, venomous purr, each word sharp enough to cut, "Because I have a little… kink, you see. Stanley loves me so much, he was willing to lower himself to go flirt with you for me. But now? I'm bored with this little game. So it's time for you to get the hell out.

"Oh, right! Our wedding's the day after tomorrow, best friend. You absolutely have to come, okay?"

As Zoey turned to leave, she deliberately shoved a prenatal ultrasound report into my palm.

"This is the precious love child me and Stanley have been waiting for, already four months along!"

BOOM.

My whole world caved in right then and there.

All those days Stanley claimed he loved me more than his own life, all those sweet promises that sounded sweeter than any romance novel line, it had all just been a stupid game from the start.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with an incoming call from Stanley.

I let it ring. I didn't pick up.

Seconds later, a text popped up on the screen.

Stanley: Ellie, don't believe all that garbage people are spouting in the group chat. Once Zoey and I are married, I'll give you a proper explanation.

I dug my nails so deep into my palm they drew blood, then typed back slowly.

Ellie: Every time you called me Ellie... you were really just calling Zoey, weren't you?

Silence stretched from the other end of the phone. No reply came.

The tears I'd been choking back for hours finally broke free, hot and heavy, rolling down my cold cheeks.

I had no idea how long I stood there, frozen in the biting wind.

When the last tear fell, I wiped my face dry and dialed a number I hadn't called in forever.

"Mr. Smith, I agree to join your polar expedition project. Please, take good care of my mother for these three years while I'm gone."

He agreed briskly right away. "No problem. I'll send my private jet to pick your mom up right now."

As soon as I hung up, another call came in from my mother's live-in caregiver.

"Miss Ellie! Something terrible happened, it's your mother!"