Chapter 3 Drowning Sorrows

"Rina, you've gone too far! How could you hit Julia? When did you become so aggressive?" Liam turned to face me, his eyes ablaze with anger and blame toward me.

A sharp pain tore through my heart. I looked at Liam as I paled. It was clear that Julia mattered more than I ever did. But I'm his fiancee, and our wedding was scheduled for tomorrow. Yet here he was, enjoying an intimate moment with another woman in our new home. And this woman is none other than my closest friend since college.

"Get out, Julia! This is my home. Get out! Now!" I rushed forward, my grip tightening around Julia's arm, driven by an urge to throw her out of the house.

"Enough! Rina, you're going too far!" Liam cut in, shoving me to the floor while cradling Julia protectively against him.

The sting of hitting the ground paled in comparison to the ache in my heart. Picking myself up, I locked eyes with Liam and mustered a grim smile. Right then, I understood my worth in his heart. It was far less than that of a mistress.

"I hate you, Liam!" My voice shattered the air. I sounded unhinged as if saying this drew on the last bit of willpower I had.

I bolted out of the apartment and I ran. I ran for god knows how long. The only thing that could distract me from the scene I had just witnessed was intense physical activity.

Everything kept replaying in my mind. On the eve of our wedding, the man I was about to marry was tangled in the sheets with my best friend, who was also the mother of his child. I thought such melodramatic events were the stuff of TV dramas, but now, they were happening to me.

Seven years of love and care, all for nothing. I had been certain that starting tomorrow, Liam and I would live happily ever after. But the nightmare I saw tonight had shattered that illusion. Liam was no longer the man who had sworn to love me for a lifetime.

Inside a dimly lit bar, the atmosphere was thick with the smell of alcohol and cigarettes. Music blared from the speakers, reaching near ear-splitting levels. Men danced wildly on the dance floor while I sat in a corner, gulping down liquor like it was water, teetering on the edge of a breakdown.

The irony and heartbreak of catching my fiance with my best friend just before our wedding was both ludicrous and tragic. I had spent seven years never questioning their friendship because they were the ones I trusted and loved the most. But now, the two people closest to me had betrayed that trust. Was there anyone more pathetic than me?

The image that kept surfacing in my mind was a completely naked Julia. She straddled Liam, grinding him. His expression of pleasure made the entire scene both ludicrous and nauseating.

And it turns out that Jamie was Liam's child all along. They were not just having an affair, they had a child together too. I had assumed Julia kept quiet about Jamie's dad because of painful memories, so I always tactfully dodged the topic.

How incredibly foolish I had been.

Was this their masterful deceit or my own stupidity? Years had gone by, and I had picked up on absolutely nothing.

My mind was in chaos. I tossed my head back and downed the burning liquor. The liquid stung my throat and tears welled up in my eyes, yet my heart remained like stone, offering no relief.