After her boyfriend bailed on their wedding, my best friend broke down crying and begged my fiance to step in and save the day.

Blake Keller comforted me gently. "Dawn, Noelle and I grew up together. We've been close for years—closer than family, honestly. Today is just for show. Besides, our wedding's next week anyway, so think of it as a rehearsal in advance."

I felt terrible for my best friend. After struggling with myself for a long time, I finally gritted my teeth and nodded.

Just like that, I watched with my own eyes as my boyfriend, who was supposed to be the best man, became my best friend's "groom."

At the wedding, Blake held Noelle's hand, his eyes filled with affection. When the officiant asked whether he was willing, he answered even more firmly than he had when he proposed to me.

I kept telling myself not to take it seriously, that it was just an act and I should not overthink it. That was what I believed—until after they exchanged rings.

The officiant smiled and said, "You may now kiss the bride."

The crowd instantly started cheering, urging them to kiss.

Blushing, Noelle hurriedly reassured me. "Dawn, don't worry. We'll fake it with the camera angle."

I believed her. But in the very next second, Blake lifted her chin and deeply kissed her for real in front of everyone.

Behind Closed Doors

The moment he kissed her, the entire venue exploded with excitement.

It wasn't a fake angle, and it definitely was not a quick, harmless peck either. It was a deep, passionate kiss, lips and tongues tangling together.

I froze where I stood, my face draining of all color.

"Oh my god… are they really just acting?" one of the bridesmaids beside me whispered softly. "They're way too into it."

Indeed, they were way too into it, so much so that even I almost started believing they were the real couple.

Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd below the stage, and someone shouted, "One more!"

Noelle hurriedly pushed Blake away and turned toward me with a flushed face. But she had barely opened her mouth when Blake grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her again.

I lowered my head and stared at myself in the bridesmaid dress, bouquet still clutched in my hands. Tears nearly spilled from my eyes.

The unbearably long kiss finally ended.

Noelle immediately ran over to me. "Dawn, I'm sorry. I really didn't know…"

Before she could finish, Blake grabbed her wrist and pulled her protectively behind him. "Dawn, it was just acting. You agreed to this from the start. You can't blame Noelle."

He said it with such a straight face that I suddenly seemed like the unreasonable one.

Noelle quickly added from the side, "Dawn, Blake and I really don't have anything going on. You're the one he loves."

'The one he loves?'

He knew perfectly well I would be hurt, yet he still kissed another woman right in front of me.

Furious, I lifted my skirt and ran out of the wedding hall.

If this had happened before, Blake definitely would've chased after me to comfort me. But this time, he never showed up even when I cried in the cold wind for nearly half an hour.

After wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes, I finally headed back toward the banquet hall.

As I passed the hallway, the dressing room door sat slightly ajar, faint noises drifting from inside. And then my entire body went rigid, for on the sofa inside the dressing room, Blake and Noelle were tangled together in a half-dressed mess.

Noelle's skirt had been shoved up to her waist, their heavy breathing filling the room with unbearable intimacy. With a flirty glare, she slapped him lightly. "Blake, are you insane? What if Dawn finds out?"

Blake did not look worried at all. Instead, he let out a low chuckle. "We've been sneaking around for two years already. If she were going to find out, she would've done so by now."

At that, he tightened his grip around her waist and shoved her harder beneath him. "Besides, we're married. Sleeping with my own wife isn't illegal, is it?"

'Two years together? Married?'

Ice flooded through my entire body, and my breathing turned heavy.

Noelle stopped resisting and pressed herself closer to him. "If not for the baby, I'd never marry you! You're supposed to marry Dawn next week. Have you figured out what you're going to do yet?"

My nails dug viciously into my palms as I fought back the tears threatening to fall.

'The baby she's carrying… is Blake's?'

Blake wrapped an arm around her, his eyes gentler than I had ever seen before. "I'll just make a fake marriage certificate. Dawn trusts me too much to ever suspect anything. And even if I marry her, so what? I'll still belong to you…"

Noelle let out a soft cry. "Careful… The baby."

"Relax. I'll be gentle…"

The obscene sounds that followed stabbed straight through my chest until it hurt so badly I could barely breathe. Staggering backward several steps, I braced myself against the wall and gasped for air.

One was my best friend of four years in college. The other was the man I had loved for five years. The two people I trusted most had been sleeping together behind my back, hiding it all beneath the excuse of being "close friends."

…

A long while later, Blake finally walked out holding Noelle's hand. The moment they saw me, panic flashed across both their faces, but Noelle reacted quickly and grabbed me.

At a glance, I spotted the hickey blooming across her collarbone.

"Dawn, I'm sorry. Blake got really carried away earlier. I already scolded him for it." She turned and glared at Blake. "Hurry up and apologize to Dawn."

Blake immediately reached over to wipe my tears. "Dawn, it's all on me. I didn't think about your feelings."

I stared into his sincere-looking eyes and remembered the way he had kissed Noelle. The way he had looked at her. The way he had been a hundred times more invested than he had ever been with me.

My hand clenched tightly as I raised it, about to slap Noelle across the face. But Blake grabbed my wrist at once and shoved me away. "Have you lost your mind?"

The force sent me crashing into the wall, pain exploding across my back as my vision darkened. "Blake… are you and Noelle really just friends?"

The Diary That Revealed Everything

Panic flashed across Blake's eyes, but he quickly composed himself and replaced it with confusion. "You're doubting me? Noelle and I grew up together. We've known each other so long that we just sometimes forget our boundaries. It's not what you think."

Even now, he still refused to admit it.

Thinking back carefully, the signs had been there all along. Ever since I started dating Blake, no matter where we went, it was always the three of us together.

He could never remember my birthday, yet every year at midnight, he never failed to send Noelle birthday wishes right on time. I could not eat spicy food, but every dish he ordered was loaded with chili because Noelle liked it.

Whenever Noelle got her period, he would immediately give her time off work. When I was in so much pain that I nearly slammed into walls, he merely told me to "tough it out" and reminded me not to be late for meetings.

Noelle and I had both stayed by Blake's side while he built the company from scratch. However, after the company went public, Noelle's salary became twice mine.

It wasn't like I had never argued or gotten jealous before.

Blake always used the same excuse. "Noelle and I have known each other for years, and she's your friend too. I can't treat her unfairly."

Friends? The way he looked at her was gentler than the way he had ever looked at me.

…

Blake told me to go home first and calm down before dragging me away from the venue. But after driving me back to the apartment, he immediately left again.

Before leaving, he said, "Noelle already feels terrible getting dumped just before her wedding. What you said earlier upset her so badly it affected the baby. I'm going to check on her for you."

His entire focus was on Noelle.

He never once considered how I felt at that moment.

…

After getting home, I stumbled upon a diary. Every single page had a plane ticket attached to it—tickets from Blake flying to Haverland, and below them were handwritten notes from him.

"Noelle got transferred to the overseas branch. Got to go see her and make sure she's okay."

"Business trip to Haverland. Stayed for three days, but honestly, I just wanted to see her."

I flipped to the page dated on our third anniversary. When I read the entry, my tears finally broke free.

"I struggled with it for a long time, but I ultimately confessed my love for her. Turns out she liked me too. I didn't want to lose her. Noelle couldn't bear seeing Dawn heartbroken, so she told me not to break up with her. I agreed.

"She finally slept with me tonight. Compared to Dawn, my body seems to like her more."

…

That day, I had called Blake more than ten times. He rejected every single call.

In the end, he only sent me one cold message. "Busy. Stop bothering me."

So, that was what he had been busy with—sleeping with my best friend and his so-called "dear friend."

I flipped to the final page of the diary. The entry had been written only a few days ago.

"Noelle's pregnant. How dare she marry some random guy? No way I'm letting her go!"

Tucked inside the diary was a pregnancy test report, and under the father's name, "Blake Keller" was clearly written.

My fingers trembled violently as I gripped the paper tighter.

…

The day Blake found out Noelle was pregnant, he immediately flew to Haverland. He had even deliberately approved leave for me, asking me to care for Noelle there and also help her plan the wedding.

And that "jerk" who abandoned her at the altar?

Blake drove him away himself. He was adamant about making Noelle his wife.

My phone suddenly rang. It was my mother calling again to urge me about the wedding. "Dawn, when are you and Blake returning to the country? The whole family's waiting to attend the wedding!"

"Mom, I'm not marrying Blake." Before she could start yelling, I continued calmly, "Don't worry. The wedding will still happen as planned."

It was just that the groom would be someone else.

The Wedding Would Go On

I spent the entire night reading that diary.

Two years. More than a hundred plane tickets. Every single page carried Noelle's name.

…

By morning, I was standing outside Noelle's apartment.

Blake's leather shoes sat by the entrance, and laughter drifted lightly from the kitchen. The same Blake who had never once cooked for me was now wearing an apron, making soup for Noelle.

Noelle wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "You should go check on Dawn. She must be really upset being alone right now."

Blake's tone was indifferent, like he was talking about someone completely unimportant. "I dare her to be upset. You're pregnant, and she didn't even bother taking care of you. Now, she expects me to coax her?

"Noelle… I don't think I ever liked Dawn that much. Not in the past, not now. She's never compared to you."

Those words pierced straight through my heart.

Five years together.

I had stayed by his side while he built his company from nothing. I watched him rise step by step until the company finally went public. And in the end, all I got was a casual "I never liked her that much."

I couldn't hold it in anymore. My slap landed hard across Blake's face. "Blake Keller, we're done. I'm giving you two my blessing."

Noelle hurried forward to stop me. "Dawn, you're getting the wrong idea. He just—"

I threw the pregnancy report and diary straight at her face. "That baby belongs to Blake, doesn't it? Do you two have any shame at all?"

Blake bent down and calmly picked everything up, his expression terrifyingly composed. "So what, Dawn? Our wedding's next week. If we break up now, how will you explain it to your family?"

Noelle immediately burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Dawn. I'll end the pregnancy right away."

Blake instantly pulled her into his arms and glared at me coldly. "Don't you dare! Dawn Nichols, you had an abortion before—who knows if you can even still have children. You should be thanking Noelle instead.

"The fact that I'm still willing to go through with the wedding with you is already more than generous enough. You're such a slut—who else other than me would even want you?"

Noelle tried to cover his mouth, but it was already too late. I froze completely as warmth flooded my eyes.

When I was 19, I got pregnant with my ex-boyfriend's child.

The abortion damaged my body badly, and the doctor told me it would be difficult for me to ever get pregnant again.

After I returned to school, rumors spread everywhere. People said I had loose morals. They claimed I had become some rich man's sugar baby and gotten knocked up.

I posted explanation after explanation online, but nobody believed me. I was isolated. Bullied. No matter where I went, people pointed at me behind my back.

There were several times when I nearly died.

But back then, Noelle stayed by my side. Again and again, she pulled me back from the edge.

Later, she introduced Blake to me.

He never believed those rumors. Whenever he heard people talking badly about me, he would rush forward and fight them for my sake.

The day we got together caused an uproar across the entire university. Everyone said Blake had lost his mind. After all, why would the campus heartthrob date a girl with a "stained past"?

But he held my hand tightly and said, "Dawn's the best girl in the world. I wish I could give her everything."

I believed him. But now, the same man who once pulled me out of hell with his own hands was calling me dirty.

I looked into Blake's eyes. Those eyes had once been filled with tenderness. Now, there was nothing left inside them except coldness.

"Blake… back then, you said you didn't believe those rumors. You said you felt sorry for me. What about now?"

Blake said nothing, but his eyes had already given me the answer.

Seeing the utterly shattered look on my face, Noelle finally panicked. "Dawn, don't take it seriously. Blake was just angry and talking nonsense…"

She reached for my hand, but rage exploded inside me as I violently shoved her away.

A cry of pain rang out.

She fell to the floor, clutching her stomach as her face turned deathly pale. "My stomach… it hurts…"

Before I could even react, a violent force slammed into me.

Blake shoved me hard against the table, knocking over a glass cup. The shattered pieces stabbed deep into my palm. Blood instantly poured out, and the pain made my entire body tremble uncontrollably.

Blake scooped Noelle into his arms and roared at me with bloodshot eyes. "If anything happens to Noelle or the baby, I'm coming for you, Dawn! And you can forget about ever having that wedding!"

Without sparing me another glance, he rushed out with Noelle in his arms. I remained kneeling amid the shattered mess, my hands covered in blood.

What Blake still didn't know was that even without him, the wedding would still go on.