Betrayed Once, Destroyed Again

On the day of our wedding, Henry Tate tells me, "I slept with Rebecca." He points at the big screen with a grin. "When Yves left you because of Rebecca, I swore I would make him pay and let him know what it feels like to be betrayed. So I slept with his woman." I stare at him in disbelief and suddenly realize that the screen isn't displaying our wedding photos, but photos of a man and a woman being intimate. The man is Henry, and the woman is Rebecca Litt. Three years ago, I caught my fiance, Yves Sullivan, and Rebecca, the student I support financially, in bed together. I'm devastated, and Henry is the one who helps me get through it. But now, he's using the same way to stab me where it hurts most. Tears roll down my face. Henry frowns. "Why are you crying? I got back at him for you. You should be happy." Chapter 1 After a moment of dead silence, the crowd erupted into chatter. The mocking laughter pierced my ears, making my limbs numb. I asked, "Why? Why do you have to do it this way?" Henry Tate's smile was cruel. "Isn't this nice?" My eyes reddened. It was our wedding day, supposedly the happiest day of my life. Yet he actually slept with Rebecca Litt and chose to tell me now. This wasn't getting revenge for me. He was humiliating me in public. I stared at the intertwined figures on the screen, my throat tight. Henry leaned in and whispered with a hint of amusement. "I made a bet with Rebecca. We wondered if you would cry or make a fuss when you saw those photos." He raised his hand and gently wiped the tears off my face. "I knew you would cry first." Then he took his phone out of his pocket, which showed that he was on a call. Rebecca was nonchalant. "Alright, you won. I'm going to learn how to do what you showed me in the video. Just wait until tonight. You're going to enjoy it." My mind was completely blank. All I could hear was the sound of my heart beating. The next moment, the lights came on in the banquet hall. The intimate photos vanished, replaced by the words "Just Married!" Henry linked his fingers through my cold hand and raised his glass toward the guests. "Just kidding. I was only trying to lighten the mood." Then, like a puppet on strings, I was carried offstage by him, the laughter filling the room slowly fading behind me. The moment the backstage door closed, I slapped him across the face, tears streaming down my face. Henry turned his head away, his tongue pressing against his cheek as his eyes slowly turned red. Memories of the past flooded my mind. Henry, Yves Sullivan, and I were childhood friends. Both he and Yves were race car drivers, and they risked their lives to marry me. By the end of the race, both of them were barely breathing. Afraid something would happen to them again, I cruelly rejected Henry and chose to get engaged to Yves instead. On the eve of our wedding, I found out I was pregnant and wanted to surprise him. Instead, I walked in on him in bed with Rebecca, the student I financially supported. Dressed in Yves' shirt, Rebecca leaned against the bedframe and smiled at me. "Your fiance said I'm more flexible than you." Yves didn't deny it, nor did he stop what he was doing. It felt like someone had ripped my heart straight out of my chest, and I stumbled out the door, wandering through the rain for three hours. In the end, it was Henry who found me. He held an umbrella over my head, and without asking any questions, he said, "Come with me." Henry didn't mind that I was pregnant with Yves' kid. "Keep the baby. I'll be his dad." But I wasn't willing to let others mock the Tate family's only son as a sucker and a simp because of me. So on a rainy night, I consumed half a bottle of sleeping pills. Henry carried me all the way to the hospital, his desperate tears mixing with the rain, hitting my face. The doctors managed to save me, but my baby was gone. That night, he spent the whole night kneeling in the hallway. Chapter 2 "I don't blame you. It's our wedding. You should smile more." Henry grabbed my hand and blew on it. "That must have hurt. I'll apply ointment for you later, okay? Rest well tonight." His voice was gentle and casual, as though nothing had happened between us. I shook him off in utter disbelief. Henry frowned. "Is that slap not enough to make you feel better?" Tears burst from my eyes. "Since when did you change? Where did the man who loved me most go?" He didn't take my hand again. Instead, he lit a cigarette, allowing the smoke to blur his expression. After a while, Henry spoke. "Helena, I've done more than enough for you. You only came back to me after you were done with Yves. You wanted a man by your side, and I gave it to you. Even though you had a child and went through a miscarriage, I never held it against you." He paused, the ash falling to the ground. "Why can't you take it when I only cheated on you?" I froze for a moment before finding my voice. "But I'm serious about you." Amidst the hazy smoke, Henry's eyes looked so unfamiliar that it chilled me to the bone. "I'm serious about you too. I deliberately approached Rebecca to get revenge for you. My plan was to sleep with her and take her photos, so everyone would know what kind of woman she was." He took a drag and exhaled, then continued, "But as time passed, I realized why Yves would rather be with Rebecca than you." My whole body shook. "Why?" Henry looked at me, a small smile appearing on his face. "Yves has good eyes. Rebecca is way better in bed than you." I stood there in shock, my body going cold. "Henry, you…" "Rebecca has my name tattooed on her chest. When she gets worked up, it swells, and the letters move with it. It's pretty damn exciting. Can you do the same for me?" "You always complain it hurts the moment I get a little rough, so I'm always afraid of touching your wounds. But when I think about how much you've suffered because of Yves, it hurts me so much." Henry's voice grew hoarser, his eyes bloodshot. "How am I any lesser than him? Why has Yves always been ahead of me, ever since we were kids?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing as I stared at him. Henry, who had always been gentle and charming, looked like a madman now. He opened the door to leave, but when he turned and saw my tear-streaked face, his voice suddenly softened. "I'll ask the makeup artist to touch up your makeup." Henry left, and I cried until my eyes were swollen. Who would've thought that just ten minutes ago, I was holding that man's hand, saying "I do" in front of everyone? Tears blurred my eyes, and I instinctively placed a hand over my stomach. I was 12 weeks pregnant. How did I end up facing the same situation again? I went home, not knowing how I got there. The moment I pushed open the door, I was stunned. Every corner of the room was filled with things I'd casually brought up before. The out-of-print books I'd once talked about collecting in college, the antique music box I'd lingered over while shopping, and a box of handmade chocolates Henry had someone bring back from Itario. I'd only liked the post once on social media, but Henry had remembered every little thing. Everything was wrapped beautifully and arranged neatly alongside the flowers filling the room. I could barely stand, my legs going weak. My fingers trembled as I dialed Henry's number. It rang twice before he answered. "What is it?" I could barely get the words out. "Can you come back? There's something…" Henry broke into laughter. "You've lost again." My mind went blank. "What?" His laughter grew louder. "I'm talking to Rebecca. She said you have a strong ego and that you will definitely ask for a divorce tonight." He paused, his voice becoming determined. "I told her you won't and that you'll come running to me." Rebecca's mocking voice came through the phone, making my scalp tingle. "Helena, you're such a loser. I slept with the two most important men in your life. How are you still not enough for them?" The pain tore through me, leaving me shaking. I shouted, "Henry, I want a divorce!" There was silence on the other end for a very long time, then he hung up. I could no longer hold it in, bursting into tears. A while later, the door opened. Henry was home, and Rebecca was with him, linking her arm through his. The fresh hickeys on her neck and chest hurt my eyes. I charged over, wanting to slap her. Before I could, Henry grabbed my hand, opened the door, and pushed me out. "Go cool off like you did three years ago." Then he slammed the door shut. The cold, pouring rain drenched my body, leaving me trembling. The rain was just as heavy as three years ago. The man who once saved me was now the one hurting me all over again. Chapter 3 I sat in the rain, staring at the intertwined figures through the window as my eyes gradually blurred. For a moment, I thought I was looking at Henry from three years ago. Back then, I was like the living dead, not talking, crying, or smiling. I spent every day staring at the ceiling blankly. Henry had tried every way he could to cheer me up. He bought me flowers, but I wouldn't even look at him. He took me to the seaside, but I didn't react. He cooked for me, but I wouldn't take a single bite. That was until one day, he disappeared for the whole afternoon. When he came back, his face was covered in clown makeup, a red ball balanced on his nose as he clumsily performed magic tricks in front of me. He fumbled around and dropped the balls three times. Henry was the sole heir to the Tate family. He had been serious and reserved since childhood, always carrying himself with an air of importance wherever he went. Yet he was willing to put aside his pride just to make me happy. I smiled for the first time since everything happened. Later, he got into a fight with someone at a bar because of me. He threw all that dignity he'd been taught since childhood out the window just because someone insulted me over my past with Yves. Henry even cried in front of the whole company. That time, I'd thrown a tantrum and said I didn't want him anymore, and he grabbed my wrist and begged me to stay. Yves couldn't stand my tantrums, but Henry always put up with them. He said, "I love you no matter what." I couldn't understand why the man who loved me so much had suddenly changed. I stood there numbly until all the lights went out, then turned around and left for the hospital. While I was lying on the operating table, I heard the nurse call my name and say that my card had been frozen. She complained, "You can't afford surgery. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" I awkwardly climbed down from the operating table. My wedding dress was soaked through, clinging to my body as I shivered from the cold. I kept apologizing, but all it did was draw even more contemptuous looks. "Getting an abortion in her wedding dress? She must've done something shameless." "Maybe she's pregnant with another man's baby. That's why the groom left her." "How shameless. Even if she gets rid of the baby now, the man still won't want her." That wasn't how it was. I gripped the card so tightly my knuckles went white, unable to say a word. I didn't know where I could go, and somehow, I ended up back at our house. The moment I opened the door, I saw Henry leaning against the doorframe with a cigarette between his fingers, his eyes full of mockery. It was as if he had already assumed I would come running back. "Helena, why did you marry me? Was it because you love me, or because you wanted to get back at Yves?" His question caught me by surprise, and for a moment, I didn't know what to say. Henry's eyes reddened, and he gripped my shoulders, shaking me violently. "Helena, how can you not be upset after everything I've done to you? Why aren't you making a scene like you did when you found out Yves cheated on you?" The violent shaking made my stomach churn, and I couldn't help gagging. Henry shoved me away, and a cruel smile appeared on his face. "You think I'm repulsive?" The next second, he lifted Rebecca's chin and kissed her right in front of me. Rebecca let out a soft moan, her voice so sickly sweet it made me want to gag. Henry looked up with Rebecca's lipstick mark on the corner of his mouth. "Let's see how long you can keep this up." Chapter 4 I averted my gaze as an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washed over me. "Henry, you're so childish. You can't compare to Yves in that regard." The moment my words landed, Henry suddenly rushed over and shoved me hard. Caught off guard, I slammed into the doorframe, my vision going black from the pain. His pupils contracted, and he took half a step forward when Rebecca let out a soft moan and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their kiss deepened as her hands slipped into his bathrobe. Henry closed his eyes and didn't look at me again. I tried to push myself up from the floor, but the wedding dress had tangled around my feet, making it hard to stand. Rebecca pushed Henry onto the bed, then turned around and smiled at me. "Are you watching this? I'm going to start the lesson. If you don't learn from me, maybe your next husband will become mine too." Henry opened his eyes, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "Helena, you will never divorce me. After all, no man will be willing to accept a two-time divorcee like you." Every word he said felt like a nail driven into my heart. I pressed a hand to my dizzy head and turned to leave, but the footsteps behind me quickened. "Don't you dare walk away!" Henry threw Rebecca onto the bed, then strode over and grabbed my arm. "Where do you think you're going?" His fingers dug into me. "Don't tell me you're going to meet Yves. Did you forget how he treated you? Did he even spare you a glance when you knelt in the rain, begging him to come back while he was with Rebecca?" I was freezing, forcing down the tremble in my voice as I said, "What about you? Didn't you sleep with Rebecca too? Didn't you leave me out in the rain too? How are you any better than him?" Henry stared at me, his eyes gradually turning red. He forced his words through gritted teeth. "I'm only doing this to get back at him. Looks like you still love Yves more than me!" He suddenly grabbed the hem of my dress and tore it hard. I screamed and stumbled backward, but he grabbed me around the waist and threw me onto the bed. Henry loomed over me, his eyes glinting with madness. "How am I lesser than him?" His voice broke as he leaned over me. I turned my head away, tears running down my cheeks and into my hair. He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him, his eyes bloodshot. "Tell me." I said nothing. The light in his eyes gradually dimmed. "I found a donor heart for your dad. I initially wanted to give it to you as our wedding gift. But now…" He took a step back, pulled Rebecca toward him, and wrapped an arm around her waist as he settled into the couch. "If you can stay in this room for one whole night, I'll give it to you." He slipped his fingers beneath Rebecca's shirt and undid two buttons. His name—Henry—was tattooed across her chest, and it rose and fell every few seconds. They were at it for a very long time, long enough for my nails to dig into my palms hard enough to break the skin. When they finished, Henry stood up and lit a cigarette. Rebecca scooted close and traced circles on his chest. "What about the thing you promised me?" He didn't say anything, glancing at me. The flash suddenly went off. I instinctively raised a hand to cover my face. Half my wedding dress had been torn open, and a chill crawled up my spine. "Don't cover your face. Weren't you pretty good at taking it just now?" Henry blew out a puff of smoke. "A bet's a bet. If you'd just say you don't love Yves anymore, I'd cherish you like the most precious thing in the world." He paused. "Too bad. You've lost the bet." Rebecca quickly posted the video online. "So many people have seen my photos. To be fair, you have to make the headlines too." Henry flicked the ash from his cigarette, as if savoring the moment. "Don't worry, okay? I'll tell everyone that the photos were AI-generated. You're still my wife." A hint of jealousy flashed across Rebecca's eyes. She put her arm through Henry's and asked him in a soft voice, "Are you really satisfied now? Should we do it again?" Henry laughed. "You know me best." I pushed myself up, but my legs were so weak I could barely stand. There was only one thought in my mind—I had to get out of this hell. I didn't know how far I'd run before I suddenly felt a warm rush between my legs. Henry's phone rang, but he turned it face down on the nightstand and rolled over to pull Rebecca into his arms. "Ignore her." After a long while, the phone rang again. Henry picked up this time, looking completely satisfied. "Do you know your mistake now?" A frantic voice came through the phone. "Are you Mr. Tate? Your wife is bleeding heavily. She is fighting for her life at the hospital. Please come as soon as you can to donate blood." Henry froze. "Who?" The call suddenly went dead, and he shot up in bed, unlocking his phone again. That was when Henry saw all the missed calls and messages from his mom, Emilia Vaughn. "Henry, where are you? Helena had a miscarriage. Come to the hospital quickly." He stared at the screen, his fingers frozen above it.