Chapter 3: The Other WomanWhen Waiting Ended

Outside the hotel ballroom, I unexpectedly ran into Silas and a group of his friends.

"What a perfect match. An arranged marriage that turned into true love. They were made for each other."

"What about the one in Southport? Haven't you two gone two years without seeing each other?"

"Let's not talk about her."

The way they talked about it, Silas and Seraphina looked so sweet together, so perfectly matched that the arranged marriage barely warranted a mention.

And me. I was nothing more than the "let's not talk about her" that followed a brief silence.

I stepped outside, and Silas looked up and spotted me. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting something to eat."

He reached out to touch my face, but I turned my head away.

He let out a quiet sigh, transferred me some money, and said, "Make sure you eat well. You've lost so much weight these past two years. After you're done, go buy yourself some new clothes. I'm here for a business dinner. I've been busy these last few days, so be good. I'll come see you once I'm finished."

I obediently lowered my head and paid for expedited processing on the ticket-purchasing program that was still waiting in line.

Five minutes later, a notification popped up. "Ticket Purchase Successful."

The wedding began.

Silas wore the Windsor knot I had always told him suited him best. Gone was the calm, composed man I knew. His hands trembled slightly as he began to speak.

As if I wanted to torture myself, I listened to every single word.

For the past two years, Silas had always said it was not time for us to meet. Again and again, he left me alone with the dead tone of a disconnected call and an empty chat window.

But as long as I believed that one day we would stand beside each other again, I endured it all.

When I struggled to adjust to life in a new city, Silas was having a romantic first encounter with Seraphina at a gala.

When I worked late into the night because I wanted to become someone worthy of him, Silas was making a grand confession of love to Seraphina on a tropical island.

When I held our photo and cried because the loneliness had become unbearable, Silas was setting off fireworks with Seraphina at the highest point in Sutherland before pulling her into a kiss.

Before I even realized it, tears were rolling down my face again.

"See that? Even the mistress is getting emotional."

Startled, I looked up.

Several unfamiliar faces stood before me. When they saw me looking, they sneered.

"Oh, so she knows we're talking about her."

"Silas and Seraphina were already engaged back then, but she just wouldn't stop chasing him. They shipped her off to Southport, and now she's back to crash the wedding."

"The mistress is crashing the wedding? Now this is going to be entertaining."

I stood there in a daze as their words washed over me.

Onstage, Seraphina's face was already wet with tears. Holding the microphone, she choked back a sob while Silas smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Silas and I dated for five years and were engaged for three. We finally made it to today. A few days ago, I met someone who shares a very special connection with both Silas and me. So I'd like to invite her to bring us our wedding rings—"

Before Seraphina could finish speaking, gasps erupted throughout the ballroom.

The giant screen began playing a slideshow of intimate photos. Holding hands. Hugging. Walking into and out of hotels together. Everything was there.

The couple in every photo was Silas and me.

The next second, a spotlight landed on me.

A member of the wedding staff approached, bowed politely, and held out a tray with the wedding bands gleaming under the lights.

Every eye in the ballroom turned toward me.

Without much hesitation, I picked up the rings and walked onto the stage.

Silas watched me draw closer step by step. The disbelief on his face slowly darkened into furious anger.

I picked up the bride's ring and held it out to him.

Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Having the mistress deliver the wedding rings? That's priceless."

Silas slapped the ring out of my hand and clamped down on my wrist. "You planned this, didn't you? You came back this time just for this?"

I stood on the stage beneath everyone's gaze.

They whispered among themselves, and every single time I heard the word "mistress," it pierced my ears like a steel needle driven into my spine.

Before my mother died, she had screamed the name of my father's mistress until her voice gave out, dying with hatred in her heart.

I hated mistresses more than anything.

Later, when my father remarried, he forced me to my knees at the wedding and made me call that woman Mom.

Even then, I bit my lip until it bled.

But the humiliation I felt now was far worse.

Back then, Silas had kicked the door open, punched my father to the ground, then unleashed a furious tirade at the mistress before taking my hand and leading me away.

Now, in front of everyone, he violently shoved me to the floor.

His face was cold and expressionless.

"I have absolutely no relationship with this woman. Two years ago, she kept harassing me, so I gave her some money and told her to leave Sutherland. I had no idea she'd come back, get close to Sera, and show up at the wedding to cause trouble. Mom, Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, Sera… I'll make this right."

I lay trembling on the floor.

Silas called the security guards over. They hauled me to my feet and dragged me away.

As I passed Seraphina, I could see that tears still shimmered in her eyes, but her gaze was perfectly clear.

She whispered, "Thank you for making the trip."

The blind box with the plane ticket. The chance encounter on the flight. The invitation that had been deliberately given to me.

In an instant, everything connected in my mind.

Seraphina had known all along. She had orchestrated every bit of this.

Silas personally escorted me outside.

Before leaving, he grabbed my arm and lowered his voice. "For the sake of the Sterling family and the Shaw family, I didn't have a choice.

"I know you've been wronged, but what you did this time really went too far. Do you have any idea how this could've ruined everything we've worked for?

His tone softened again, as if nothing had changed. "Go back and wait for me. I'll come find you after I've taken care of everything. I promise this won't affect us."

He helped me into a taxi, told the driver to take me back to my apartment, then turned and walked away.

Watching his retreating figure, I rolled up the window and said to the driver, "Take me straight to the airport."