Everyone Knew But Me The Day My Boyfriend Married His Other Girlfriend Chapter 03

Everyone Knew But Me The Day My Boyfriend Married His Other Girlfriend Chapter 03

“Sienna!”

Julian’s voice chased after me.

I didn’t stop. I didn’t look back.

I took a cab straight to the hospital.

Mom looked better today. Her cheeks even carried a little color.

She handed me a peeled apple and beamed at me.

“So? Did the marriage license photos come out nice? Let me see them.”

My throat tightened. My eyes burned.

I had no idea how to explain any of this to her.

And I couldn’t bear to tell her the truth.

While I was still trying to find the words, Julian walked through the door.

He sat down beside her bed and started massaging her shoulders like he’d been doing it for ten years. Gentle. Familiar.

“Mom, Sienna wasn’t happy with how the photos turned out. We’re having them retouched.”

“We’ll get the marriage license in a few days and show you then.”

He’d never called her “Mom” before.

Now, hearing him call her Mom made her so happy that she completely missed the tension between us.

I pulled Julian out into the hallway.

“I already walked away. What more do you want from me?”

Julian reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. He sighed.

“Sienna. We were together for twelve years. Can you really let all of that go?”

I laughed bitterly.

Did it matter whether I could?

He belonged to someone else now.

I glared at him, eyes burning.

“Whether I can or not, I have to.”

I turned to leave. He stepped in front of me.

His hands clamped down on my shoulders. Then he pulled me into a crushing hug.

“But I can’t let you go.”

I shoved against his chest. He wouldn’t budge.

“When I was working at a coffee shop to save money for your ring, I met Vanessa.”

“She was shy. She’d blush every time she talked.”

“Guys used to mess with her, so I helped her out. We got close.”

“One time, some creep drugged her drink. I broke into the hotel room to save her. She kissed me. And I lost control.”

“I tried to break it off. But she was innocent in all this. I had to take responsibility.”

“These past eight years, she never asked for anything. No title. No promises. I’d already wronged her. Giving her that marriage license was the least I could do.”

I finally understood.

The twelve years and the eight years weren’t just numbers overlapping.

They were years of betrayal.

Years of lies.

While I was smiling at the ring he bought me, he was sleeping with another woman.

While I was cooking his favorite foods in our apartment, he was eating meals made by someone else.

While I was feeling happy and loved, he was betraying me a thousand times over.

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear how you two got together! Get away from me!”

I lunged forward and bit down hard on his shoulder.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

His body trembled from the pain.

But he never pushed me away.

He just stroked my hair and whispered.

“I gave her the marriage license. But everything else can still be yours.”

“Love. Money. My time. My care for your mom. None of that changes just because I married her.”

“Oh, and there’s a new treatment overseas. It’s shown promising results for late-stage stomach cancer. When should we take Mom there?”

Slowly, I released my bite. My eyes closed.

Julian Carter had always been good to me.

If Vanessa Moore had never existed, I probably would’ve been the happiest woman in the world.

He bought me everything I wanted. Never looked at the price tag.

He took me everywhere I wanted to go. Cancelled business trips if he had to.

When my mom got sick, he was there. He handled everything—the doctors, the treatment plans, everything.

And he paid for all of it.

I couldn’t leave him.

At least not until my mom was better.