My Fiance Has Been Married For Six Years Behind My Back Chapter 01

My Fiance Has Been Married For Six Years Behind My Back Chapter 01

Before the wedding, Cassian Virell bought two gowns-one for eight hundred dollars, the other a

seventy-five-thousand-dollar couture piece.

I smiled, sweet and unsuspecting. “Keep the cheaper one. That’s enough for me.”

He nodded without hesitation.

“That one is yours. The couture gown is for your best friend-Delphine.”

“She’s a little high-maintenance. If she doesn’t outshine you at the ceremony, she’ll throw a fit.”

The words hit like a lightning strike. I froze where I stood.

Cassian reached out and smoothed my hair, his touch gentle, his smile anything but.

“There’s something I should tell you. Delphine and I have been legally married for six years. Three years ago,

during a reckless party dare, she lost you to me.”

“I fell for you afterward. But she’s three months pregnant now. So-we’ll just hold the wedding together.”

My fingers moved stiffly as I pulled out my phone.

The messages from this morning felt like they were laughing at me.

[Babe, I’m three months pregnant! Wedding’s coming up soon!]

[That’s amazing, Delphine! I’ll be your bridesmaid!]

A bridesmaid.

I had already been written out of my own wedding.

***

My limbs went cold. It took a long time before I found my voice.

“Why?”

Three years. A lie built on a game.

Cassian frowned, genuinely confused.

“Who in our circle cares about things like that? In public, you’ll still be one of Mrs. Virell.”

I tore myself out of his arms.

“How can you say that so calmly? You cheated.”

He pulled me back, refusing to let go.

“I just knew her a few years longer. But you’re the one I love. Does that really count as cheating?”

My stomach churned.

“Then choose,” I said, my voice flat. “Divorce her-or we’re done.”

For a moment, he said nothing. Then his grip loosened.

His voice dropped, cold as winter water.

“She’s carrying my child. I’m not letting her walk away with it.”

Three months.

Of course.

That explained the late nights. The constant “overtime.”

The faint, familiar scent that clung to him when he came to me after midnight.

I had never once thought of Delphine.

Even when I found a child’s toy in his car out of nowhere, I’d only laughed and asked-

“Hey… should we have a baby?”

He’d told me children would get in the way of us.

Now I knew why.

Someone else was already doing that for him.

The bitterness rose sharp in my throat.

Seeing my eyes redden, Cassian softened. He wiped away my tears with practiced tenderness, his voice low

and coaxing.

“Come on. I’ll just get you a better dress.”

The same gesture.

Six months ago, when he’d dropped to one knee and I’d cried from happiness, he’d wiped my tears just like

this.

Back then, it had meant everything.

Now it meant nothing.

My phone rang, slicing through the tension.

When he picked up, I caught a glimpse of the screen.

Honey.

That was when it finally sank in.

He’d set a custom ringtone. A special name. Just for her.

Cassian glanced at me, then turned away to answer.

I found myself holding my breath, instinctively shrinking-like I was the intruder in someone else’s marriage.

I opened my messaging app.

At the top of the screen, two names sat side by side.

Delphine.

Cassian.

I stared at them, feeling like a joke wedged between two people who had never left each other.

Her latest post was still fresh.

[My mother-in-law gave me her family heirloom bracelet. Going to my prenatal checkup with my husband

and his parents tomorrow.]

The photo showed them sitting together, smiling-her glowing, him relaxed-flanked by two older figures who

looked entirely at ease.

Posted yesterday.

So that was why he’d canceled the symphony tickets this morning.

The ones he’d promised me weeks ago.

He hadn’t forgotten.

He just chose her.

The tears slipped past my lips, leaving a bitter taste.

Cassian finished the call and slipped an arm around me again, as if nothing had happened.

“Nerissa, tonight I might-”

I pushed him away.

Without another word, I walked out.

Cold air rushed through the hallway, carrying his voice after me.

“Think this through, Nerissa.”

I didn’t hesitate.

The door slammed shut.

And as the elevator dropped, it felt like my heart was falling with it.