The Second Groom

She, Everly, was finally marrying Thomas. With the melodic strains of the wedding march filling the air, she was gliding down the red carpet to Thomas in her stunning white wedding dress. The golden light cast a glow on Thomas, emphasizing his gentle and elegant nature as he stood there in his white suit, looking just like that prince charming back then. They'd been together for three long years, man, going through all kinds of ups and downs together. And now, Everly's dream was finally coming true. It was just a shame that her family didn't feel happy about her marriage or view it as a favorable match. When Thomas came up to Everly and handed her the bouquet, tears of pure joy welled up in her eyes. "Do you, Mr. Thomas Hasting, take Miss Everly Johnson to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, cherish, and honor her, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, as long as you both shall live?" the priest asked, staring at the couple with gentle eyes. Everly held back her bubbling excitement and fixed her sparking eyes on Thomas, expecting to hear "yes" from him. Thomas' face went all serious, and he hesitated like he was not excited at all. Right at that moment... "Bad news, Thomas!" Rebecca, Everly's sister, barged into the church crying like there was no tomorrow. "Grace, she... she..." A wave of uneasiness washed over Everly. She stared at Thomas with pure nervousness, tightening her grip on his hand subconsciously. She knew how much Grace meant to Thomas. Grace was like Thomas' ultimate crush, a girl he really wanted to be with. Unfortunately, things didn't work out for them. When Thomas' family went downhill back then, Grace dipped and left Thomas behind for a chance to go abroad. Thomas then cut ties with her for the sake of his pride and started rocking with Everly instead. Nonetheless, Grace suddenly came back just a month ago. Thomas' face changed dramatically, burning anxiety lacing his deep voice. "What happened to Grace?" Rebecca responded, "Grace is bleeding like crazy, and the doctors can't get it stopped. She's in some life-threatening situation." When Thomas hears this, he shook off Everly's hand and bolted out of the church. "You can't go!" Everly walked up, holding onto Thomas like her life depended on it. She was shaking violently while staring intently at him. "Thomas, today is our wedding day. Are you seriously gonna ditch me like this?" The crowd started whispering and giving her those nasty looks, stinging her hard with their judging gazes. With red eyes, she pleaded humbly, "Thomas, can we at least finish this wedding ceremony?" "Grace got hit by a car to save me. I can't just leave her alone." Thomas was trying to get away from Everly's grip, but she was being hella stubborn, refusing to let go. It pissed Thomas off, and his face darkened, "Everly, you know damn well that our marriage was just a freaking deal. You just gotta play your role as Mrs. Hasting and mind your own business!" A freaking deal? Everly's eyes went wide with disbelief as she stared at Thomas' cold face. And then, that shock turned into some sarcasm. Suddenly, she gave a scornful smile, and her voice, all soft-like, mixed with a bit of sadness. "So, in your eyes, our thing is nothing but a freaking deal?" "Yes!" Thomas replied without a moment's hesitation. Everly's heart broke like it was cracking into pieces, which caused her serious pain. Then, Thomas just half-heartedly said, "I'm sorry," and hustled out. Everly was just standing there, watching Thomas walk away. It was like her heart got sliced open again. That pain was making it hard for her to even breathe. A wave of disappointment and sadness washed over her. Back when Thomas took over the Hasting family, he was dealing with some financial trouble on the verge of bankruptcy. He personally told Everly that he was sorry because he couldn't give her happiness due to his company's crisis at that time, and he promised to marry her once things settled down. Over the years, Everly had kept that promise in mind. She did everything she could to make her family accept Thomas, just in order to marry him ASAP. She leveraged her own status to help him rise in the business world so that he could climb all the way from a nobody to someone who garnered widespread attention. Never in the least did she expect that he simply saw their three-year-long relationship as nothing more than a freaking deal. It turned out that their so-called romance was just a one-sided crush. All that time and effort she had put in was just a freaking joke to him like she didn't mean a damn thing. Everly gritted her teeth, trying to hold back her tears. But she just couldn't help it. Tears streamed down her cheeks non-stop. The pain in her heart was so overwhelming that she shook violently. Seeing her sorry state, Rebecca gloated with a smug smirk. "Everly, if it weren't for your clingy ass, my brother wouldn't have even considered marrying a country bumpkin like you, who doesn't have a good academic background or a prestigious family background. Be smart and get the hell out of our family!" Hearing Rebecca's shameless words, Everly felt really disappointed. "I'm afraid you've forgotten something. Without me, you couldn't have climbed all the way to who you are now." "Don't talk s**t!" Rebecca pointed her finger right in Everly's face in a raging fury. "Who do you think you are? Some kind of big shot, huh? Don't be funny! We'd still be thrivin' without you!" That just tore Everly apart. So, is that what the Hastings think of me? "Alright! Enough is enough!" Everly's mother-in-law, Sadras, who was irritated as hell, got up and made her way over to Everly, looking at Everly with disgust like she was a piece of s**t. "Look at you! How miserable you're now! Stop making a fool of yourself and disgracing our family!" And with that, Sadras put on a fake-ass smile and started explaining to the guests like nothing had happened. Everly stood frozen, watching the guests leave in groups. The wedding she had so damn excited for just ended up as a complete joke. Why the hell would my genuine love end up getting this kind of response? Just because I fell for a man who doesn't feel the same way about me? Everly closed her eyes, tears rolling down her face once again. So fragile, so helpless. Half an hour later, she wandered mindlessly on those empty streets, like a lost soul with nowhere to belong. And all of a sudden, it started raining, and gradually, it turned into a freaking downpour. Everly looked around and didn't find any shelters except for that bus stop not too far away. She had no choice but to haul ass over there barefoot. But s**t, luck just kept coming her way. The damn stones on the road cut her feet. She was in pain, scrunching her face and gritting her teeth, hobbling toward that bus stop. And then, a sudden and loud honk echoed through the empty street. Everly looked, and holy s**t, a car was zooming toward her. Her eyes were wide open in shock, popping out of her head like crazy.