Whatever excitement I'd had about the wedding evaporated. I hadn't expected Winona to blow up like this. I thought my request was reasonable, but I couldn't understand why she was acting so defensive.

"Winnie, no husband in the world would be okay with his wife visiting her ex alone. I'm already compromising by saying I'll go with you."

She looked increasingly frustrated. Then, she stamped her foot.

"I don't care what you think. I'm going whether you like it or not, and you're staying here."

She seemed to realize her attitude had been too harsh and softened her tone.

"Liam, I just want to see Julian one last time. If you're there, he'll feel uncomfortable. Besides, tomorrow I'll be your wife. Don't you trust me?"

I knew Winona. She only softened her tone like this when she was trying to appease me. But her insistence on not letting me go only fueled my suspicions.

I stared at her intently and said, "Our wedding's tomorrow. Just be back early."

Her eyes lit up. She threw her arms around me and planted a big kiss on my lips.

"So, you agree? You're the best, Liam. Don't worry. I'll be back early and won't let it affect the wedding tomorrow."

Before, I would have been thrilled to hear that. Watching her hum cheerfully as she sat down to do her makeup, my heart kept sinking.

I was starting to wonder if she'd ever really loved me. I remembered when Winona was talking to the wedding planner, she insisted on a simple look and said she disliked makeup. I hadn't thought much of it since she'd never worn any around me.

But now she sat at her vanity, meticulously applying makeup to every part of her face. She looked more incredible and gorgeous than she'd been in our entire five years together.

I'd always loved that she didn't need any of that around me. Now I realized she probably never had me in her heart to begin with.

Winona took forever going through her closet before settling on a fitted sleeveless dress. She was naturally beautiful. But with that dress and all the effort she'd put in today, she looked absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, she wasn't dressing up for me.

Usually, I'd hug her before she left. This time, I just sat there silently and watched her walk out the door. She didn't seem to notice anything was different and left with a smile.

I looked at the wedding decorations around our room, and the red roses scattered on the bed. This was everything I'd dreamed about. But now that it was actually here in front of me, I felt lost. Would Winona and I really be happy together?

Suddenly, a notification chimed from the computer in the study room. I got up to check and noticed she had forgotten to log out of her messaging app.

Seeing that the message was from Julian, a voice in my head whispered, "Go on. Just open it, and you'll know if the woman you love has been lying to you."

I tried to convince myself that Winona was only visiting him because of their past relationship and that she would still marry me tomorrow.

I knew checking her messages would be an invasion of her privacy, and I shouldn't do it. But her behavior today pushed my suspicions past the point of restraint. In the end, I clicked open the chat window with Julian.

Julian said, "Winnie, I'm in room 601. I'll be waiting for you."

Just then, Winona's reply synced to the computer screen.

"I'll give you the most perfect, unforgettable experience tonight, so your life won't have any regrets."

His next message came through almost immediately, clearly excited.

"I can't wait. I wish you were here with me right now."

Those messages sent blood rushing straight to my head. It took every shred of rationality I had to keep myself from driving to that hotel and catching them in the act.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would've believed Winona would be capable of saying something like that. From what I knew of her, she'd get embarrassed just kissing me. Yet for Julian, she revealed a side of herself I never knew existed.

Earlier, she kept accusing me of not trusting her, but I'd obviously hit a nerve, and she freaked out.

Julian's cancer diagnosis and needing to visit him at the hospital were just an excuse. They were clearly getting back together.

Logic told me to go to that hotel right now and catch them in the act. Then, I could expose Winona for who she really was, cancel the wedding, and humiliate her in front of everyone.

But five years together meant I still had some pathetic shred of hope left. So, I just sat there in front of the computer like a corpse, watching time crawl by.

My heart grew colder with every passing minute. It was the middle of summer, but I felt like I was sitting in a blizzard, shivering and numb.

By 1:00 am, the apartment was still dead silent. The only light came from the computer screen reflecting off my bloodshot eyes. I knew then that Winona wasn't coming home tonight.

Looking around at all the wedding decorations, every single one meant to celebrate the happiness we were supposed to have tomorrow. But she had destroyed that happiness with her own hands.

Just then, my phone lit up in the dark. When I opened it, I saw a photo of Winona in bed with another man. She was leaning against his bare chest with a satisfied smile.

A moment later, more messages came through.

"Thanks, old friend. You're a real stand-up guy for letting Winnie keep me company."

"She's still as kindhearted as ever. As soon as she heard this was my dying wish, she agreed right away."

"I heard you two are getting married tomorrow. Congratulations in advance. I'll probably never get to see this alluring side of Winnie again. You don't mind her staying with me tonight, do you?"

Seeing that suggestive photo felt like someone had slapped me twice across the face. Julian's taunting words were like a knife twisting in my gut.

My bride was spending the night before our wedding with another man. How ironic.

I saved the photo as evidence and replied with a sneer, "A woman that saintly is too good for me. She's all yours."

Next, I immediately contacted a friend and asked him to help sync all the old chat logs between Winona and Julian to my computer.

I'd been preparing myself to find out they'd been secretly seeing each other behind my back. But when I saw the complete chat logs, I realized how pathetic I really was. Today was actually their first time reaching out in five years.

Julian had told Winona he had cancer and didn't have much time left. His only wish before dying was to lose his virginity.

She seemed to have forgotten the pain he had caused her five years ago. Upon learning that he had cancer, nothing else mattered to her.

Her concern and urgency in her messages were something she'd never shown me. Without hesitation, she agreed to his wish and arranged to meet him that very night.

She hadn't even bothered to verify if he was really diagnosed with cancer. A few lines of sweet talk from him had completely unraveled her.

Even though I had already decided to call off the wedding, my heart still ached. It turned out the five-year relationship I'd been so proud of couldn't compete with a few texts from Julian.

Maybe everyone except that one person was just settling. I was probably that person Winona settled for, the second choice in her eyes.

Over the past five years, there hadn't been a single moment when I wasn't looking forward to building our own home together. But now I didn't love her anymore. A woman like that wasn't worthy of my feelings for her.

I tore down all the wedding decorations in the room and notified everyone that the wedding was canceled. The banquet would go on as planned, but we'd be celebrating my single life instead. After that, I turned off my phone to avoid my family bombarding me with calls.

At 11:00 am, Winona still hadn't returned. It seemed there was no need to spare her even the last bit of dignity.

When I arrived at the wedding venue, Margaret Sullivan, Winona's mother, stormed forward to confront me. She was so close that I could feel her spit flying.

"Liam, what is the meaning of this? You turned a perfectly good wedding celebration into some singles party? You need to pay my family another half million for this embarrassment, or Winnie's not going to forgive you."

I frowned and took a few steps back.

Margaret was the type who favored sons over daughters. When we discussed the wedding, she had demanded an outrageous sum of one million in cash. I used to tolerate her crap because I wanted to marry Winona, but not anymore.

"I turned it into a singles party. Isn't that obvious? I'm not marrying Winona, and the engagement's off."

Her eyes flashed with fury. Before she could explode, a tearful voice came from behind her.

"Liam, why don't you want to marry me anymore? Today was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives."

I turned to see Winona in her white wedding dress. Her eyes were red and swollen, like she'd been crying for hours.

With her looking devastated and me standing there calm, it made me look like the asshole who'd broken her heart. If I hadn't known what she did last night, I might have actually been fooled by that act.

"You're here just in time. I'm officially notifying you that the wedding is canceled."

Panic flashed in her eyes. Lifting the hem of her dress, she hurried over and tried to grab my sleeve.

She said, "Are you upset because I didn't come home last night? Let me explain. Julian and I haven't seen each other in years. We were catching up and lost track of time.

"But I went to the salon first thing this morning because I wanted to be the most beautiful bride for you. I came straight here as soon as I got dressed. Please don't cancel the wedding just because you're mad at me."

I looked at Winona in that pristine white dress. She looked exactly how I'd always pictured my wedding day—beautiful, radiant, and practically glowing. But after last night, I'd seen the ugliness hiding underneath all that beauty.

I avoided her hand and handed her the photo from last night.

"Seems like you didn't just lose track of time. You ended up in bed with him."

Her face flushed crimson when she saw the photo. Once she realized I knew, she dropped the act.

"Let me explain. Julian has cancer, and this was his dying wish. We've known each other for so many years, and I couldn't just let him die with regrets. You understand that, don't you?"

She kept getting more confident and righteous, as if she were doing something noble. I'd be a complete asshole for not understanding.

I almost laughed out loud in disbelief. It was the first time I'd heard someone describe cheating as noble and virtuous.

I said coldly, "Winona, I never realized you were such a saint. You're willing to offer yourself up just to fulfill someone's wish? So, if any random person asked you to sleep with them, you'd do that too?"

"Of course not!" she shot back without hesitation.

I laughed bitterly.

"So, Julian's special to you then. You never got over him these past five years, right?"

Winona shouted, "I already told you it was only to make sure he didn't leave this world with regrets. Why are you being so petty about this? Besides, I showed up to the wedding on time today, didn't I? What more do you want from me?"