Chapter 1

After every time we had sex, Wayne would caress the necklace around his neck.

I never understood why.

Until his first love, Mabel, burst into our engagement ceremony.

She said, "Wayne, if you dare to wear the necklace I gave you and marry this woman, I'll dare to bring five men home.

"Anyway, without you, there's no point in me preserving my chastity."

As she spoke, Mabel began tearing at her clothes.

Wayne, who had been silent all along, finally couldn't hold back and, with reddened eyes, rushed to her side.

He said, "Mabel, what exactly do you want me to do?"

*****

"I want you to call off the ceremony!" Mabel shouted.

The cheerful vibe in the room died instantly. My friends stared at Mabel in shock, then glanced at me with pity in their eyes.

I stood there stiffly, forcing a polite smile onto my face.

"Wayne, will you put the ring on me?" I said softly.

I looked at Wayne, my eyes pleading with him, though I tried to hide it.

But Wayne completely ignored me. His eyes were red as he stared at Mabel, veins standing out on his neck.

Mabel stared back at him, her face a mess of pain and stubbornness, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She looked at Wayne, her voice trembling with sorrow. "Wayne, you still love me, right?"

Then she turned to me, a flash of triumph in her eyes.

"She's just my replacement. Do you really want to marry her?" Mabel asked.

Wayne stayed silent, his eyes flickering with emotion. Finally, he took a step back and growled, his voice full of fury.

He said, "Get lost! I'm never coming back to you."

As if he needed to convince himself, he said it again, voice trembling. "Never!"

Mabel was stunned for a second, then snorted, letting out a harsh, bitter laugh.

She grabbed the man beside her and started tearing at both their clothes like a madwoman.

"Fine! If you don't want me, then I don't care about myself anymore!" Mabel yelled.

"Is this what you want, Wayne?" she added.

Her clothes were in tatters, skin flashing everywhere in the bright lights.

Everyone was so stunned, they couldn't even look away. No one ever thought Mabel would lose it like this.

I stood next to Wayne, his jaw clenched so tight I could hear his teeth grinding.

He jammed the ring onto my finger, so rough that it scraped my fingertip raw.

Then he strode over to Mabel, shrugged off his jacket, and draped it over her shoulders. His voice cracked with pain and defeat.

He said, "Mabel, what am I supposed to do with you?"

"Wayne, I knew you still loved me," Mabel said.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing through her tears, then shot me a defiant, triumphant grin.

"Wayne!" I shouted, my voice shaking with anger and hurt.

"You're my fiancé now!" I continued.

Holding back tears, I screamed after his back.

"Isabel, I can't just let Mabel spiral out of control," Wayne said, his voice tense.

"Don't worry, I'm definitely going to marry you," he promised.

With that, he walked away, leaving me standing there. He didn't care at all how humiliated I felt.

My heart felt like it was being pounded into a bloody pulp, the pain so sharp I could barely breathe.

My friends made themselves scarce, leaving me stranded in the wreckage. Scenes from the past played over and over in my head.

Back then, Wayne was the one who pursued me. I was quickly won over and fell head over heels in love with him.

But soon after, one of his buddies told me that Wayne used to have an ex-girlfriend, Mabel, someone he had been absolutely obsessed with back then.

But Mabel dumped Wayne to chase her own ambitions.

So Wayne ended up choosing me as her stand-in.

When I learned the truth, I confronted Wayne through my tears, demanding if it was real.

He swore to God I wasn't just a replacement, then took me straight to his friend and made him apologize to me.

But I could never shake that nagging feeling in my heart.

Then one night, on our way home, we got jumped by three muggers.

Wayne threw himself in front of them, shouting at me to run and call the police.

He ended up getting stabbed eight times and spent three days in the ICU.

That was when I finally believed he meant it when he said he loved me.

But I never expected that the love I thought was real would disappear without a trace the moment Mabel came back.

I really was nothing but a ridiculous stand-in.