Chapter 1

I'd been waiting outside the marriage registration office to marry my fiance, James Lane, when a boy ran over and hugged his legs.

James explained, "I just found out about him a while ago. Letitia was pregnant five years ago when we broke up. She also left the country. Now that she's come back, she'll fall victim to idle gossip as a single mother. I've got to marry her and make them my family, legally."

Absolutely dumbfounded, I watched mutely as Letitia sashayed over. James entwined their fingers with a smile.

"So what now?" I asked calmly.

"I have to marry Letitia. As for the two of us … You're here anyway, so let's just take a picture in front of the office so you have something to post about."

Letitia snapped a picture of us and trilled, "Say cheese!"

James consoled me by saying, "Don't worry, you're the only one I love. Letitia is like family to me. I want to make it up to my son, so I'll pretend to be Letitia's husband. After all, the kid has done nothing wrong. Poor thing hasn't had a father growing up. I don't want to ruin his childhood.

"Let's push back the date of our wedding. When he's a little older, I'll tell him the truth and marry you in a lavish wedding."

The three of them headed into the office, where James would marry Letitia.

Pulling my phone out, I called Samuel Byron. He'd been pursuing me for the past ten years.

"I'm standing outside the registration office. I need someone to get married to. Do you wanna come?"

…

"Miss White, why are you springing this on me out of nowhere? I just got off the plane overseas," complained Samuel helplessly.

Surprised, I replied, "It's alright then."

Samuel had been quite composed. When I said that, he got worked up and said, "No, wait for me. I'll be back before office hours are over. Whoever changes their mind will be the ultimate loser."

I sighed after hanging up, looking around for somewhere to sit down.

Suddenly, I heard an annoyed voice call my name. I looked up to see James. He'd gotten married. With a child perched on his arm and his other arm locked around Letitia, they looked like the perfect family.

He put the child down and walked over to me. Frowning, he asked, "Why are you loitering here?"

I replied honestly, "I'm waiting to get married."

This pissed James off even more. He raged, "Why are you being so passive-aggressive? I told you that I just found out about the kid. Whose past is completely spotless, right?"

I nodded and replied, "Understood."

"In that case, just go home. Let's not quarrel in front of the kid," he said while grabbing my arm.

Shaking him off, I repeated seriously, "I'm waiting to get married."

James' expression turned dark. "Natalie, this is the last warning. If you continue making a fuss, I'll only hate you more than I already do."

Letitia came over timidly and asked, "Natalie, are you angry because you didn't get a marriage certificate?"

She pulled the certificate out and stuffed it into my hands. "Why don't you take a picture of it with James? After all, it looks the same from a distance. No one would know who it belongs to as long as they don't open it."

I didn't take it, so the certificate fluttered onto the floor.

With teary eyes, Natalie bent down to pick it up. Her voice trembled as she apologized, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought the child back…"

Chapter 2

James glared at me and said, "Natalie, I didn't know you were such a petty woman. If you can't live with the fact that Letitia's going to be in my life, I'm going to have to break up with you!"

"Fine."

My laid-back attitude gave him pause.

Letitia gently nudged the boy. His name was Jonas. She told him, "Tell your Aunt Natalie to calm down."

Jonas refused. He whined, "No! She's a bad woman. You're his mistress." Shoving at me, he huffed. "You're not allowed to take my dad away."

A passerby looked at me with disdain. Someone said, "Damn, mistresses these days are shameless. She's trying to steal someone else's man right outside the marriage registration office."

Calmly, I looked at Jonas and explained, "I've broken up with your Dad. Don't worry about it. I hope your parents enjoy the rest of their lives together."

James nodded and said, "That's right. Continue being just as obedient as you are now."

With Jonas in his arms, he pulled Letitia away. Looking at his retreating back, I thought, "I'm not being obedient. I'm telling the truth." I found a cafe nearby and sat there to wait for Samuel.

Suddenly, a headline popped up. It read, "The heir of the Byron Corporation left in the middle of a contract signing ceremony."

My heart skipped a beat. They weren't referring to Samuel, were they?

I clicked the link. It was a video. A man was turning to leave while speaking on the phone. Who else could it be other than Samuel? I could even hear him saying, "Whoever changes their mind will be the ultimate loser."

Toward the end of the video, one of the journalists asked the other party, "Do you think Mr. Byron's sudden departure is a sign of disrespect?"

The old man shrugged and said with a smile, "The only thing I'll say on the topic is that love trumps everything. Not only do I not feel like I have been disrespected, but I also admire that about Mr. Byron. This is in line with our company culture.

"We'll wait for him here to finish the signing ceremony. It will not have any adverse effects on our collaboration."

I put my phone down and was wracked by emotion. Samuel had pursued me for ten years and prioritized me at every turn. He adored me. However, I was obsessed with James and never gave him a chance.

After being thoroughly let down by James, I finally came to my senses. Looking at the two of them, I understood the difference between true love and what was just perfunctorily brushing me off.

I opened my email and read the emails Samuel had sent me. Every email was passionate and genuine. I used to find him annoying, but now I could feel the love radiating from his words. These were all love letters.

I even felt a little bad for him. How had he persevered all these years?

I read all those emails. When I looked up, night had almost fallen.

Suddenly, a bouquet of flowers materialized before me.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, my darling wife," exclaimed Samuel.

I was taken aback by the nickname. That would take a while to get used to.

At my silence, Samuel inquired carefully, "You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

I grinned and assured him, "Don't worry, I don't want to be the ultimate loser."

We strode into the registration office with each other and did the necessary paperwork to officiate our marriage.

I knew there were many people waiting to sign an important contract with him, so I persuaded him to leave as soon as possible.

Chapter 3

Samuel enveloped me in a hug and promised, "We'll hold our wedding the second I come home. Whoever changes their mind will be the ultimate loser."

My eyes followed him as he left. I smiled bitterly. "He's literally the heir to the Byron Corporation. Is he really that insecure?"

It was dark, so I headed home with the flowers in hand. What I hadn't expected was to see Letitia and Jonas when I opened the door. Letitia was decked out in my pajamas and watching television while Jonas bounced on my couch in his shoes. It had cost me a few hundred thousand, but now, it was riddled with footsteps.

Anger flared up within me.

Before I could say anything, James walked out of the kitchen with a frown on his face. "Why did you come home?"

I was livid. After a moment, I said coldly, "I'm pretty sure this is my house."

Jonas suddenly lobbed the toy he was holding at me. "This is my Dad's house. Our house. Get lost."

Letitia said dismissively, "Don't hold it against Jonas, Natalie. He's just a kid. He doesn't know much."

Walking over, she grabbed my flowers and announced, "Is this for James and me? Thanks for your blessings."

Just as I was about to take it back from her, Jonas yanked it away, throwing it onto the ground and stomping on it for good measure. "Stop trying to butter up Mom. We don't want your flowers."

I felt a migraine coming on. "You owe me those flowers!"

James replied impatiently, "He's just a child, Natalie. How could you sink to his level? Go to the kitchen and cook. Stop disturbing Jonas."

How dare he hand me the apron?

I snorted angrily. "James, do you think I'm your maid? Why would I cook for you guys?"

Frowning, he complained, "Natalie, can't you be more understanding of us? You've been throwing tantrums since we were at the registration office. Everyone was in high spirits, but you messed everything up.

"I'm giving you an opportunity to apologize to Letitia and Jonas by cooking."

While looking straight into his eyes, I asked, "Do you genuinely think there's never been any conflict between us, James? Do you really think I should be the one apologizing?"

James' eyes were a little shifty. However, he then sighed and said, "At the end of the day, the kid is innocent. You're an adult. What's a little hurt for the good of the child? If you want to, I can compensate you for it."

I felt as though my heart had been dunked into an icy pool. "How could you do that? Am I not innocent?"

Jonas pulled out a fork and stabbed it into my thigh. "Get lost. Get out of my house."

Pushing him away, I stated coldly, "I bought this house. If anyone's getting out, it's going to be you."

Jonas began wailing in Letitia's arms.

I had indeed purchased the house, thinking that we'd live there after getting married.

It looked like James had forgotten all about that little detail, seeing as he was planning to live with another woman and her child here. A happy family.

Letitia wiped at her tears. Between sobs, she wailed, "It's our fault. We shouldn't have come. We'll be leaving now."

James stopped her from leaving with a pained expression on his face.

Annoyed, he questioned, "It's dark outside, and Letitia has her child with her. Where could they possibly go? Can't you be more generous, Natalie?"

I nodded and replied, "Alright, but they must leave tomorrow morning. If not, I'll call the cops."

James frowned and said, "I'll have to leave with them if you're set on chasing them out."

Chapter 4

I chuckled and said, "Fine."

I opened the door to the bedroom and got ready for bed. Unexpectedly, the bedsheets were crumpled, and it looked as though someone had been under the covers. There was lingerie under the pillow.

Disgust overcame me. Had Letitia slept on my bed already?

I took the documents I needed. Without sparing them a glance, I slammed the door and left.

It would be better to stay in a hotel tonight. My room had been sullied. I'd hire cleaners to give it a deep clean tomorrow and throw the stuff she touched out!

After the events of the day, I was exhausted. I got into bed after washing up. However, my phone pinged.

Someone whom I didn't know was sending me a message request. I approved it. They sent a barrage of photos showing Letitia and James. Clearly, the two of them were in my bed, all wrapped up in each other.

They left a caption, "If you're wise, you'd know to back off in the face of such a challenge."

I replied, "If you enjoy collecting trash, I won't get in the way of your hobby."

Then, I turned my phone off and went to sleep.

When I woke up, the sun was streaming through the windows. After breakfast, I headed back home to pack up.

However, I was stunned into silence when I opened the door. The house was filled with balloons and ribbons. Posters of James and Letitia were plastered all over the walls. There were countless people crammed into the space, but I knew none of them.

They stepped on my couch, raided my fridge, and even went as far as drinking from my cup. The books on my shelves were now littered all over the floor from their careless perusal.

In addition, the antiques Mom and Dad had gifted to me had been carelessly passed around. Some lay in pieces on the floor.

Doing my best to suppress my anger, I turned the music off. Everyone turned to glare at me.

I asked sternly, "Who are you, and why are you in my house?"

They turned to each other and shot back doubtfully, "What do you mean your house? Isn't this Letitia's place? We're here to attend the wedding. Who are you?"

Rage consumed me. I nearly couldn't speak because of how livid I was. "The wedding? James and Letitia are getting married here?"

Suddenly, someone pointed out, "I recognize her. Aren't you James' mistress?"

Before I could explain myself, someone poured a cup of coffee over me. "How shameless. How did you even find us? Are you here to interrupt their wedding?"

More people came up and began beating me up. I fought back with everything I had, but their combined force quickly pummeled me into the ground. Emboldened by each other, their actions got even rougher as time went on.

Some punched me while others began pulling at my clothes. There were even people pointing their phones toward me, live streaming the entire ordeal so everyone could see what a "mistress" looked like.

I tried covering my face, but they dragged my hands away. Pinning my limbs down, they tied a pair of shoes around my neck as a method of humiliation while spitting on me.

I cried, but this did nothing to stop them. My abuse was a party favor for them.

Finally, someone shouted, "The groom's back with his wife."

They stopped and swarmed toward the door instead.

I scrambled to my feet, only to see James clad in a suit and Letitia in her wedding dress.

James froze for a moment before rushing over and saying softly, "I thought you left. The wedding isn't real. It's all an act for Jonas' benefit."

Chapter 5

I asked icily, "Are the wounds on my face and shattered antiques all props in this act of yours?"

James frowned, dissatisfied with my answer.

All his friends surrounded him and said, "James, she's so shameless. How could she show up at your door? You should slap her to avenge Letitia."

James didn't move. However, Letitia turned to him. Her eyes were glittering in anticipation.

"Just leave," he told me.

I asked angrily, "Why am I the one who has to leave? Am I leaving as your mistress? Am I your mistress?"

Someone spat on me and asked, "What else could you possibly be? He has a wife and a child."

Softly, James said, "No."

The crowd went wild. Everyone was standing up for Letitia. He explained, "You've all misunderstood her. We're just friends. I don't know Natalie that well."

My anger spiked so much that it turned into hilarity. "You don't know me that well? If you didn't know me well, why are you getting married to your ex in my house?"

Someone kicked me. "What are you going on about? This is clearly James and Letitia's house. You're hallucinating, aren't you? She should be paraded through the streets and made an example of."

Everyone was reprimanding me. I pulled my phone out to call the cops. However, James took my phone from me and hung up.

He grumbled, "Natalie, can you not throw a tantrum today? After today, you can do whatever you want."

I was about to speak when a familiar voice added, "Natalie, listen to me. Making a huge deal out of this will not benefit you."

I turned and stared at her in disbelief. It was James' mother, Susan Pollack. She'd always chatted happily with me every time we met, and treated me better than one would their own daughter. Time and time again, she warned James not to bully me. She'd be the first to object.

Yet, here she was at their wedding.

Susan pulled me into the bathroom, locked the door, and said, "Don't worry, Natalie. I will avenge you. James hadn't met you yet when he had this child, so this cannot be considered cheating. Just let him marry Letitia. He can divorce her afterward anyway. It's better to marry a man with a child from a divorce rather than a bastard child, right?"

I laughed, on the verge of going insane from rage. "Is there some kind of rule dictating that I have to marry James? I don't have a say in who he marries or whether he has children. Only, this house is mine and I want him to leave. I'd also like to be compensated for everything I've lost."

Susan froze. She studied me in disbelief. "Weren't you head over heels for James? You used to be willing to do anything for him. Once, James wanted to break up with you, and you stood outside our house for three hours.

"He's just giving Letitia the benefit of the status of his wife. He doesn't mean anything by it. Why are you making such a big deal of it?"

Mentioning my past brought up a complicated swell of feelings. I used to be so dumb. I was so careful and pathetic in our relationship.

I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I got pushed around by James. My life revolved around him. I was terrified that I'd make him unhappy.