Chapter 2

David, wasn't marrying your first love exactly what you wanted? Weren't you planning a wedding that would have the whole city talking?

I would love to see how you give her that lavish fairytale wedding without my money. We'd see how you kept up your precious reputation now.

*****

After leaving the bank, I went back to our old home to pack my things.

The villa was spacious and carefully decorated, but everywhere I looked, it felt cold and lifeless. I had chosen every detail myself, from the furniture down to the smallest decorations. But soon, another woman would be living here.

I didn't linger. After gathering my belongings, I left the place that had trapped me for five years without looking back.

From now on, David and I had nothing to do with each other anymore. We were done for good.

As for his grand wedding, I was ready for drama.

*****

A month flew by in the blink of an eye.

During that month, I cut off all ties with David. I blocked him on every messaging app and his phone number, moved back into the Lynch Manor, spent time with my parents, and focused on my own business.

The Lynch family was in high-end building materials, and we were loaded. I graduated from a top school and had my own design studio.

For David, I'd given up my career to play the perfect housewife, but now that I was back at work, I slipped right back into my element.

Without the headache of a bad marriage and someone who wasn't worth my time, my life felt so much lighter and more vibrant.

After Emily came back, she started flaunting everything on social media, basking in David's affection. She posted luxury bags, sparkling jewelry, loving getaways, and her flashy engagement ring. Clearly, she wanted to make sure everyone saw how happy they were.

To satisfy Emily's vanity, David went all in and planned a wedding hyped as the most extravagant event in town.

David booked out the city's most exclusive hotel, reserved the entire ballroom, and sent out invites to over a thousand guests. Every detail, from the lavish décor and designer dress to the wedding planners and gourmet menu, was pure luxury.

News of the wedding spread like wildfire, and the whole city was buzzing.

Everyone in our social circle was gossiping, saying David was the ultimate lover. He divorced me to be with his first love and dropped a fortune on this wedding. To them, it was true love, no question about it.

Some people even talked behind my back, saying I couldn't keep my husband and got replaced by his first love. They called me a failure.

I ignored all the rumors. They could talk all they wanted. I only had to sit back and wait for the big moment at that over-the-top wedding.

*****

On the wedding day, I had my assistant keep an eye on what was going on at the venue.

She sent me updates: the place looked like a fairytale castle, flowers flown in from abroad.

Emily wore a couture wedding dress like a real princess, and David was sharp in his custom suit. Standing together, they looked like the perfect couple, and everyone was in awe.

The place was packed with guests. Glasses clinked. Music floated through the air. Everything looked so perfect that it was almost unreal.

I sat on the couch in my studio, sipping coffee and scrolling through the photos my assistant sent. A cold smirk tugged at my lips.

No matter how flawless things looked on the outside, it couldn't cover up the hollowness underneath. David, you wouldn't be smiling for much longer.

At eight o'clock, the wedding ceremony wrapped up, and the toasts began. But the real show was about to start: the moment when the bill came due.

I grabbed my phone and clicked into a local livestream. Some blogger was covering the grand wedding, and the camera panned across the lively ballroom before zooming in on the hotel's checkout counter.

David walked up hand in hand with Emily, looking full of himself with a smug grin stretched across his face.

He pulled out a sleek black credit card from his wallet and handed it to the staff with a showy gesture, his voice full of arrogance. "Checkout."

All the guests stopped chatting and turned to watch, their eyes full of envy. Everyone knew that a black card was the ultimate status symbol. Seeing David flash it was all the proof anyone needed of his wealth and power.

Emily pressed against David, her face glowing with pride and happiness. She threw everyone a look that screamed she had won, as if to say, "See? David loves me the most. He gave me a wedding you can only dream about."

The staff took the card and swiped it through the machine a few times. With each attempt, she looked more and more uneasy.

She tried again and again, but the screen kept showing the same message: [Transaction failed. Card reported lost.]

The staff was sweating bullets, glancing nervously at David as she spoke in a hushed tone. "Sorry, sir, but this card has been cancelled. It's no longer valid."

Her words stopped everyone cold. The once bustling ballroom went dead silent. Every eye in the place was glued to David.

David's smile froze on his face, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What are you talking about?" David's voice shot up, panic creeping in. "That's impossible. I use this card all the time. How could it be cancelled? Did you mess something up? Try again!"

The staff hurried to run the card several more times, but the outcome never changed.

"I'm really sorry, sir, but the system shows this card was cancelled by the main account holder. The account's frozen. You can't use it for any transactions," she explained.

David's face turned pale as a sheet. He frantically pulled out his wallet, grabbed every card inside, and shoved them at the staff. "Try these."

The staff tried every single card, but the result was always the same. Blocked, frozen, completely dead. Not one worked.

An awkward silence fell over the room. The guests' eyes shifted from envy to shock, then to smirks and amusement. Some started whispering and snickering under their breath.

"No way, all of David's cards are dead?"

"What's going on? Can't pay for this fancy wedding?"

"Maybe it's all just for show. He looks rich, but he's probably been broke for ages."

"He was flaunting it earlier. This is embarrassing."

The whispers weren't loud, but David and Emily could hear them clearly.

Emily's happiness and pride vanished. Her face turned pale as she clung to David's arm, panic and fear in her eyes.

The wedding she had been bragging about blew up in her face at the checkout. What an embarrassing mess. This wasn't some fancy wedding. It was a public slap in the face.

David stood there stiff, his face switching between red and pale. He was so humiliated that he wanted to disappear.

He couldn't understand how all his cards could suddenly be canceled.

Then it hit him that every single one was from Josie. His face went pale, and shock and anger flashed in his eyes. 'It is Josie. It has to be her.'