###9
"What's wrong, Nate?"
Cassie wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing herself against his broad back.
"Nothing. Just don't come to the wedding today. I don’t want Ruth to be upset."
A shadow of gloom crossed Cassie's face.
"Is it so wrong that I just want to watch from a distance, without disturbing you and Ruth?"
"Today you're marrying someone else, and my heart feels like it's being torn apart. If you don’t believe me, touch it."
But this time, Nate pulled his hand away from her.
No matter how Cassie pretended to be pitiful or acted like a spoiled child, Nate forced her to stay behind in the hotel.
From the other side of the door, there was the sound of Cassie crying on the carpet, throwing things in frustration.
"Poor Miss Cassie," Hyena remarked with mock sympathy.
Nate straightened his suit and walked toward the elevator, but he muttered to himself, "Maybe I spoiled her too much."
Her little tantrums weren’t as charming anymore—not like Ruth, who never acted this way.
He hadn’t seen Ruth in days, and suddenly he missed her more than he expected.
He was determined. He wanted a child with her—this time, he'd make sure everything went smoothly. Ruth would be happy.
Dressed sharply in a groom’s suit, his face wearing an expectant smile, Nate waited from morning until noon. But Ruth never showed up.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that my phone was unreachable.
"Ruth, where are you? The wedding is about to start!"
As his impatience grew, the giant screen at the wedding venue suddenly began playing something.
The guests stared in shock, murmuring amongst themselves.
"What’s this? A video of Nate and Ruth?"
"No, that’s not Ruth! Oh my God, he’s cheating on his bride?!"
Yes, the videos that played were of Nate and Cassie in compromising positions—each scene more shocking than the last.
The crowd turned to look at the groom, their eyes filled with contempt. He stood frozen, staring at the footage of himself and Cassie, clearly in shock.
As the buzz of conversation grew louder, Nate finally snapped back to reality.
"Who did this?!" he shouted. "Get them out of here!"
A courier appeared, rushing toward him with a letter.
Nate took it in a hurry, his fingers trembling as he unfolded the paper. The bold words "Breakup Agreement" nearly made him faint.
"I told you I’d prepare a wedding gift for you. Do you like it, Nate? I hope you and Cassie have a wonderful wedding."
The note at the bottom of the page hit him like a blow to the chest. His heart ached as if it were breaking in two.
"No… no! Ruth, it’s not like that! These videos are fake, I can explain!"
He spun around, desperate, and in his panic, bumped into a table. The thousand-layer champagne tower on it collapsed, shattering into pieces.
He staggered and fell, his hand landed on the broken glass. Blood pooled on the ground.
"Boss, are you okay?!"
"Get away!" He roared, pushing his men aside, fear flashing in his eyes.
"No, no! Where are you? Please, don’t do this to me, Ruth! I can’t live without you!"
Suddenly, he heard his own voice echoing in his memory.
"Perform the cesarean section now and take the fetus out!"
"The child can be saved, but Cassie’s body is fragile—how can I let her suffer?"
"I’ll do anything to make it right with Ruth… just keep quiet!"
He fell to his knees with a crash, dizzy and broken. Ruth knew everything. Everything.
The guests stared at him in disgust, muttering angrily.
"Oh my God, he killed his own child for his mistress? What a monster!"
"That was the child Ruth worked so hard to conceive! And he killed them both!"
Yes, he had killed the child—the child that could’ve been a symbol of his future with Ruth. His treachery had cost him everything.
Realizing the weight of his actions, he clutched his collar, his chest heaving with grief. He was in so much pain, he couldn’t even cry.
At that moment, his phone rang.
Ruth?
His heart skipped a beat. He eagerly pulled the phone from his waist, but the screen displayed an email from someone else.
"I’ll be holding a wedding next month. Please be sure to attend. Your old friend, Bert."
Nate stared at the screen, his heart sinking as the weight of his reality came crashing down on him.
