“Miss Bray, are you sure you want to release these photos and videos of Mr. Loader and Miss Nash on the day of the wedding?”

Tabitha paused before replying firmly, “I’m certain. I also need you to take care of a visa for me. I’m flying out on my wedding day. I expect you to keep this between us.”

After the call, Tabitha stood in the silence of the room.

Just this morning, Tabitha stumbled upon a secret love nest Christian had set up with his old flame.

“Kelsey, since you’re so against the wedding, you should come and steal me away at the wedding next month.”

Tabitha reached the door of Christian’s other residence, only to overhear Christian telling Kelsey to crash the wedding.

Soon enough, Christian and Kelsey locked arms and shared a hot kiss.

Tabitha watched on, her heart breaking into pieces.

Fighting back the urge to barge in on them, she turned on her heel.

Right there and then, she made a choice that would leave everyone reeling.

She planned to leave Christian at the altar before Kelsey would come and whisk him away!

Opting out of the comfort of taking the wheel, Tabitha Bray headed home on foot instead.

Horrified to see Tabitha covered in biting frost, the maid ushered her inside to get some warmth and scrambled to get her a hot drink.

“Why didn’t you wear something warmer, Miss Bray? Mr. Loader is going to be upset if you catch a cold.”

Tabitha appeared numb to the world. Without a word, she turned on her heel and retreated to her room.

The moment the door was shut, Tabitha clutched her chest and sank to the floor.

She had never once doubted Christian Loader’s love for her.

All it took was a hint of interest from Tabitha for Christian to take the next flight out to South America, just to oversee the creation of a bespoke diamond bracelet.

Christian was the kind of man who would flip a table and throw away a multimillion-dollar deal if anybody pressured her to drink.

The same CEO, hardened by the cutthroat turbulence of the business world, set his pride aside to propose to Tabitha, his hands shaking with nerves.

Once Tabitha accepted the marriage proposal, the elites of Port Haven buzzed in anticipation of the wedding of the century happening a month later.

Only Tabitha knew that it was over. Christian cheated on her.

She had planned to sit down and talk things through with Christian. However, she didn’t expect the bombshell she had overheard.

Crashing a wedding? What did Christian take her for?

Did her family’s reputation mean nothing to Christian?

Tabitha ran her fingers along her engagement ring while closing her eyes.

She wondered how Christian had planned for Kelsey Cook to crash a wedding that would never take place.

Tabitha’s focus was to ditch Christian at the altar before he could have the chance to pull his stunt.

The wedding, set to take place a month later, would be the day she would disappear from Christian’s life.

Tabitha’s parting gift to Christian would be one he would never forget.

…

Christian arrived home late at night. Without time to take off his coat, he scrambled to hold Tabitha and apologize.

“I’m sorry, Tabitha. I got tied up in a meeting with a client and lost track of time.”

He caught a glimpse of the untouched food on the table. “Why haven’t you had dinner? Did you lose your appetite?”

Tabitha simply shook her head and distanced herself from him discreetly.

The sickly sweet stench on Christian made her head spin with nausea.

Oblivious to her odd behavior, Christian grinned helplessly. He pulled up a chair to sit next to her and served her some food.

“Things are hectic at the office lately, so I might not make it back for dinner. Don’t starve yourself while I’m not around.”

With downcast eyes, Tabitha spotted a smudge of red running down his shirt collar.

She had to stop herself from gagging as her stomach churned.

There was a time Christian would sulk whenever she would miss a meal with him.

On one serious occasion, Christian even shed tears of frustration.

He once claimed that life was too short to miss out on even one dinner with her.

Ironically, Christian was the one who had neglected his promise.

Staring at the food on her plate, Tabitha smiled wryly.

She pondered the moment when Christian had begun to change.

It was probably around the time of their engagement two months ago.

That day, Christian’s mind was elsewhere.

It was supposed to be a day to remember. However, Christian was glued to his phone, completely distracted when she spoke to him several times.

At one point, Christian walked out on Tabitha after a phone call, leaving her to face both their parents on her own.

Later, Tabitha found out that the day of their engagement happened to be the day Kelsey flew back.

Kelsey was the woman who stirred up all kinds of emotions within Christian, be it love or hatred.

Four years earlier, Kelsey had Christian completely under her spell, persuading him to pour almost all his assets into a venture she had pitched.

Nevertheless, Kelsey simply took the money and vanished abroad without a trace.

Unable to locate Kelsey, the investors turned their sights on the Loaders, demanding their money back.

Those were Christian’s darkest days. Crushed by financial ruin and the weight of his parents’ and partners’ expectations, he reached the point where suicide seemed like the only escape.

Just as Christian stood on the edge of the bridge, ready to jump, it was Tabitha who risked her life to pull him back from the brink.

Tabitha even stepped in to inject funds into his failing company.

She worked tirelessly alongside Christian to save the business, building it into the powerhouse it was today.

Since then, Christian moved on and poured all his devotion into Tabitha instead.

It took Christian a year to win Tabitha over and another three years before she said yes to his proposal.

However, all that changed when Kelsey slipped back into his life.

Now, Christian was even entertaining the idea of letting Kelsey swoop in and steal him away at the wedding.

With that in mind, Tabitha said indifferently, “I’m fine. I’m not hungry, and I don’t eat shrimp.”

Christian was taken aback, especially when his gaze met Tabitha’s emotionless eyes.

It hit him that Tabitha was never one to touch shellfish. Even a single bite would make her sick.

Feeling bad, Christian summoned the sleeping maid with his loud voice.

“Didn’t I give strict orders not to serve shellfish in this house? I expect a certain level of competency.”

Snapping out of her drowsy daze, the maid explained, “Mr. Loader, didn’t you have the shellfish delivered to the house? The instructions were to serve the food fresh, so I—”

Christian shot her a look. “Why the heck would I send shellfish to the house?”

When a realization hit him, Christian’s eyes became shifty.

The maid immediately took the plate of shellfish away for disposal.

However, Tabitha raised her arm to stop her.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s not waste food. Just pack it up for freezing.”

Tabitha turned to Christian. “You can take the shellfish to the office tomorrow. I’m sure someone there is bound to appreciate it.”

Caught between a rock and a hard place, the maid looked to Christian for a decision.

With his heart sinking, Christian grabbed Tabitha’s hand and asked, “What’s wrong, Tabitha? I thought you couldn’t stand the sight of shellfish.”

“You’re right, so it’s a treat for your staff since everybody has been working overtime lately. It would be a shame to waste such a luxury.”

Tabitha’s airtight logic eased Christian’s nerves.

“You’re so thoughtful. Wrap the food up.”

“Of course, Mr. Loader.”

To think Christian could put on an act so flawlessly.

Tabitha quietly watched as Christian packed the food and added a sticky note that read, “From my dear wife, Tabitha.”

Well, Tabitha hoped Christian could keep up with the facade when he was to receive her gift.

…

Tossing and turning into the night, Tabitha couldn’t shake the gloom that kept sleep at bay.

Her phone on the nightstand lit up.

Tabitha unlocked her phone, only to find a notification from a familiar number.

The text message contained several screenshots of chats with the profile pictures removed, the words dripping with flirtation as always.

Without a doubt, Kelsey had sent her private conversations with Christian just to rub her smugness in Tabitha’s face.

The harassment had been ongoing for two months.

Tabitha tapped on Kelsey’s profile to browse through her social feed.

Her most recent update was from two hours ago. “Adopted this adorable little thing with my love today.”

Attached was a picture of a cat.

Christian had always been a cat person, and his avatar proved his love for the furry animal.

Alas, due to Tabitha’s serious allergies, they couldn’t keep a cat.

To Tabitha’s surprise, Christian went ahead and adopted one together with Kelsey anyway.

Kelsey’s post on social media was basically hinting that only she could provide Christian with his idea of a picture-perfect family, which included a cat.

Tabitha scrolled through Kelsey’s feed until the screen light burned her eyes. Eventually, she put her phone down.

Though Christian slept right next to her, the emotional distance between them was an infinite void.

Tabitha was jolted awake by a sharp pain in the dead of the night.

Between her pre-existing gastric issues and the day’s emotional rollercoaster, her stomach was now cramping with intensity.

She reached out to switch on the lamp, only to knock over her glass of water on the nightstand.

The noise startled Christian awake, and he found Tabitha curled up into a ball of agony.

He fumbled for the lights, and the sight of Tabitha in cold sweat threw him into a panic.

“What’s the matter, Tabitha? Is your stomach acting up again?”

“My pills… They are in the drawer.”

At the sound of Tabitha’s fragile voice, Christian bolted to his feet and rummaged through the drawer.

A ringtone cut through the air.

While Christian searched for the pills in desperation, the phone kept ringing.

In the end, Christian snatched the phone and answered the call in frustration.

“Who is it? What do you want? I don’t care what it is, but now isn’t the right time. Do you hear me?”

Seconds before Christian would terminate the call, the sound of sobbing from the other end of the line stunned him.

Through the silence of the night, Tabitha could make out the faint voice of a woman on the other end.

“Mittens is gone, Christian! I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t find it. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off it.

“It’s just a tiny baby. If anything happens to it, I don’t want to live anymore…”

“Don’t! Don’t go there. Nothing will happen to it.”

Panic clouded Christian’s face.

He took a glance at Tabitha before walking out while covering his phone, his voice trailing off.

“It’s late. It’s not safe for you to venture out alone to find Mittens. I’ll be there in five…”

Moments later, Christian scrambled back to the room, threw on a jacket, and made up a lie about a work emergency before heading out without so much as a glance at Tabitha.

Doubling over in pain, Tabitha could only watch as Christian faded into the background.

The emotional betrayal hurt far more than the physical illness.

Left without a choice, Tabitha had to drag herself across the room to find her medication.

Slipping on her foot, Tabitha tumbled out of bed and passed out on the floor.

Tabitha woke up in a hospital ward.

The nurse was prepping her up for IV therapy when Tabitha opened her eyes. The nurse perked up with excitement and relief.

“You’re awake at last. Mr. Loader spared no expense to get you treatment. He was very upset while you were out.”

The nurse sounded rather envious.

However, Tabitha simply let out a wry smile.

The irony wasn’t lost on her. Alcohol had been essential to closing business deals while she fought to save Christian’s dying business, and it had taken a permanent toll on her health.

Yet now, she wasn’t even worth more than a pet cat belonging to his ex.

Unable to stand the smell of disinfectants in the ward, Tabitha propped herself up and stepped out.

She barely took a few steps out the door when she spotted a familiar figure passing by.

As her heart skipped a beat, Tabitha quietly kept up.

Tabitha caught sight of Christian hiding in the corridor, whispering into his phone.

Christian chuckled, his voice full of resignation and affection.

“No, I can’t leave right now. She’s still out cold.

“Hang in there. I’ll definitely make time to see you. It won’t be long now.”

Kelsey must have said something because Christian flashed those cute dimples and responded dotingly, “Got it. I miss you too.

“Alright. See you soon.”

After hanging up, Christian furrowed his brows.

He couldn’t shake the feeling of a pair of eyes on him.

Despite turning around and checking several times, Christian didn’t see anyone else in the corridor.

Upon learning that Tabitha was awake, Christian dropped his hostile act and became civil with the medical staff.

He logged the doctor’s orders into his phone and demanded repeated assurances from the medical staff that Tabitha was fine before agreeing to her hospital discharge.

Behind the wheel, Christian seemed to be in a good mood.

“Tabitha, my assistant mentioned that your wedding dress is ready. Shall we schedule a fitting?”