He Jilted Me, I Rejected His Plea

Right when Edward and I hit the peak of intimacy, a low, guttural growl rolled up his throat. A soft pet name slipped out, "Kenzie..." In that second, I knew it. His heart now belonged to that female student of his, Mackenzie James. So, when he was lying there afterward, mind blank and drifting, I decided to give him one last chance to prove his loyalty to me in some way. "Let's go get our marriage license tomorrow," I said. He turned me down flat. He said he was going abroad with Mackenzie for a closed-door research project. I stayed perfectly calm and gave him two options. Stay in the country and be with me, or go with his 'research partner' and break off our engagement. That night, even though he was allergic to alcohol, he drank himself silly. Then, when he woke up, I was surprised to see him caving to what I wanted. "Fine. Let's get married," he told me. However, from that day on, he snuck out to drink behind my back so many times that he ended up in the emergency room for stomach pumping more times than I can count. This all led to my wedding day, the exact moment the announcer called out, "Kiss the bride!" Suddenly, a handful of Edward's students shot to their feet, calling out to him. "Professor Smith! You broke Mackenzie's heart, and she's getting married tomorrow!" Edward's pupils snapped tight. He dropped the wedding ring as if it burned his hand and bolted off the stage like a man possessed. I snatched the host's microphone and snarled: "If you go after her right now, we're done for good!" His whole body jerked hard, but he still jumped in his car and peeled out of the parking lot. And I laughed. Edward, there's no such thing as having the best of both worlds. You wanted your true love? Then I'm taking your precious career. Not even a minute after he ran out, a buzz of snide whispering erupted through the audience. "Edward just dumped his bride mid-wedding to run off with his mistress! That's a slap in the face to the Harold family in front of everyone!" "Who would've thought even Gwen, a rich young lady, would get left at the altar like this?" "Guess even someone as even-tempered as Edward can't put up with a spoiled rich girl's attitude!" Every snide word drifted straight into my ears. But Edward's parents? Their faces were already even paler than mine. "Gwen, this whole mess today is all Edward's fault, don't you worry. We'll drag that boy back here tonight, and we'll make sure he goes through with this wedding with you!" "President Smith, have you no shame at all?" My mom snorted sharply as she stepped in front of me to shield me. "Your son didn't just slap my daughter in the face today. This is an open challenge to the entire Harold family!" My dad and older brother stood stone-faced, their faces frozen over, their crushing, menacing energy filling the entire room. Mrs. Smith, her face drained of all color, begged me, "Sweetheart, Edward was just led astray by that little vixen! You know him, he's always been such a decent man. He never would have done anything like this before!" Before? I bit the word back with a cold, sharp snort. Edward was a professor at a top university, quiet and dull as a block of wood. He never even sent me a love letter for Valentine's Day in all the years we were together as a couple, let alone bothered with any of our anniversaries or the other little holidays throughout the year. Every time I brought it up, he'd brush me off with an irritated sigh. "Babe, these holidays are just a waste of time and energy. I don't have the mood to squander effort on stuff like that," he'd always say. So I'd made excuse after excuse for him in front of my parents and my friends, over and over. But when he forgot my birthday yet again, that ditzy little female student of his, Mackenzie, posted to her i********:. It read: Thank you to my beloved professor for the 99th gift! The attached photo showed a bed covered in all kinds of luxury goods: Hermès bags, high-end cosmetics, and designer jewelry. Everything was worth well over ten million dollars. That night, Edward tried to make it up to me by pulling me into bed on his own accord. But he never realized that the name he groaned out when we were at the peak of intimacy had already given away who his heart truly belonged to. Afterward, he seized the chance to bring up his plans to go abroad for a three-year research project with Mackenzie. That day, everything clicked into place at last: he wasn't incapable of loving someone. He just didn't want to love me. I pulled my hand away from Mrs. Smith's tight grip. My voice was perfectly steady when I spoke, "Starting today, the engagement between Edward and I is off." If he can’t love me right, then he doesn't get to be loved at all. "Call off the engagement?" Mr. Smith roared. Then, a second later, a greedy smile spread across his face. "What about the deal you made to help me fix our company’s cash flow problem…" Before I could open my mouth, my brother let out a cold, cutting sneer. "Wow, Mr. Smith, you’ve got some nerve! The engagement’s off, so every other deal is off the table too!" Their faces twisted into a sickly mix of pale green and ash gray. Only our two families knew the Smith Group was drowning in a massive cash-flow crisis. This wasn’t just a marriage between two families, it was a pre-planned bailout Edward arranged to save his family’s company. Too bad he blew his one and only shot. I was just turning to leave when Mr. Smith, desperate and refusing to accept defeat, lunged in front of me, his face twisted into a furious snarl. "Just you wait. I’ll give you a proper answer tonight, I swear." I didn’t think much of it. When I got home, I lit a roaring fire and burned every last thing Edward had ever given me, all his gifts, and every academic paper he’d written. Back then, I'd fooled myself into thinking he was just too reserved for romance. I’d even treated those sloppy, half-hearted essays he’d tossed off like they were precious treasure. Once the fire burned everything to ash, a notification pinged on my phone. Mackezie had posted another brag on her i********: Story. Finally hooked up with my crush! The attached photo showed a bright red bite mark on a man’s chest. The meaning couldn’t have been clearer. I chuckled dryly, took a screenshot, and saved it. The very next second, Edward’s caller ID popped up on my screen. I answered, sighing when I heard his remorseful tone. "Babe, I know running out on the wedding today was wrong. But Kenzie's my student. I can’t just stand by and let her do something reckless." I laughed right back at him. "Reckless? What does her getting married have to do with you? You left me hanging at the altar today to humiliate me. You should’ve seen this coming." My words caught him completely off guard, and he couldn’t get another word out.