I Did A Wedding Survey, And Exposed My Ten-Year-Long Love Betrayal Chapter 03

I Did A Wedding Survey, And Exposed My Ten-Year-Long Love Betrayal Chapter 03

Back at the apartment, I canceled the dress, the photographer, the venue—one by one.

Then I started packing.

I was barely halfway done when Trevor’s social media post popped up on my phone.

Maybe he’d stopped pretending now that everything was out in the open.

In the video, Trevor stood on stage, reciting his vows with deep feeling.

“Lila, from now on, I won’t be your sky—I’ll be your foundation.”

Those familiar words made my head spin.

Fourteen years ago, my mom and I were thrown out of the Bennett Estate in the middle of the night with nowhere to go.

Trevor showed up just in time and gave us a home.

That day, he said: “Clara, you have me as your foundation. Step on me, and climb higher.”

That promise was heavy.

I carried it for twelve years.

But it turned out—I wasn’t his only foundation.

I’d just finished packing when Trevor came home.

When he saw I wasn’t waiting for him like usual, he let out a low laugh and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.

“Are you mad?”

I was about to pull away when a necklace dangled in front of me.

An amethyst pendant.

I froze.

That necklace was my mother’s dowry.

Later, Vanessa Vance had taken it for herself.

I’d mentioned it once in passing, never expecting Trevor to remember.

“Lila and I—it was just an accident…”

Trevor moved in front of me, his eyes soft, the same way he’d always coaxed me.

“You’re the one I’ve always loved most. Don’t make this a bigger deal, okay?”

“I’m not making a big deal.”

I took the necklace, but my fingers wouldn’t stop shaking.

On her deathbed, Mom had touched my face and said: Clara, you can lose anything but your pride.

I was about to say what I really felt—when he suddenly smiled.

“I knew you’d be reasonable.”

The next second, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the door.

“Your little scene this morning upset Lila so much the doctor said she can’t handle any more stress. You’re coming back to the Bennett house with me to apologize to her. That’s the end of it.”

I stopped dead in my tracks.

“You want me to apologize to the other woman?”

Trevor’s gaze flickered. He looked away.

“Let the past stay in the past.” His tone softened, like he was reasoning with me.

“Lila’s pregnant, and your father’s heart’s been shaky for two years. You made a scene in front of everyone today—nobody came out looking good.”

“I’m not asking you to admit defeat. I’m asking you to give the family some closure.”

“You’ll see each other all the time anyway. Things need to calm down.”

I stared at him. It was almost laughable.

Calm down?

The night my mother was kicked out, she begged my father for closure too.

All she got was a door slammed in her face.

I pulled my hand free.

“Trevor, we’re done.”

His pupils contracted sharply.

But he quickly snatched the amethyst pendant from my palm.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He held it up, his voice dropping lower. “You’re going to apologize. And I don’t want to hear that word again.”

“Unless you don’t want this necklace either.”

I closed my eyes. The brief warmth that had flickered inside me turned to ash.

“Fine. I’ll go.”

We got to the Bennett house. Lila was curled up on the couch, her eyes red, with Grant and Paige on either side.

When she saw me, Paige shot me a dirty look.

“This is all your fault—Lila’s so upset. Just say you’re sorry already!”

Grant handed me a cup of hot coffee.

“A proper apology needs coffee. Show some sincerity.”

I stared at that cup, my fingers clenching little by little.

The Bennett family always had this rule.

The one who’d done wrong had to offer coffee as a sign of submission.

But I remembered something else—years ago, when Vanessa Vance walked in pregnant, my father had slid a cup of coffee in front of my mother and told her to be sensible and make room for the new wife.

That day, my mother threw the cup to the ground and walked out of that house with me.

And now, they wanted me to serve that same coffee to her daughter.

“Clara?”

Trevor raised the pendant when I didn’t move.

“Don’t make this worse.”

The humiliation crashed over me. I bit down hard on my lip, bent over—

and held the cup out to Lila.

“I’m… sorry.”

“Clara, you don’t have to—”

Lila stood to take it, but the moment I released my grip, she tilted the cup right over me.

The coffee spilled onto me, leaving me frozen in shock. I flinched back, gasping.

Before I could steady myself, Paige shoved me hard.

“You did that on purpose?!”

I lost my balance, stumbling backward.

I lost my balance and fell, a sudden pain stopping me from moving.

“Clara!”

Trevor instinctively caught me—but Paige screamed,

“Lila passed out!”

His hand hesitated for one second—then spun the other way.

The pain in my belly got worse. I grabbed Grant’s arm in desperation.

“Grant—my stomach—it hurts—”

He yanked himself free and roared:

“Stop faking it! If anything happens to Lila, you’re no sister of mine!”

Then he ran off after Trevor.

A loud thud—

My vision blurred, and the world around me faded.