Brief love, Forever Pain

The day before I was supposed to tie the knot, I got a notification on my phone about my boyfriend booking a hotel room.

Instead of flying off the handle, I kept my cool and waited for him to come home and spill the beans.

But before I knew it, his old flame posted a lovey-dovey pic of them on social media with a caption that made my stomach churn.

“Not giving us a shot was my biggest regret. If I get another chance, I want to tell you I'm all in.“

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Caught red-handed,Lucian Louis didn't even try to explain himself.

He just sent a text saying,

We've got an early start tomorrow, so hit the hay early tonight.

Reading that message felt like a punch to the gut.

What did I mean to him

Was I just his Plan B

My eyes started to well up as I looked at our decked-out wedding room, feeling like the universe was playing a cruel joke on me.

I took a deep breath, swallowed my pride, and texted back.

The wedding's off. We're through.

Lucian ghosted me after that.

I couldn't care less if he saw it, and I had no desire to waste my breath on him.

He made my skin crawl.

Fighting back tears, I peeled off the wedding dress I'd picked out with so much care.

Lucian, pushing 30, was a hotshot associate professor at a university.

Everyone thinks he was the cream of the crop.

People kept telling me I was punching above my weight and that I should be a good little wifey and cut him some slack.

I'd been bending over backwards trying to be the perfect wife-to-be, remembering all the nice things Lucian had done for me.

But cheating was a slippery slope, and I wasn't about to sign up for a lifetime of drama.

I wanted a picture-perfect marriage, not a hot mess.

Cheating was my deal-breaker.

I'd only told my bestie and my mom about the wedding,

So when I decided to call it quits, I gave them a heads up.

My mom was floored and kept pushing me to sleep on it.

But when I filled her in on Lucian's two-timing, she clammed up.

After a while, she said, Okay, honey. If you've thought it through, I've got your back.

After taking care of business, I packed my bags and checked into a hotel.

I couldn't care less about what would go down the next day.

I holed up in the hotel for a couple of days.

Just when I thought the coast was clear and I could head home, Lucian showed up out of the blue at my hotel room.

His handsome face was marked with deep fatigue, his ink-black eyes staring straight at me.

Have you calmed down

His voice was low and hoarse.

I snapped back to reality, looking at him coldly, What does this have to do with you

Wendy, stop making a fuss. I'm very tired lately.

He said, lowering his voice as if conceding, the weariness evident in his eyes.

I let out a cold laugh. How could he not be tired, juggling between two women

What does your tiredness have to do with me

I responded coldly.

Even looking at him for one more second made me feel dirty.

I was about to leave after saying this, but he grabbed my wrist.

The moment his warm palm touched my wrist,

I jerked away like a startled bird, glaring at him angrily, Don't touch me!

Lucian's body trembled slightly, looking at me in surprise.

He opened his mouth as if to say something.

I don't want to hear your excuses. We've already broken up, please show some respect!

Wendy, his tone became heavier, with a hint of displeasure.

I couldn't find you on our wedding day, you didn't answer calls or messages. I've been exhausted dealing with this situation. Can't we talk things through properly Why do we have to make it this difficult

Talk about what About what you did after booking a hotel with someone else I'm sorry, I'm not interested. You can do whatever you want, it has nothing to do with me, I said.

Lucian's black eyes were like ink, his face so dark it could drip water. His voice was cold, People with dirty minds think everything is dirty.