The night before my wedding, I randomly saw a video located in my fiancé's apartment complex.

The caption wrote, [One last night as husband and wife, from now on we'll just be strangers.]

[When I was 18, I was sponsored by my godparents, then I became his god-sister.]

[When I was 23, he saw me naked and I saw his restrained yet moving expression.]

[When I was 24, we had a son. I thought we'd have a happy home.]

[But fate dealt him a cruel blow; tomorrow he's marrying someone else.]

[My love, the father of my child, congratulations on your marriage.]

Opening the rest of the video, I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. In the video, the child, whose face was blurred, had a conspicuous thick gold rope on his wrist. It was the custom-made, blessed bracelet I'd personally put on my fiancé's nephew.

——

[Sister, how could you post something so morally reprehensible? You deliberately posted it so the bride would see it, right?]

[Help! I feel like I'm going blind! Is this something a normal person would say?]

[Help me bump this up, let the bride see this, run! If she really gets married, this family with concubines will be a nightmare for her.]

Looking at the familiar gold rope, the familiar address, even the familiar child's figure. I suppressed my shock, still unable to believe that Mike Walter, my boyfriend of five years, could do such a thing. I took a screenshot of the video and forwarded it directly to the group chat.

[Was the gold rope I gave Toby stolen?]

Less than a minute later, the video was restricted and could not be viewed.

Mike quickly replied.

[How could that be? He really likes it, he wears it every day.]

[What video? Why aren't you asleep so late? The wedding is tomorrow morning, don't watch, go to rest.]

A chill ran through me. I didn't reply, thinking of that disgusting phrase, [One last night as husband and wife.] I immediately initiated a multi-person video call in the group.

[You and Rebecca take this call, I have something to do.]

The next second, Mike’s mother, Milena Walter, who usually played dumb and stayed out of the group chat, replied, [What's going on? Why are you video chatting so late? Let's talk tomorrow. Rebecca is too tired from preparing for the bridesmaids and has already gone to sleep.]

Mike followed up, [Yeah, we'll be get married tomorrow. We won't need to video chat anymore, we can see each other every day, Kate.]

Milena echoed, [Besides, you know we have a custom here: the bride and groom can't meet the day before the wedding. It's considered bad luck.]

I frowned, my tone leaving no room for argument, [If you don't answer the video call within one minute, the wedding is canceled.]

The group chat fell silent instantly. My parents rushed into the room.

"Kate, you're not kidding, are you? What happened?"

I recounted the entire video I had seen. My parents' expressions instantly turned serious, "This can't be. Can it be a coincidence?"

I looked at them firmly, "I don't believe in such coincidences. I won't marry him until this is cleared up."

The group chat exploded quickly.

[What does this mean? She's refusing to marry him just because of a video?]

[Father-in-law, you be the judge. Does she expect the whole world to revolve around her? Refusing to marry because of a little dissatisfaction, is that reasonable?]

My father glanced at me. Then he typed in the group chat, [Traditional customs are irrelevant. Whether a marriage works depends on whether the couple are reliable and whether they have other motives. My daughter has her own ideas and we fully support her.]

After this, everyone in the group seemed guilty and fell silent. A minute later, the video call connected.

Mike and Rebecca were on their own beds in their separate bedrooms. I heard Mike saying, "Kate, I was originally going to take the child home, but my mom said it was too late, so I stayed here. Don't misunderstand."

This made me sound so heartless. I didn't speak, only noticing that Toby, who always clung to his mother, was sleeping next to Mike.

I couldn't let any suspicious detail slip by, "Why isn't Toby sleeping with Rebecca?"

Mike's eyes were still red and he paused, startled, "Probably because he can't bear to leave me."

Just then, as if I'd woken him, Toby rolled over and snuggled into Mike's arms. This revealed the pink lace bra he was wearing underneath his back. My heart sank. Last time, when Rebecca tried on her bridesmaid dresses, I saw she had one exactly the same.

"Wait, Kate, don't misunderstand..." Mike tried to explain.

In his haste, I took a screenshot and sent it to the group chat. [Men and women should be in different room. Are they now afraid of being misunderstood?]

Soon, Rebecca's embarrassed voice rang out, "I'm so sorry, sister... the main bathroom pipe was broken, so I showered in Mike's bathroom. I probably forgot to pick it up."

She continued, "Don't misunderstand, just this once, it won't happen again. I forgot, I showered in the afternoon and it's easy to overlook it when I put it away. Maybe it was hanging on the same hook on Toby's clothes and he accidentally brought it over. It can't be that serious!"

One thing led to three explanations. The more she explained, the more guilty she sounded. At this moment, I was pretty sure that they were hiding something from me.

I clenched my fists tightly, "Okay, then I need to see Mike and Toby's DNA test results now. Then will we get married after the result come out."

After saying that, the group chat fell silent again. But soon, Milena sent a message.

[Hey, what do you mean by all of these? Golden rope, video chat and now a DNA test? Are we still getting married tomorrow? You guys are really treating people like dirt!]

I could vaguely hear sobbing on the other end of the voice message. Mike hung up the video call and called immediately.

“What exactly do you want? We’re getting married tomorrow, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t they already explain that it was an accidental mistake while collecting laundry? Is it really that serious?”

I calmed my breathing, “We’ve already moved on from that topic. I’m talking about the paternity test, Mike. If you’re not guilty, take the child for the test. Otherwise, we’re not getting married tomorrow.”

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line. His tone was helpless.

“I’m not guilty, but the child has finally fallen asleep and it’s so late. Where are we going to get a test done? What if he throws a tantrum? Be a good girl, we’ll get married tomorrow and I’ll take him for the test right away, okay?” He coaxed me as usual.

But a chill ran through me. I tried to calm down my voice, “Do you know that when you’re guilty, you’ll accept anything outrageous? You haven’t asked me at all why I want you to do a paternity test with a completely unrelated godchild. Any normal person would find such a request outrageous, but you think it’s normal. What does that tell you?”

He was silent for a long time. The next moment, Toby burst into tears. The sound of Milena cursing came from the other end of the phone.

"What a disaster! This daughter-in-law hasn't even entered the family yet and she's already causing chaos in our home. Even though Rebecca is a child we've sponsored, I've raised her with all my heart as my own."

Then she went to Mike, "Mike! Is this the good wife you've found for me? Insulting my family like this, are you trying to drive us to our deaths?"

Mike sighed, "Kate, you can torment me however you want, but please don't torment my parents. They have to get up early tomorrow. Besides, I told you, Rebecca was deceived when she was young. She already has a deep-seated trauma. If you misunderstand her like this, she'll break down. Stop it, go get some rest."

The phone was hung up immediately. It made me furious. I got dressed and was about to go to the Walter Family's house. I wouldn’t have peace of mind until this matter was cleared up.

My mother looked at me hesitantly, “Kate, are you really sure? The video is gone. Don't let them control you. His mother is difficult to get along with to begin with and now…”

I shook my head, “I trust my intuition.”

When the three of us arrived at the Walter Family home, it was in chaos.

Rebecca was screaming hysterically, “I deserve to die! I shouldn’t be alive! Why did I come back? Why did I give birth to this child and get misunderstood?”

Milena looked at me, annoyed, “Are you determined to cause trouble? You’ve come all the way to our house, do you just want to see us in chaos?”

I looked at them calmly, “I’m not causing trouble. My demands are simple. First, I want to see Rebecca’s phone album and the hidden videos on her social media. Second, I want Mike and Toby to get a DNA test done right now. I won’t get married until either of these things are resolved.”

They looked at me in shock. Mike frowned, "You made a scene on the phone, fine, but you even came to my house. My whole family stayed up all night to keep up with your drama. Do you think that's appropriate?"

Before I could speak, Rebecca knelt on the floor and handed me her phone, "Kate, take a look if you want. I really don't know what you mean by that video. Have you misunderstood something? I don't know why you misunderstand me, why you misunderstand Toby, but he's the child I was forced into having. Do I really have to reopen old wounds for you to believe me?"

I didn't have time to care; I just opened her phone immediately. The social media profile was empty, with no hidden posts or drafts. A hint of hesitation rose in my heart. But when I opened the photo album and saw it was completely empty, even the recently deleted photos were gone. I knew she had already done it.

Meeting her aggrieved eyes, I chuckled softly and tossed the phone to the ground. I asked her, "What does this has to prove? Phones can lie too; who knows if you've already deleted them? I only believe what I see and my first instinct!"

Her face was deathly pale, her eyes lowered, "I'm sorry, Kate, I shouldn't have washed my clothes with theirs. I didn't understand my status as an outsider. But there's nothing between us. If you think it's inappropriate for me to be here with my child, if you don't want to see me, I can leave. I promise I won't bother you after tomorrow… Please, don't insult me ​​like this. I beg you!"

Milena immediately sat down on the floor, hugging Rebecca and Toby, crying together, "What a tragedy! If you leave, I'll leave too! If you're so arrogant now, who knows how you'll live after marrying into this family. I might as well leave too, to avoid being disliked!"

Mike’s father’s face was ashen, clutching his chest, gasping for breath, "This is the kind of good woman you found to marry, Mike? The whole family is so clueless. Causing this scene the day before the wedding, where do you think we'll put our faces? We've checked her phone, what is she trying to do?"

Mike looked exhausted, "Uncle and Aunt, it's one thing for her to be ignorant and act recklessly, but why are you two joining in?"