Chapter 1: Till Cheating Do Us Part

༺RAYNE༻

"We are gathered here today to witness the union of Henry Campbell and Rayne Sullivan in holy matrimony," the priest booms throughout the church hall, a small smile planted on his lips.

This is it! I clutch my bouquet, my eyes locked on Henry's eyes as he gently reaches for my hand. I'm finally getting married to the man of my dreams! What could possibly go wrong?

"And now, before we proceed, I must ask, is there anyone here who thinks these two should not be wed? Speak now or forever hold your peace," the priest continues, looking around the room.

Oh, the formalities! I want to laugh. Like anyone would actually burst in through those doors right now and object to our wedding. Stuff like that only happens in—

"Whoa, hold up, people!" A loud voice cuts through my train of thoughts and I turn back, along with every single person in the church to see a dark-skinned woman stomping in.

"This whole damn wedding ain't happening on my watch!" She yells again, coming over to where Henry and I are both standing.

What the hell? Who is this woman?

She's wearing a long flowery summer dress and an ugly scowl to match. Her hands are glued to her very large baby bump hiding underneath her dress. I don't think I've ever seen her before so why is she causing a scene at my wedding?

"I'm sorry, who are you?" The priest asks her when she's finally made her way to us, his expression stern.

She laughs, more like cackles even and then responds, "Forgive me, Father for I have sinned and hence, I'm here to make a confession."

The priest furrows his brows, looking perplexed. "Confession? This isn't the time nor the place for—"

But the woman quickly cuts him off, waving her hand. "Oh, don't you worry, Father. I'm gonna make it quick and get straight to the point."

"What do you think you're doing here, Keyshia?" Henry speaks in a low voice, scowling at the pregnant woman.

I stare at him, a lump forming in my throat. "You know this woman?"

"Oh, he doesn't just know me, honey, he's been fucking me for as long as I can remember. And you see this?" She gestures at her baby bump and continues, "It's all his. This motherfucker right here is the father of my child! And there ain't no way in hell, I'm gonna stand by and watch you marry him while he's promised to marry me! Ain't no way I'm raising a bastard child!"

My heart pounds and then drops to the ground, my mouth parting open in shock. There are loud gasps and mumbles in the church. And the priest is in no way pleased.

"Woman, this is a holy place and your language is completely inappropriate," the priest tells her, his face slightly turning red.

"Save your sanctimonious bullshit, Father. I ain't here to impress you or anyone else. I'm here to set things straight."

"H-Henry," I stutter breathlessly, tears forming in my eyes. "What is she saying? Did you really get her pregnant?"

Henry doesn't even look at me. He's only focused on her. "Keyshia, this isn't the time or place for this. We'll talk about this later."

"No, we'll talk about this now, Henry. Right here, right now, in front of everyone. You think you can just fucking get rid of me and marry this little white bitch like nothing happened? Nah, that ain't how it's gonna go down."

I feel like the ground is crumbling beneath me. This can't be happening. Not on my wedding day. Not to me.

The woman turns to me. "I ain't got a problem with you. I just want what's mine and that's Henry."

"This can't be happening," I whisper, the tears already streaming down my face. I didn't even realize when I dropped the bouquet. "This isn't true."

"It's true, all right, Rayne. That's your name, right? I've heard a whole lot about you from Henry. He told me how boring you are in bed, how you fuck like a dead fish and how you don't satisfy him. He said you can't even manage to make him cum half the time. But me? Oh, I got him screaming my name every damn night. Ain't that right, Henry?"

Keyshia's words are a slap to my face. I feel like I can't breathe, my heart is racing and my mind is clouded with hurt and confusion. I look at Henry and he's not even trying to deny anything. He's just standing there, his eyes fixed on Keyshia as he stares angrily at her.

Simi, my best friend and maid of honour chimes in, "That's enough! How dare you come in here and—"

Keyshia interrupts her, "Oh, shut the fuck up! You think I don't know that Henry's been fucking you too?"

What?

I look at Simi and watch as her face blanches with shock and guilt. She's tongue-tied. She's been sleeping with Henry too? I've caught Henry cheating on me a number of times before but he made me believe he's changed. I never would've thought that he's still fooling around and worse, sleeping with my best friend.

"Simi? How could you?" My voice breaks.

"And don't even get me started on the rest of these hoes," Keyshia continues, gesturing to the other bridesmaids whose faces instantly go pale. "They've all been getting a piece of Henry too, all six inches of this fucker."

None of them deny the accusation. What in the world is going on here? I'm surrounded by betrayal!

The murmurs in the church become louder but not loud enough to drown the painful throbbing of my heart. I've been lied to by everyone close to me. I'm such a fool! I back away from them all, more tears pouring down my face.

"I can't believe this! Cheaters! Liars! You've all been making a fool out of me!" I burst out. "Henry, how could you do this to me?"

Henry grunts. "Rayne, stop being so dramatic. We can talk about this later but right now, let's just get married," he utters without any hint of remorse, grabbing my hand.

Does he seriously think I'll get married to him after this?

I spit, pulling my hand away, "You disgusting, sick bastard! I'd rather die than marry you!"

I take off my wedding veil and run out of the church, ignoring Henry's call. He can go to hell for all I care. I'm done with him. I tried my best to be the best girlfriend for him. Ten years together and I did everything within my power to keep him happy but it was obviously never enough for him.

All he does is cheat on me and lie to me. And I've been nothing but faithful and submissive to him. But it all ends now! No more! It's time I gave Henry a taste of his own medicine! I'm going to make him feel the kind of hurt I feel every time he betrays me. And I'm going to do it now.

What was that Henry said? I'm boring in bed? Alright, then, I'll show him that I can be just as exciting as those sluts he cheats on me with. I don't care about the consequences anymore. I'm done being the naive, trusting woman he can walk all over.

And Simi? She's supposed to be my best friend, my only true friend. How could she betray me like that? I sniffle, struggling to hold back more tears that are about to spill. I feel my chest tightening and my breathing getting heavier. This is all too much for me to take. My wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of my life but now it's a nightmare.

I hail a taxi and give the driver the address of the hotel Henry booked for our honeymoon. I'm going to make Henry pay for everything he's done to me. Throughout the drive, all I can think about is revenge. How I'm going to go about it tonight, I don't know but I'm going to do it regardless.

I take off the detachable mermaid tail from my wedding dress, transforming it into a short dress and drop it in the passenger seat. When I reach the hotel, I realize I've got no money to pay the cab driver so I give him my gold bracelet as payment.

I stride into the hotel, wiping the tears off my face. I've cried enough and I've endured enough. Inside, I head straight for the bar and order a strong cocktail. Then I begin sipping my drink while scanning the room, searching for a suitable target to help me with my revenge.

And that's when, out of the blue, I feel a hand grab my wrist and twirl me around on my seat. Before I can say a word or make sense of anything that's happening, I feel the stranger's warm lips crash against mine.