Chapter 2: The True Identity

“Congratulations on your wedding, Lysia!” The last few guests hugged her and gave their blessings before leaving.

The forced smile on Lysia’s face was opposite to their sincere eyes. “Thank you!”, replied she.

Now, alone in the wedding hall, surrounded by thousands of fresh roses and dressed in a stunning bridal gown, Lysia glanced down and gently twisted the ring on her fourth finger. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Lysia had originally prepared herself to be the most beautiful bride today. She had chestnut brown hair neatly tied up high, the strands falling to frame her oval face and her bright blue eyes. But now, she didn’t need to look in the mirror to know how bad her state was.

“Lysia, we need to talk.” A man's angry voice rang out from behind Lysia, and not even a second later, she was roughly pulled back.

Lysia gritted her teeth and lowered her voice, “Get your damn hands off me right now!”

“Lysia, you—” Henry stuttered as he met her gaze, then he criticized, “On any other day, I’d put up with your fucking sulk, but today is our wedding day! Please stop your princess sickness! Why are you acting so stupid and childish?”

Her lips trembled as she bit down on them, repeating, “Stupid and childish? Princess sickness?”

Lysia slapped him across the face without a second’s hesitation.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and just the sight of Henry’s face made her feel nauseous again. How had she not seen his vile nature sooner? She was grateful that she hadn’t let him touch her body. Otherwise, the thought of sharing fucking a guy with another girl made her want to rush to the doctor for a full check-up.

A contemptuous smile appeared on her face before she spoke, “Does it feel more exciting to have sex with my best friend right at my wedding?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand—” Henry was visibly frightened, his shoulders trembling slightly.

“Why so scared? Surely, you must have thought of a way to deal with me if I ever found out about the two of you. Or did you think I was too stupid to figure out your disgusting betrayal?” Lysia shot back.

Repeatedly poking her finger into his chest, she continued, “Don’t forget, how you can sit firmly in the director’s chair of Reinhart Diamond Ring Company is partly thanks to my family’s company. If I can help you, I can just as easily kick you out of your position.”

After a short time managing the Reinhart Corporation branch, Henry revealed his lack of competence. However, Ryan, Lysia's brother, created a few lucrative business opportunities for Henry, and then temporarily eased the shareholders. The Kingsley family had sincerely helped him, and she loved him with all her heart, yet he only looked down on her as a foolish woman?

'Henry Reinhart, who do you think you are?' She thought.

Henry gulped and looked around to make sure no one else was nearby. Grabbing Lysia’s arm, he gently coaxed, “Lysia, listen to me. I don't know where you’re getting these ridiculous rumors from, but I only love you. I’ve never betrayed you. I will take you to Europe so we can have the perfect honeymoon, okay, my love? Yes, the Maldives! You’ve always wanted to visit the Maldives, haven’t you?”

Seeing Henry pretending to care about her, Lysia couldn't help but cut him off, "Enough! Your love makes me sick."

She then played a recording on her phone. The lewd lovemaking sounds echoed in the quiet space, causing anyone who heard it to blush. On the other hand, Henry's face was pale without a drop of blood.

"Lysia— It's not what you think. Please let me explain," he tried to save the situation.

She exclaimed with eyes filled with fatigue and disappointment, "There's nothing to explain. Your voice now sounds like a barking dog to me. You had better shut your fucking mouth and get ready for the storm that’s about to hit your life."

"No, please, Lysia." Putting both hands on her shoulders, Henry begged, "At that time, I was checking on the wedding wine for the after-party, and Cami… She drugged me and made me lose control.”

Despite the pained expression on Lysia’s face, Henry continued to raise his voice, “You know, it’s been a year, and you wouldn’t agree to sleep with me, so my desires grew uncontrollable under Cami’s seduction. I’m a man, babe. A man’s desire is an instinct and it is hard to resist. Please sympathize with me!”

Henry’s words left Lysia even more incredulous. She stomped her high heels hard on Henry’s feet, causing him to bend over in pain. Then, she burst out laughing. Her body trembled with each laugh, and the more she laughed, the more tears flowed down her cheeks. Her face turned red, and her heart ached as if someone was squeezing it.

“Get out!” Lysia suddenly shouted. She threw the wedding bouquet straight at Henry’s face, sending petals to fly in the air, “I said, GET OUT OF HERE!”

Lysia vented all her emotions by violently throwing everything within her reach. She knocked over the champagne tower, leaving shattered glass and spilled dark red liquid strewn across the floor.

“Lysia, what are you mad about?” Henry grabbed her arm to stop her, “Aren’t you at fault in this? Didn’t you not allow me to touch your body because you were raped when you were 16? You’re not a virgin either, so don’t blame me alone!”

Lysia's mockery stung the air, her voice filled with pain, "So this is the extent of your filth, huh? Henry, your performance was truly remarkable."

In a flash, Lysia forgot how to breathe. She raised her bloodshot eyes to look at the boyfriend she had loved for the past year. A sob escaped her throat and she couldn’t utter a word due to the pain that was invading her entire body.

After a few seconds of silence, she rushed toward Henry like a wild beast and wanted to grab his collar.

However, a powerful punch landed on that bastard’s face faster than her actions. Her substitute groom, the man who had been her partner during the two-hour wedding ceremony, glared with fury in his eyes and cursed, “You fucking bastard!”

“Calm down, Lysia!” He hugged her right after and stroked her back to comfort her.

“No, let me go!” Lysia’s tears blurred her vision. She cried out as she scratched at his vest, “I want to kill Henry Reinhart, I want to kill that bastard—”

The man’s arms wrapped tightly around her. He commanded, “Calm down, I’m here! No one can hurt you. I’m here, calm down.”

Lysia didn’t know how long she stayed in his embrace before the sobbing finally stopped.

Meanwhile, Henry had also just received a rather painful punch, and he needed some time to calm down. Ever since he saw this man standing next to Lysia, he had been so scared that he had obediently left the wedding without causing any disturbance. Now Henry was bowing low to this man, “Little uncle.”

“Little uncle?” Lysia finally looked at her substitute groom and asked in a daze.

Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley walked in with Ryan after seeing off all the guests.

After assessing the current situation, Ryan glared at Henry and pulled Lysia away from her substitute groom, “Mr. Reinhart, I am taking my sister with me now. We will talk later.”

***

“Lysia Kingsley, you must remember that marriage is not a joke and you are mature enough to take responsibility for your own life.” Lysia’s mother, Rachael said with frustration, “You should have told us right away to deal with that bastard. Why did my precious daughter have to endure that awful wedding for hours on end? Oh god!”

Rachael slowly walked over to hug Lysia, who was collapsing in a corner of the room.

Matthew Kingsley, Lysia’s father, also stood behind her and patted her head. He said in a low voice, “The family’s honor can’t be more important than your happiness, sweetheart.”

With a sad look, Rachael felt sorry for her daughter and asked softly, almost whispering, “How do you want to handle this? Even if it means causing discord with the Reinhart family, we will not let you suffer like this.”

“Mommy,” Lysia called out weakly and wrapped her arms around Rachael.

Burying her face in her mother’s embrace, she continued, “I just want to be alone right now. This pain came so suddenly and I don’t want to complicate things any further.”

Just as she finished speaking, Ryan walked into the room. His face was filled with complicated emotions, and he let out a sigh, “But things aren’t that simple anymore, Lysia.”

“What do you mean?” she asked with a frown.

Matthew glanced down at her and muttered, “Don’t you know who the man you married is?”

Before Lysia could reply, Ryan spoke up, “Kyle Reinhart, the youngest son of the Reinhart family, will take over as CEO of the Reinhart Corporation in Reeds City. He is the next heir to this family.”

Lysia’s face darkened. She had just thrown away a trash Henry when she met another Reinhart.

***

Two weeks later, Lysia returned to work at the RRC newsroom. She had intended to use all her annual vacation days for her honeymoon, but in reality, she just locked herself in her room and gnawed at her pain alone. She ignored all of Henry’s calls and left him standing outside in the rain when he came to find her. She had managed to pull herself together during this time, having thought things through clearly.

“Hi Lys, how was your honeymoon?” Julie, her editor-in-chief, waved to her as soon as she saw Lysia enter the office.

Placing her bag down on her desk, Lysia smiled beautifully and replied, “Not bad. How's work going?”

Julie stood in front of Lysia and gave her a light pat on her shoulder, “We’ve been much busier without you. But I’m glad you had a great vacation. I have an important task for you to welcome you back!”

“What task?” Lysia asked as she started up her computer.

Taking a sip from her Americano coffee, Julie replied, “Gathering news at the press conference for a new issue this weekend.”

“Isn’t this a simple task for a newbie? Whose press conference is this?” Lysia inquired, but she had no opinion on the task her superiors assigned her.

Until the words “Kyle Reinhart - CEO of Reinhart Corporation” appeared on the screen, she was stunned for a moment and then furrowed her brow at Julie.

Julie mischievously winked and burst into laughter, “That’s right. It’s your husband. Take this opportunity to arrange an exclusive interview with him before our competitors. You are about to become RRC’s best journalist of the quarter again, Lysia.”