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On the night before my wedding, I opened an anonymous message card, only to find out that my fiancé had been cheating on me with my maid of honor for four years.
The engagement ring on my hand was actually a cheap reject that she didn’t want; her so-called “emergency business trip” was actually to cover up the fact that she had just given birth to his child last week.
What sent the worst chills down my spine was that his entire family knew about this perfectly well, yet they still happily watched me meticulously prepare for this scam of a wedding.
When I canceled the wedding and confronted them, his mother actually slapped me across the face.
“You’re nothing but a poor girl clinging to my son. Camilla is the one he truly loves.”
And my fiancé didn’t even defend me. Instead, he pushed me to the ground, causing me to hit my head, all just to comfort his crying mistress.
I spent eight years by his side, accompanying him from having nothing to where he is now, only to realize I was nothing but a convenient placeholder.
I took off that discarded ring, blocked all of them, and bought a one-way ticket to Oregon, USA.
This time, I decided to leave forever and never look back.
But now, he’s going crazy begging for my forgiveness!
From Brokenness to Bliss: My Peaceful Choice novel Chapter 1
Isla Simmons’s POV
The moment I read that anonymous card, my life instantly collapsed. It brought not wedding blessings, but Harding’s lies.
It was the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. My bridesmaids and close friends were sitting around the table. My fiancé, Harding, the man I had loved for eight years, was at another table discussing business with his parents.
As for my maid of honor, Camilla, she was supposedly unable to attend due to a sudden business trip.
“Alright, Madam Bride!” bridesmaid Sarah excitedly held up a beautifully decorated box. “Everyone wrote a blessing card for you. Let’s see what advice they have to pass on!”
Smiling, I reached into the box and pulled out a thick white card. I thought it would be sweet words, but as my eyes swept over the text, my smile instantly froze.
“He and she have been secretly sleeping around behind your back for four years.”
Right below it was a line: “Your maid of honor.”
Camilla.
That was my childhood best friend, the “sister” I had entrusted my life to.
A freezing terror seeped into my bones. This had to be a prank. With sweating palms, I eagerly pulled out a second, light blue card.
“The engagement ring he gave you? He actually bought it for Camilla first. But four years ago, she rejected him, saying she wasn’t ready for marriage. You are just his backup.”
I instinctively touched my left ring finger. It turned out Harding had taken the ring Camilla didn’t want and pretended to carefully select it for me.
I hurriedly pulled out a third, cream-colored card, trying to find evidence to refute this.
“Remember your anniversary trip in college? You found suspicious texts on Harding’s phone and cried in the bathroom for hours. He wasn’t chatting with a client then; he was in the hotel room right next to yours, celebrating his one-month anniversary with Camilla.”
The shame and pain of the past surged over me. That night, he comforted me as I cried, making me believe it was a misunderstanding.
With trembling hands, I pulled out the last card, a thick, dark green one.
“Camilla isn’t on a business trip. She is at the ‘Serenity Postpartum Retreat Center.’ She just gave birth to Harding’s child a week ago. They want to wait until your wedding is over to go public. Surprise.”
My world completely overturned. They even had a child behind my back!
I felt like I had fallen into an ice cave. I stared at the handwriting on the green card; it was Harding’s mother, Karen Frank. His entire family was involved in this scam.
Eight years of dedication and compromise were nothing but a carefully woven joke. I took off that piece of trash that belonged to Camilla and threw it hard onto the table. The diamond hit a wine glass with a sharp clink.
The surrounding conversations stopped. Everyone looked over in shock. Harding looked up, a smile still hanging on his face.
I walked toward him. “Harding, what is Camilla Gillespie to you?”
His smile instantly vanished. He glanced at his mother, then at me. “Isla, what are you talking about?”
I held up the green card. “I’m talking about your child, Harding. The one born just last week.”
The air froze. Harding’s face turned deathly pale, and Karen gasped. The relatives who were just laughing a moment ago now mostly stood with their mouths hanging open, and some even wore knowing smirks.
I immediately shouted, “I announce that this wedding is canceled!”
Harding walked over to the table, picked up the ring, and spoke in a low voice, “Isla, don’t be so dramatic. We can postpone the wedding and solve this problem. Don’t make a scene here.”
“Solve what?” I sneered. “Solve you cheating with my best friend for four years, or your whole family helping you hide the truth?”
He finally looked at me. There was no remorse in his eyes, only shrewd calculation. “It’s complicated. Camilla is very fragile right now; she needs my support.”
“She’s fragile?” I raised my voice. “What about me? What about my eight years, my dignity!”
“You’re strong, Isla. But Camilla has been through a lot, having a baby, keeping secrets…” He defended her casually.
My hand swung out before my brain could process it. With a loud, crisp slap, Harding’s face was violently thrown to the side, a red mark surfacing.
He didn’t fight back, but his eyes turned dark. “You think getting physical changes anything? Camilla is pregnant with my child. And you… are just you.”
My rage was instantly replaced by despair. In his eyes, I was just a convenient alternative.
“We are done.” I turned and walked away.
“Isla, please, we can talk about this!” he shouted from behind, his tone still carrying that self-righteous desire for control.
I ignored him. Walking past the flowers and tables I had spent months meticulously arranging, every detail now felt like a cruel joke.
As I reached the door, my phone vibrated. It was a text from Camilla:
“Isla, I’m so sorry! My business trip got suddenly extended. So sad I can’t attend your big day! I’ll contact you when I’m back!”
I stared at the screen and typed a reply:
“Enjoy your postpartum confinement. I hope the baby is healthy. Harding will be by your side to support you; he’s really good at that.”
Hitting send, I blocked Camilla, Harding, Karen—blocked all of them, completely.
From Brokenness to Bliss: My Peaceful Choice novel Chapter 2
Isla Simmons’s POV
My phone vibrated all night long. I didn’t answer any calls, just stared numbly at the ceiling. The first rays of dawn spilled in. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but right now, there was only coldness.
Urgent knocking came from the door. Then, the sound of a key turning in the lock.
Harding pushed the door open, leading a team of florists and makeup artists. He was wearing a brand-new white shirt, acting as if nothing had happened last night.
“Isla, what are you doing?” he asked impatiently. “The makeup artist will be here any second, you need to get ready.”
I slowly sat up from the bed. “Harding, I told you last night. The wedding is canceled.”
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Stop messing around! You can’t break the contract a few hours before the wedding. You have to think about the guests, the expenses, and our reputation!”
“Your reputation?” I scoffed. “Didn’t you lose your reputation when you cheated with my best friend for four years and had a baby with her?”
“That’s not fair! It’s complicated. Camilla is in poor health, and she just had a baby.” He raised his volume.
“So I should just pretend nothing happened, marry you, and fulfill this ridiculous fairy tale?”
“We will fix this! You’re just too emotional right now.” He took a step forward, stubbornly insisting.
Just then, the main door was pushed open violently. Camilla stood there panting, pale-faced, hair messy, wearing loose casual clothes. Her eyes were red and swollen, and a frantic desperation filled her gaze.
“Isla!” She rushed over, trying to grab my hand. “Please listen to me, it’s not what you think!”
I dodged her touch with disgust. “Then what is it? You slept with my fiancé and had his child. What else am I supposed to think?”
“No! It was a terrible mistake!” she cried and begged.
“A four-year mistake? Camilla, is that newborn baby at the ‘Serenity Postpartum Care Center’ a mistake too?”
She jerked her head up, shocked that I knew such specific details, while Harding stood to the side, looking guilty.
“How long have you been lying to me? Was there ever a single ounce of truth in our friendship?”
She couldn’t make a sound, only shaking her head through her tears.
At that moment, I caught sight of the gold bracelet on her wrist. It was exactly the same as the one Harding gave me for our fifth anniversary—he had sworn it was a one-of-a-kind design.
I suddenly remembered two years ago, when Harding lost the leather bracelet I gave him and replaced it with a new one. Right now, on his other hand, he was wearing the matching couple’s bracelet to Camilla’s.
It turned out he had already built a parallel reality for them long ago, and I was nothing but the smokescreen.
Camilla was sobbing and trembling all over. Harding immediately walked over and pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her hair. He didn’t dare look at me, but his eyes were full of heartache for her.
My gaze fell on the expensive limited-edition diaper bag on Camilla’s shoulder.
“Harding, how much money have you spent on this secret life?” My voice was freezing, almost broken. “Am I just the cheap spare tire you kept around for stability?”
“Enough, Isla!” Harding finally roared at me. “You’re going too far! Camilla is very fragile right now, and you’re agitating her!”
“I’m agitating her?” I laughed out of sheer anger. “You two betrayed me, and somehow I’ve become the villain?”
I stood up, forcing my trembling legs to walk toward the door. I had to leave this suffocating room.
Just as I reached the entryway, the door was pushed open again. Karen Frank stood there in an elegant suit. She glared at me sternly. “What is going on here? The wedding cars will be here any minute, why aren’t you dressed yet?”
“There won’t be any wedding cars, Karen. The wedding is canceled.”
Karen’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Did you just say you canceled the wedding? Do you have any idea how much of a scandal this will cause for Harding?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she finally noticed Camilla, who was sobbing and trembling, curled up in Harding’s arms, looking weak and in pain.
Karen’s anger vanished instantly. She walked right past me, her eyes full of concern for Camilla.
“Camilla, sweetheart! Why aren’t you resting at the retreat center?” Karen exclaimed, then turned to scold Harding. “Why is she so heartbroken? What did Isla do to her now?”
Watching this utterly absurd scene, my heart turned completely cold. Harding, Camilla, his mother—they were all accomplices.
From Brokenness to Bliss: My Peaceful Choice novel Chapter 3
Isla Simmons’s POV
Karen Frank didn’t even look me in the eye. She pushed right past me, grabbed Camilla’s hand, her face full of artificial concern.
“Sweetheart, why did you come running over here?” she chided hypocritically. “You just had a baby, you should be resting well. Harding, how could you let her run out?”
Camilla whimpered softly, burying her face into Harding’s shoulder, but she quickly stole a glance at me, her eyes full of provocation.
“Isla, what exactly did you do?” Karen spun around and interrogated me, her voice shrill. “What right do you have to upset her? She just gave birth!”
“Whose child?” I asked coldly. “Isn’t it your son’s? Isn’t it the child your whole family knew perfectly well about, yet kept treating me like a fool while I planned a wedding?”
Karen sneered with utter contempt. “Don’t play the saint. You’re nothing but a poor girl after money, latching onto my son. Camilla comes from a prominent family; she is the one truly worthy of Harding.”
“I latched onto him?” I raised my voice in disbelief. “When he had nothing, I worked two jobs to help pay the rent for his rundown apartment! And now you’re telling me I latched onto him?”
“You were never good enough for him.” Karen became even more vicious. “We only tolerated you back then because Harding found you somewhat novel. Camilla is the one who can give him a future, not some penniless girl from a single-parent home like you.”
Her insult toward my mother stabbed me deeply.
“He loves her, yet he wanted to marry me?” I retorted, suppressing my rage. “Loved her enough to let her secretly give birth outside while making me plan the wedding? That’s not love, that’s shameless!”
Before I could finish speaking, a loud smack rang out. Karen slapped me hard across the face. My cheek burned with pain.
“How dare you speak about my son that way!” she shrieked.
“Mom, don’t do that,” Harding finally spoke up, though his tone was weak and powerless.
“Mind your own business!” Karen snapped at him. “This is what happens when you let lower-class girls like this through the door—absolutely no breeding. Camilla is a true socialite; she would never cause a scene like this.”
Camilla was still sobbing. She pulled back slightly from Harding’s embrace, looking at Karen with teary eyes. “Karen, please don’t. It’s not Isla’s fault. I… I made a mistake too.” Her voice was so low it could barely be heard, performing her frailty perfectly.
Karen’s tone instantly softened. “Sweetheart, you’re just too kindhearted, that’s why you get bullied by this woman.”
Camilla turned to me again, reaching out a hand, her voice perfectly mimicking fragile remorse. “Isla, I am truly, from the bottom of my heart, sorry. I never thought it would turn out like this.”
I stared at this hand that had once promised me a lifelong friendship.
“Are you sorry for getting caught, or are you sorry for destroying my life?” I asked coldly.
She flinched. “I… I just wanted to be loved. Harding was too good to me.”
“Now you’ve gotten what you wanted—him, and his child. Are you satisfied?”
She shook her head, tears raining down. “No! I never wanted to hurt you!”
I could no longer bear to watch this nauseating performance. I turned and walked toward the door.
“Isla, wait!” Harding chased after me and grabbed my arm. “Don’t go. We need to fix this.”
“Fix what?” I violently shook off his hand. “Your mother just hit me, humiliated me, and you stood there like a piece of garbage. We are done.”
“She was just overly emotional!” he pleaded desperately. “She just wants what’s best for me.”
“And who cared about me?” I fired back sharply. “When have you ever stood up to protect me?”
He stared at the floor, speechless.
“I spent eight years giving you everything. I trusted you, supported you. And what I got in return was betrayal, and a family that looked down on me from the very beginning.”
I walked out the door without looking back, leaving Harding’s shouts, Karen’s roaring, and Camilla’s fake sobbing far behind me, completely walking out of those absurd eight years of my life.
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