Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When I arrived downstairs at the new house, it was pitch-black inside.

I immediately realized Alex had lied to me—he’d just been testing me, and he hadn’t actually gone home.

But there was still a tiny glimmer of hope in my heart. I wanted to believe he’d really gone home, that he hadn’t thrown away over a decade of our relationship.

But he quickly shattered that illusion.

He drove into the complex, opened the passenger door for Emily, and carried her into the building.

He’d brought another woman to defile the new house I’d spent so much time cleaning and tidying—a place where I’d once imagined our future together.

Strangely, my heart felt calm. I didn’t even have the urge to stop him and confront him.

After they went inside, I took out my phone and called Michael.

“They’re at Residential Quarter…”

Soon after, Michael arrived in his car, followed by another vehicle.

He glanced at me when he got out, then led the people with him upstairs.

I didn’t go up.

Before long, the lights in the apartments near our new house turned on one after another, and the sound of commotion drifted down.

I pulled my hat down, slipped inside while the crowd was distracted, and walked in just as Alex was trying to defend himself. He kept covering his face with his hands, desperate to avoid having his photo taken by the others’ phones.

“We’re just colleagues! She had too much to drink, so I let her stay for the night,” he said.

I laughed.

If only his clothes were a little neater, if the flush on his face had faded a little, if there were fewer hickeys on his neck—maybe the others would have believed him.

His family had wanted to save money, so they’d turned an old apartment into our new wedding house. Most of the neighbors were either relatives or colleagues.

They could all tell exactly what had happened.

“That girl looks unfamiliar—she’s not Zhang’s wife,” someone said.

Alex tried to back into the house, but Michael stopped him.

“She’s my wife. Didn’t she tell you we’re married?”

Alex froze and turned to look at Emily.

Emily hid inside the house, refusing to come out, but her voice sounded bold and unapologetic.

“We only had a wedding—we never got a marriage certificate, so we’re not a real couple! And I told you a long time ago that I don’t like you!”

Michael smiled faintly.

“Then tell your family to return the 800,000 yuan in cash and the two houses they received as betrothal gifts.”

Emily fell silent.

Michael continued, “You didn’t get a marriage certificate, but they did. You’re interfering in a married couple’s relationship—that’s illegal.”

Some people tried to step forward to hit the “home-wrecker,” but Alex instinctively stepped in to protect Emily. The crowd immediately turned on him instead.

Once I’d taken enough videos and photos, I turned around and left.

I’d just gotten downstairs when Michael came down too.

He walked over to me and said, “Compensation for marital infidelity is still valid even if you get divorced before the wedding.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

Of course I knew getting divorced before the wedding would save me from more embarrassment—but that would be letting Alex off too easy.

The wedding had to go ahead as planned.

I didn’t tell Michael that, though. After all, we’d already achieved our common goal, and I would handle my own objectives myself.

The next day, I saw the bruises on Alex’s body. He told me he’d fallen down after drinking too much, and I pretended to believe him.

I even went to check out the new house. It was still a mess—no one had cleaned it up.

I went around asking a few people, but no one mentioned Alex’s infidelity. In fact, they even avoided me on purpose.

I sighed.

What a family…

I took some time to organize all the valid evidence I had, then went to a law firm to consult a lawyer.

After that, I threw myself into preparing for the wedding.

Alex, however, became busier and busier. He lost weight day by day, and his mental state got worse and worse.

But the better his mood got worse, the better mine became.

“Today’s the day we’re picking up the wedding dress! Why aren’t you here yet?” I said into the phone.

I’d specifically reminded him a few days earlier, but he still hadn’t shown up. When I called, Emily answered instead.

“Brother Zhang, it’s Sister Liu,” she said.

Then I heard the sound of hurried footsteps, and Alex’s voice came on the line.

“I was just in the bathroom. What’s up?”

By now, I’d mastered the art of hiding my emotions. I spoke to him gently.

“Honey, today’s the day we’re picking up the wedding dress—why haven’t you arrived yet? Was that Sister Li who answered the phone just now? I heard she’s single. I happen to need a bridesmaid—could you ask her to help?”

He ignored my first question and tried to refuse on Emily’s behalf, but Emily cut in before he could.

“Sure!”

Then she came with Alex to the bridal shop to try on the wedding dress.

While we were trying on dresses, Emily stayed right by my side, helping me adjust my dress. She even joked, “Sister Liu, I have a feeling we’re going to be great friends. Everything you like, I like too.”

She sounded so sincere, so I replied just as sincerely.

“I feel the same way! After I’m done trying this on, you should try it on too.”

I watched as she put on the wedding dress and stood next to Alex. I deliberately said, “Anyone who didn’t know better would think you two are the couple getting married!”

Alex’s face froze for a moment, but when he saw I looked normal, he quickly pretended nothing was wrong.

After a while, he made an excuse to leave, but Emily stayed behind to help me choose the wedding dress.

Later, she was with me for the wedding house decorations and the wedding rehearsal too—acting like we were the closest of friends.

During the rehearsal, I saw her and Alex backstage. She was wearing my engagement ring on her finger.

I said nothing—I just took out my phone and recorded it.

Over the next few days, I made sure they got to experience the “joy of getting married” as much as possible. Sometimes, I even pretended to be tired and asked Emily to stand in for me as the bride.

She was more than happy to do it.

During the rehearsal for the groom putting the wedding ring on the bride, she looked at Alex with a shy, affectionate expression in her eyes.

Alex, however, avoided her gaze, glancing around to check if I was watching. Once he was sure I wasn’t looking, the two of them stared at each other lovingly.

I couldn’t help but sneer.

Enjoy your last moments of peace. Your real suffering is still ahead.

Soon, the wedding day arrived.

Emily stayed with me, getting up in the early hours of the morning to help me with my makeup, change my clothes, and take photos while we waited for the groom to arrive and pick me up.

Afraid Emily wouldn’t put on a good enough show later, I even asked the makeup artist to do a nice makeup look for her and the other three bridesmaids.

During this time, many people came to congratulate me. Thinking about the wedding ceremony that was about to take place, I felt a mix of excitement and joy.

The wedding ceremony was scheduled for noon. When I arrived, the hall was already packed with guests.

His parents had invited almost everyone they knew—including his colleagues and superiors—just to collect more wedding gifts.

Our wedding photos were playing on a loop on the big screen.

I was supposed to go change into my wedding dress, but I made an excuse to go to the bathroom and changed into casual clothes instead.

I pulled out the USB drive I’d prepared in advance and plugged it into the big screen.

Soon, when the staff backstage opened the file labeled “Wedding Photos 2,” photos and videos of Alex and Emily in hotels appeared on the big screen.

The hall fell completely silent. Even the host, who was walking onto the stage, froze in his tracks.

Some parents covered their children’s eyes and left. Alex’s superiors left with dark expressions on their faces.

But many people stayed, eager to watch the drama unfold.

Alex’s parents went crazy, yanking the power cord of the big screen out of the socket—but the sound of Alex and Emily’s moans still came through the speakers.

The cameraman didn’t need me to tell him what to do—he pointed the camera straight at Emily. Alex tried to cover both his own face and Emily’s.

His father managed to cut off the power to the entire hall, and his mother fainted on the spot.

But Alex didn’t even bother to check on her. He was surrounded by people bombarding him with questions.

Luckily, I’d warned my parents in advance not to come. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a big stunt.

Soon, the sound of an ambulance siren could be heard outside—it must have been coming for Alex’s mother.

On the day we got divorced, Alex was a completely different person. The “gentleman” he’d pretended to be was gone, and he’d turned into a total beast.

As soon as he saw me, he ran over, dropped to his knees, and started slapping himself in the face.

“Honey, it was her! She seduced me! You know how much I hated her back then!”

I stepped back two paces, not wanting him to touch me—he was dirty.

He tried to come closer, but when he saw the security guards walking over, he stood up.

“Honey, just give me one more chance! I’ve already broken up with her! I’ll treat you well from now on, I promise!”

“If I file for divorce in court, you’ll have to pay even more compensation,” I said.

As soon as I said that, he fell silent and went through with the divorce proceedings.

Emily had been the “wife” of a wealthy heir—she’d even had a wedding—and her family had received a large amount of betrothal gifts from Michael.

By the time they were asked to return the money, it had already been used to pay off debts. And her parents refused to give back the houses.

Emily even tried to play the victim online, claiming Michael had forced her into the relationship.

But Michael wasn’t someone to be messed with—and he had all the evidence on his side.

He directly posted the evidence and the videos of her cheating online. The people who’d been deceived by her immediately turned their anger on her.

She was bullied so badly online that she developed depression. I heard she’d even been admitted to a mental hospital.

Before we got divorced, Alex had been living in the house I owned. After the divorce, I told him to move out immediately. He tried to refuse, and even tried to hug me when I wasn’t looking.

I broke free right away and called the police—no way was I going to indulge his nonsense.

After that, every time he came looking for me, I called the police without hesitation.

I couldn’t stand the thought of living in that house anymore—it made me sick—so I sold it and bought a nicer one.

His parents came to my parents’ house several times, begging my parents to ask me to remarry Alex, citing their years of friendship as neighbors.

But my parents weren’t stupid. They met with Alex’s parents twice out of respect for their old neighborly ties, but after that, they refused to see them again.

One day not long after, I ran into Michael again. I later found out he’d been the one who’d given me a lot of the information I’d used.

I smiled at him.

He nodded back at me.