Chapter 2

I told him everything I'd seen online.

Nathan frowned, the crease between his brows deepening.

"Jo, I don't know where those photos came from," he said, his voice low and steady. "But I swear, there's no one else. You're the only woman I've ever been with."

He sounded so sincere that part of me wanted to believe him.

But there were too many coincidences, too many things that didn't add up. And suddenly, the man who said he loved me felt like a stranger.

Just to be sure, I took a breath and met his eyes. "We're canceling the wedding."

Nathan froze. "Cancel it?"

His tone turned sharp, irritation flickering behind his eyes. "Joanna, we've been together for three years. I've given you everything you've ever wanted. Can't you feel my love? You can't seriously think I'd cheat—just because of some photos posted by a random girl? We are getting married tomorrow."

He called me Joanna. He only did that when he was angry.

I bit my lip and didn't know what to say.

He wasn't wrong.

For three years, he'd treated me well.

The only thing that had ever gone too far was that night three months ago when we'd both had too much to drink and hadn't used protection.

I was pregnant. That was why we'd rushed into the wedding.

I did love him. I still did. But this time, logic won over love.

I said firmly, "It's not about that, Nathan.

"I just can't go through with it when there's still doubt. If those posts are real, I'll be the one everyone calls a homewrecker. And I won't let our child carry that label for the rest of their life.

"The wedding has to be canceled. I need to do this for myself, and for the baby."

Nathan took a long breath, his jaw tightening.

Then he stood up, pulled something from his pocket, and handed it to me—a small bar of chocolate.

"Alright," he said quietly. "If that's what you want, I'll handle it. You just focus on resting and taking care of yourself."

I took the chocolate from him, my heart softening despite everything. "Thank you."

As he walked away, the evening light hit his back, casting him in gold.

I prayed silently, over and over—hoping those posts were fake, that someone had made them up out of spite.

Because if they weren't, I wasn't sure I could handle what came next.

*****

The next day, word spread fast. People were confused, curious, even nosy.

My messages were flooded—99+ unread notifications.

I didn't answer any of them. All I could think about was the girl who still hadn't replied.

Six hours had passed, and her silence was deafening.

A sudden noise came from outside the door.

Nathan's parents stormed in, faces tight with anger.

"Joanna, you're canceling the wedding because of some random post online?" his mother, Laura, snapped. "Do you have any idea how much this wedding cost? If you weren't pregnant, do you really think I'd ever let you into this family?"

She let out a bitter laugh. "Now look what you've done. You've turned us into a joke!"

Laura's words cut like glass.

Honestly, she'd never liked me—not since the first time we met. If Nathan hadn't fought tooth and nail for me, arguing with her until he nearly lost his voice, we never would've made it this far.

She despised me, and I knew it.

Before, I probably would've swallowed my pride and kept quiet.

But tonight, my mind was spinning, and my heart felt completely hollow.

So I snapped back before I could stop myself. "What if he really did cheat?"

Laura froze. "What did you just say?"

The message I'd sent to the girl online still hadn't been answered.

That was when my mom came rushing out of the kitchen, holding a plate of pasta.

She slammed it down on the table with a loud clack.

She'd never been one to watch me suffer in silence.

She'd already swallowed her anger to make this wedding happen, and now she'd clearly reached her limit.

She turned on Laura, her voice sharp. "What if your son really did cheat? What if he's been dating another woman for eight years, and my daughter was the other woman without even knowing it? What then?"

Her voice rose, trembling with fury. "Put yourself in my shoes, Laura. Why should my daughter have to live with that kind of humiliation?"

Laura was stunned into silence.

Then, irritated, she grabbed my phone off the table and slammed it back down.

"That's impossible!" she said firmly. "Joanna, you're about to be part of this family. I can't promise everything, but I can promise you this—Nathan has never been with anyone else. I swear on my life."

She straightened, desperate to sound convincing. "He's been keeping journals since high school. I know exactly who he's dated. Other than you, there's been no one. Not since that girl, Anna Lynn, the one who—"

Laura stopped suddenly.

I looked up, catching a flash of guilt in her eyes.

Before I could ask, my phone lit up on the table.

I grabbed it immediately. A new message had come in—from her.

She replied: [So you're the bitch who got pregnant and stole my boyfriend? Congrats. Nice wedding, by the way. Looks fancy.]

Attached was a photo from that morning—me in my white rehearsal dress, smiling up at Nathan on the stage.

My stomach dropped.