He Cheated On Me, I End Our 3-Year Love

Chapter 3

I grew up in an orphanage, but I had always ached for a real family, and I never stopped searching for my biological relatives.

The orphanage director told me I still had an older brother out there.

We had both been abandoned at the orphanage together.

After years of searching, I had finally gotten a lead a short while ago. I had planned to surprise him with the news... but now, I guessed that surprise was not necessary anymore.

I walked into the spot we had agreed to meet. A tall, lean man was already there, sipping a drink.

The way he kept his legs crossed so tightly told me he was very nervous.

And honestly, I was nervous too. This was the only person I shared blood with, after all.

I drew in a deep, steadying breath and stepped up to his table.

The second I sat down across from him, I just knew. This man was my family.

Still, just to be absolutely sure, we went and got a DNA test done. The wait for the results dragged on forever.

But when they came back, they matched what my gut had told me. The man sitting in front of me really was my biological older brother, Bryan Cole.

God, having family felt so good.

For all those years, I had gotten used to handling every problem on my own. But this time, I decided to tell Bryan everything that had happened to me recently.

The moment I finished talking, he slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, dead set on marching straight to Zane and making him pay for what he had done.

I wanted to do exactly that too, but I still did not know what other tricks Zane had up his sleeve, so I held Bryan back.

I laid out my whole plan for him. He went quiet for a long time, then clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder and told me he would back me no matter what I chose to do.

I had been alone for my whole life up until that moment. Suddenly having someone who cared about me completely and unconditionally made warmth flood my chest, and I cherished this hard-won family bond more than I could say.

After I said goodbye to Bryan, I headed back to that putrid house I shared with Zane.

The moment I twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, the rich scent of cooked food hit my nose.

I turned and stared. There was food piled high across the entire dining table, and Zane was bustling around the kitchen. Shock shot through me.

Zane was a chef by trade. He always said he spent all day cooking for work, so the last thing he wanted to do when he got home was cook more.

That meant I had been the one making every single meal in our house for years.

I set my keys down and drawled, "Well, well. Mr. Wilde, what has gotten you in the mood to cook today?"

Zane patted my head softly, a doting look on his face. "Of course it is because you have been so tired lately. I wanted to treat you. And it just so happens my mom is here too."

That "mom", obviously, was Zane's mother.

I snorted inwardly.

Of course.

If he had said this to me before, I would have believed him without a second thought. But now that I thought about it, why was it that every single time his mom came to visit, Zane just "happened" to cook dinner for me?

I was the only i***t, completely blind to how fake this love really was the entire time.

I did not even get a word out before I heard the click of a key turning in the front door lock.

Right on its heels, Zane's mom strode straight inside.

Her plump cheeks split into a wide, pasted grin when she spotted the spread of food covering the table. "Oh goodness, all this food. You two kids are too much, what a waste of money. I have told you time and time again, I am not an outsider. No need to stand on ceremony with me."

Only Zane's mom could spout that much fake, sugary nonsense with a straight face, without any embarrassment at all.

Staring at that loaded table, then at the revolting, smarmy faces of mother and son, my stomach churned so hard I could barely keep anything down.

I could not suppress it any longer. I shoved past the two of them blocking my way and bolted straight for the bathroom, where I hunched over the toilet and threw up everything I had.

Zane and his mom exchanged a quick, loaded glance, then Zane came hurrying in after me. He watched me retch until the world spun, his expression unreadable as he asked, "Violet, y-you do not... you do not mean you are..."

I knew exactly what he was implying. He was asking if I was pregnant.

I was not, of course. But one look at that obvious panic on his face, and I knew exactly what to do.

I arched an eyebrow, wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, nodded, and breathed out in a falsely shy tone: "Honey, I was going to save this to surprise you... I did not expect it to come out like this..."

As I spoke, I melted into his chest like a bashful little wife, slipping my arms around his waist just like I had done a hundred times before.

His body went rigid, and that tension told me everything I needed to know.

I had never seen Zane this flustered and on edge before.

That night, I used the pregnancy excuse to easily get another night sleeping apart from Zane.

Deep in the middle of the night, I slipped out of bed silently as a shadow, turned the doorknob slowly and softly, and padded down the hall toward the master bedroom.

I had barely gotten close to the door when I heard the murmur of an argument between Zane and his mom from inside.

They were both keeping their voices very low. All I could catch were scattered bits, mostly something about a baby.

I strained my ears for another minute, but I could not make anything else out. So I turned and slipped quietly back to my room.

I pulled out my phone, called my friend who went to medical school, then opened my door again. This time, I deliberately stomped my feet loud enough for anyone inside the master bedroom to hear.

A warning to Zane and his mom that I was on my way out.

Instantly, the voices inside cut off. Complete silence.

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. I walked over to the dining table, knocked a chair over hard, then collapsed to the floor and let out a wail of fake agony.

A full minute passed before Zane stumbled out, pretending he had just been jolted awake, panic all over his face as he dialed for an ambulance.

If I had actually been pregnant, I would have been dying then—both from physical pain and the deeper pain in my heart.

If a pregnant woman falls and her own family waits this long to come out, that is proof they never wanted the child to begin with.

Thank goodness I was not actually pregnant. If I had been, I would have been absolutely devastated at that moment.

The ambulance arrived extremely fast. Less than thirty minutes later, I was already lying on a hospital bed.

A doctor in a crisp white coat was reprimanding Zane furiously, before confirming the baby was unharmed.

Watching Zane's face grow darker by the second, a faint smile finally tugged at my lips.

Seeing him miserable was the greatest satisfaction I felt at that moment.

I never planned to pull this stunt to begin with. But if I had not come to the hospital on my own, Zane would have dragged me here anyway, and my lie would have collapsed the moment we arrived.

I could not express how grateful I was then that I had never told Zane about every single one of my connections.

Even more, I had never introduced him to my friend who worked as a doctor at this very hospital.

It was only thanks to my friend's help that I was able to pull off this entire act right under Zane's nose.