Chapter 3

There was Jenny, draped in a couture gown that probably cost more than most people's houses, gazing at Edward like he had hung the moon. He was grinning right back at her, looking like a man without a single regret.

Just as they were about to exchange rings to the delicate strains of a piano, Tyson charged down the aisle and brought the whole thing to a screeching halt.

Edward froze when he saw his father. Then his eyes swept the crowd and locked onto me.

In three strides, he was in my face, his hand fisting the collar of my shirt.

"Clever play!" he hissed through gritted teeth. "You actually ran to my parents to sabotage my wedding? Do you have any idea how much time and money I put into this?

"I've been way too easy on you all these years. That's why you think you can pull something like this."

I met his blazing eyes with a cold smirk. I was about to respond when Jenny rushed over and dropped to her knees in front of me with a theatrical thud, clutching at my pant leg. Her eyes did the pleading for her, shimmering with unshed tears that caught the light.

"Olivia, I never meant to come between you and Edward. I was already planning to file for divorce right after the ceremony. Then I'll resign and disappear from your lives completely...

"But..."

She looked up, her eyes puffy from weeping, while her voice trembled with carefully calibrated distress. "But Olivia, I'm pregnant with his baby. Please... I'm begging you..."

Even though I had always suspected there was more going on between Edward and Jenny, hearing her say it out loud still felt like a knife twisting between my ribs.

I had barely been gone, and they already had a baby on the way.

In the face of his betrayal, every night I spent working myself to the bone for his career and every painful hormone injection I endured for a future family felt like nothing more than a cruel joke.

I stood frozen, my heart racing even as my hands and feet turned numb, leaving me utterly paralyzed as to how I should react.

Every eye in the church was fixed on me, feeding off my humiliation as if I were a performer in a play they had all seen before. It was clear that I was the punchline of their shared joke.

Through the ringing in my ears, the whispers of the guests cut deep, branding me with the label of a fool who was too blind to see the truth.

When I didn't respond but stood there staring at Jenny, Edward must have thought I was about to lunge at her.

He stepped in front of her, pulled her to her feet, and shielded her behind his body, cutting off my line of sight. Then he turned on me, his face twisting with contempt.

"God, Olivia, could you be any more small-minded? Jenny has been with us for years. She's never asked for anything. And this time, I'm the one who owes her.

"You keep saying you love me, but you can't accept Jenny for my sake? You'd rather destroy her dream wedding? You're so cruel."

With that, he shoved me away.

I wasn't braced for it. My body pitched sideways, and I would've hit the ground if Jane hadn't grabbed me just in time.

I steadied myself against a pew and looked up just in time to see Jane slap Edward hard.

The slap echoed through the church like a gunshot. Every whisper stopped.

Ignoring the buzz of the media livestreaming nearby, Jane focused her fury entirely on Edward. She jabbed her finger at him, her eyes burning with cold resolve.

"Edward Harrington, you listen to me. Everyone in this room can see what Olivia has done for you and this family. We recognize only one woman as your wife, and that is Olivia. The only grandchild we care about is the one she's carrying.

"And if you dare bring that Jenny Carter into our home, don't be surprised when your father and I stop calling you our son."

Edward never expected his own parents to side with me. His brow furrowed in a mixture of shock and betrayal as he growled, "Mom. You're hitting your own son? For her?

"What did I even do? All I did was give you another grandkid. How is that a bad thing for this family?"

Rubbing the stinging flesh of his face, he snorted.

"You're being played! Yesterday, she looked me in the eye and confessed that I'm not the father of that child.

"You know what? Fine. You want to believe her over me? Then don't bother calling me your son anymore!"

He grabbed Jenny's hand and walked out without looking back.

Jane was trembling head to toe, muttering, "Is he truly threatening to sever our bond? Is he actually choosing that woman over us?"

Tyson said nothing. He just let out a heavy sigh. It was clear that the last shred of hope he held for his son had finally withered away.

The church dissolved into chaos around us. Then, without warning, Jane's eyes rolled back, and she crumpled to the floor.

I caught her before she hit the ground and screamed for someone to call an ambulance. We rushed her to their private hospital.

Edward was a jerk. But his parents had always been good to me. Jane fainted fighting my battle, so I couldn't just walk away.

I attended to her every need during her entire hospital stay, performing this final duty with grace before walking away from the family for the last time.

Tyson looked at me with gratitude that was almost painful, commenting, "You're a good kid, Olivia. That son of mine doesn't deserve you.

"When he shows up, I'll make him apologize. And he will cut things off with that woman. I'll see to it personally."

I had already given up on Edward. So I just smiled and said nothing.

Tyson noticed. He sighed.