Chapter 1
“Ethan, will you go with me!”
The wedding venue fell silent in an instant. I froze where I was, in the middle of putting a ring on my girlfriend Mia.
My girlfriend’s first love, Lucas, stood up again and shouted at her.
“Mia, I’m crashing the wedding. Will you leave with me?”
Mia immediately pulled free from my hand and lifted her dress as she walked gracefully over to Lucas.
Tears filled Mia’s eyes as she stared at Lucas, looking thrilled and emotional.
It was as if Lucas was the one she was marrying today, while I, the real groom standing under the spotlight, looked like a clown in a suit.
Mia solemnly placed her hand in Lucas’s and said in a voice everyone could hear:
“Lucas, I will!”
The situation was crystal clear. I had just had my wedding stolen by Mia’s first love.
But I wasn’t angry. In fact, I even felt like it was only natural.
After all, this was already the third time I’d had my wedding stolen in the past month.
I put down the ring in my hand and gripped it tightly, the pain in my palm clearly pressing the shape of the ring into my skin.
Once again, nobody stopped them. Even Mia’s parents just sat on the stage, completely still.
And I just stood there quietly, watching the two of them put on their show.
I had been angry before. The first time the wedding was stolen, I flew into a rage and screamed at them both.
That was the woman who had promised to marry me. This was the wedding I had carefully prepared, and I could not let Lucas destroy it.
My eyes were red as I tried to rush up and pin Lucas to the ground.
But all the relatives stopped me. Lucas stepped back beside Mia and said,
“See? He turns into this the second something happens. He’s an angry guy. He might even hit you someday!”
“Good thing I helped you test him like this. Otherwise, who knows how much suffering you’d have to go through later?”
Everyone there immediately turned the blame on me, and I went from groom to sinner in an instant.
The relatives took turns brainwashing me, saying I had done something wrong and that this was just a test. Why was I getting so angry?
In the end, I handed out a few big red envelopes, and only then did Mia reluctantly agree to marry me again.
I had also begged before. The second time the wedding was stolen, I wasn’t angry. I didn’t fly into a rage.
I knelt on the ground and grabbed Mia’s wedding dress. I begged her not to leave me. I told her I loved her, and I said every single thing I loved about her.
Lucas pointed at me and cursed again. “Pah, and you still want to gaslight Mia? You’re a useless man. All you know how to do is cry and make a scene when something happens!”
“What else can you do besides being nice to Mia? If she ends up with you, she’s bound to suffer!”
In an instant, I was once again condemned by everyone.
Everyone there was Mia’s family and friends. I was an orphan. I had no relatives, no friends, no parents.
They surrounded me, insulting and blaming me nonstop, while Mia was still leaning into Lucas’s arms, smiling sweetly.
Neither anger nor begging worked. If everything I did was wrong, then I’d do nothing at all.
So I just stood there and watched the two of them.
That was when Lucas said loudly enough for everyone to hear:
“Look at Ethan. This man doesn’t love you at all!”
“Even now, after your wedding got stolen, he doesn’t care. How could you marry a man like this?”
“He already failed all three tests. I think he’s just not worth marrying!”
Anger didn’t work. Begging didn’t work. Acting like I didn’t care didn’t work either.
So what exactly did they want me to do?
After hearing Lucas’s words, Mia picked up the bouquet in her hands and threw it at me.
“Ethan! You bastard, what are you standing there for? I’m about to be taken away by someone else!”
“You’re not moving at all. You don’t love me at all!”
She glared at me with anger, as if she really was furious.
But I only took the flowers off myself and straightened my suit.
Then I walked slowly up to the emcee and took the microphone from his hand.
“Mia, go ahead and leave.”
“I’m not marrying you.”