I Did A Wedding Survey, And Exposed My Ten-Year-Long Love Betrayal Chapter 02

I Did A Wedding Survey, And Exposed My Ten-Year-Long Love Betrayal Chapter 02

Paige caught the shock in my eyes. She hesitated for half a second—then still went ahead and pulled up the projection onstage.

Photos flashed across the screen one after another.

The most glaring one was the marriage certificate.

Groom: Trevor Hayes.

Bride: Lila Bennett.

Two names side by side, pressed so tight there was no room for a third.

I stared at the date. June 13.

My birthday.

That day, I’d been alone at the office, working late. Not a single text came in.

It wasn’t until night that Trevor showed up with a tiny slice of cake. Said he’d been swamped with work and would make it up to me later.

He wasn’t swamped with work.

He was busy getting the marriage certificate.

And the cake he brought me—it was identical to the one on screen, the one with “Happy Marriage” written on it.

Tears slid down my face in silence, blurring the familiar lines of his face until he looked like a stranger.

I dug my nails into my palms.

“So what was next week’s wedding supposed to be? A pity gift?”

Trevor let out a breath, reached over, and gently wiped the tears off my cheeks.

“Clara, I do love you. But Lila’s been with me for six years with no title. She deserves better.”

“Next week’s wedding is still on. You’ll get everything Lila has—except the certificate.”

It felt like a slap across my face. I stumbled back a step, my ears ringing.

“You want me to be the other woman?”

Back then, my mother had withered away because she was the other woman without knowing it.

That’s why I’d always been terrified of marriage.

Trevor had waited for me year after year, always promising he’d never let me end up like her.

And now—he’d nailed me to that same shameful cross himself.

Trevor must have remembered too. His hand hung in the air, his face unreadable.

As we stood frozen, Grant walked over.

He sighed and ran his hand through my hair, just like he used to when we were kids.

“Clara, the one who isn’t loved is the one who doesn’t belong. You and Lila are both my sisters. You should be getting along.”

“Lila’s already stepped back for six years. She’s been through enough.”

He called her “sister” over and over, every word dripping with sympathy for Lila.

But I remembered—when Mom was sick, the first thing Grant did after dropping out and coming back from abroad was cut ties with the Bennett family. He swore he’d never acknowledge the daughter of his father’s mistress as his sister.

I held back my tears and locked my eyes on him.

“She’s your sister? Does Mom know that?”

Grant went rigid. His face turned ugly.

“Clara, don’t be so sarcastic. Mom’s health went downhill because she had you.”

“And I’m doing this for your own good. Lila is already expecting a baby. Why can’t you just accept it?”

I turned my head slowly, staring at Trevor in disbelief.

“She’s pregnant?”

“Yeah.”

Trevor cleared his throat and took my hand.

“You’ve always wanted a kid, right? Lila agreed to let you raise the baby once it’s born.”

“You should thank her.”

The tenderness in his eyes was the same as all those nights we’d dreamed about having children together.

Except back then, he’d say: “Clara, I only want a child with you.”

Now he was saying: She said you could still be part of the baby’s life.

The shock hit me so hard that I could barely stand.

Trevor’s face changed. He instinctively reached for me.

But Lila’s eyes went red, and she said in a wounded voice:

“Clara, I’ve already given up so much. Do you have to act like this?”

His hand pulled back in an instant. His expression hardened.

“Clara, don’t be ungrateful!”

“Go home. Next week’s wedding will go ahead as planned. Or else—”

Getting married to Trevor was my mother’s dying wish.

And even now, he was still using it against me.

The last thread of attachment in my heart finally snapped.

I pushed myself up from the floor, tears and laughter mixed together.

“Forget the wedding. I wish you both a long and happy life.”

Then I turned and walked out.

As I left the hotel, my phone lit up. It was the final relocation confirmation for Riverton.

If I went, I’d be promoted to Editor-in-Chief.

I’d turned it down before—for Trevor.

This time—

I hit confirm.