At The Altar, Confessing To Her

I had proposed to my boyfriend of six years ninety-nine times before he finally agreed to marry me.

But at our wedding, he stood in front of everyone and confessed his love to his high school sweetheart via a video call.

I finally won the Best Actor award just like we promised, Raina. Will you give me another chance?

Raina Sterling was his first love.

I was left standing at the altar, a laughingstock for the media and the guests.

That was the moment it finally clicked.

From the very beginning, he never gave me a single shred of his heart.

...

Caspian Vance vanished from the wedding venue immediately after.

I sat alone until midnight, my eyes glued to my phone screen.

The top trending story was Caspian's brave public confession. I watched the video on a loop until my heart felt like it was being shredded.

The internet was in an absolute frenzy.

"The King of Cinema is finally back after six years, and he's found his true love!"

"A top-tier actor professing his love to his first flame at his own wedding? That's so romantic!"

"Our King made it so clear. Why is that woman from the wedding still hanging around?"

A self-deprecating smile touched my lips. I felt a bitter sting in my chest.

I was nothing more than a clown who had stepped into someone else's fairy tale.

In the middle of my spiraling thoughts, the door swung open. It was Caspian.

He looked radiant, practically glowing with joy.

"Sera, my audition was a hit. The director wants me to pack up and head to the set immediately."

He pulled me into an enthusiastic hug as if he hadn't just humiliated me in front of hundreds of people.

When I stayed silent, his smile faltered. He noticed what was on my phone and stiffened.

He snatched the phone out of my hand, his annoyance flaring instantly.

"Are these tabloids really that bored? Why are they digging up old history between Raina and me?"

His words were full of fake frustration, but his hands were busy hitting play on the video.

It was a montage of his memories with Raina.

His face softened involuntarily. The longing in his eyes was impossible to hide.

I sighed and pulled away from his embrace. The pain was making it hard to breathe.

In that video, Caspian's gaze was so tender as he looked at her through the screen. He looked truly, deeply in love.

When that video played on the giant screen at our wedding, I had been foolishly moved.

I actually thought he had recorded it for me. I thought I was the leading lady of his life.

The echoes of the guests' mocking laughter wouldn't leave my head. I didn't want to remember it anymore.

I rubbed my watery eyes, my voice thick with emotion.

"Let's get a divorce, Caspian."

Caspian froze for a second. Once he realized I wasn't joking, his expression turned icy.

"Serafina Wynne, have you lost your mind? You want a divorce just because the wedding got a little interrupted? You're really going to pick a fight when I'm this happy?"

"You've seen how hard I've worked all these years. I finally have a chance to reclaim my throne. I'm not giving this up."

A flash of mockery crossed my eyes as I met his gaze.

"It's not your career you're unwilling to give up. It's Raina Sterling, isn't it?"

Raina's name acted like a trigger.

Caspian exploded in a fit of rage, pointing a finger at me as he shouted.

"Serafina, you're just a useless cripple who can't even play the piano anymore! You eat my food and live in my house. How dare you have an opinion on my life?"

He tore open my deepest scar without a second thought. I stared at him for a long time, stunned.

Was this really the man I thought I knew?

Caspian suffered from a severe intermittent explosive disorder. In his fits of rage, he used to hurt himself and everyone around him.

I was the one who stayed. I was the one who braved his storms to calm him down every single time.

Because of that, I had ruined my hands. I would never be able to touch a piano again.

Back then, he had been riddled with guilt. He had sworn an oath to me.

"Sera, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. I'll be the one providing for you from now on."

The air in the room turned deathly silent. Caspian seemed to suddenly realize what he had just spat out.

He swallowed hard and reached out to grab my hand, but I pulled back.

"You're right. I shouldn't have saved you. If I hadn't, I'd be a world-renowned pianist by now."

Caspian stood there, paralyzed. He looked like he couldn't believe I had finally said it.

He opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better of it. He slammed the door, leaving me with one final sentence.

"Bring the marriage certificate. We're going to the courthouse tomorrow."

But the next day, Caspian vanished again.

He sent me a barrage of text messages instead.

He claimed that he had just been acting on impulse the night before.

He also mentioned that his film crew had a last-minute event, so he needed me to go to the foster home to look after Cody.

When we first started dating, Caspian told me he wanted to be child-free.

So, adoption became our only path to having a family.

We had planned to bring Cody home right after the wedding. Now, there was no point.

I didn't bother replying. Instead, I called up my girls for an afternoon tea.

Ever since I started dating Caspian, my social life had withered to nothing.

He told me my friends were just gold-diggers and forbade me from seeing them.

Whenever I tried to go out, he would use his condition to threaten self-harm or cause a scene.

Since we were over anyway, I didn't give a damn about what he thought.

My best friend's face lit up when she saw me at the cafe.

"Oh my god! I didn't think our resident love-brain would actually show up for tea!"

"Is the busy Mrs. Vance finally choosing friends over her man? Truly a miracle."

One of them chuckled and pulled up her phone, showing it to the group.

"Our dear brother-in-law is the busy one. He's the number one trending topic. He's probably swamped with events, which is why Sera is free. Who knows? Raina might be there too."

I froze, my eyes drifting from the menu to the screen.

Sure enough, the top headline read: "A-List Star and First Love Rekindle Their Flame."

The title was clickbait gold, but I didn't even have the courage to tap on it.

His first love was back in the country. Good for them.

My friends were teasing me, thinking this was just some weird PR stunt or a lovers' spat.

But then, the live stream of the event made everyone drop their spoons.

Right there on camera, Caspian and Raina were locked in a passionate, breathless kiss.

The table went dead quiet.

I turned off my phone, cutting the humiliating feed, and took a small sip of my latte.

"We've decided to get a divorce."

I didn't want to break down in front of them, so I kept it short.

"Sera, we've wanted to tell you this for a long time. You were way too good to him. He never deserved you."

"Exactly! So what if he's a big star? You were a star pianist before he ruined everything."

My friends looked at me with pity, offering words of comfort one after another.

My mind drifted back to how I met Caspian.

It felt like something out of a romantic drama.

He was having an episode, smashing things in an alley.

By total accident, he had knocked out a stalker who was about to attack me.

My feelings for him started as nothing but gratitude.

But as I chased after him, he agreed to be with me without a moment's hesitation.

I really believed he felt something for me too.

As the memories flooded back, my body went rigid. I couldn't hold it in anymore and started sobbing.

My friends immediately crowded around me, pulling me into a massive group hug.

Right then, Caspian's phone call broke the moment with an obnoxious ring.

I stared at the caller ID and, after a moment of hesitation, I picked up.

The background on his end was loud. It sounded like a massive crowd.

"Why aren't you at the foster home? The director called me. What could you possibly be doing that's more important?"

Caspian's voice was sharp with accusation. He sounded rushed and stressed.

"I'm really tied up right now. You're going to be Cody's mother soon. Isn't it your job to look after the kid?"

Maybe he was afraid I wouldn't go, because his tone suddenly softened.

"I'm begging you, Sera. Just go to the center. Cody has a high fever, and I can't get away..."

Even over the phone, I could hear his genuine panic. He really cared about that boy.

The bitterness of my coffee seemed to intensify.

Just as I was about to hang up, images of Raina and Cody flashed through my mind.

An uneasy feeling settled in my gut. I ignored Caspian's rambling and pulled an old photo out of my bag.

It was from the day Caspian and I first went to the foster home.

He had taken an immediate, intense liking to Cody.

When we were leaving, he had hugged the boy so tight, neither of them wanting to let go. I had captured that moment on my phone.

"They look so much alike..."

I whispered it to myself, but Caspian caught it.

"What are you talking about? Did you hear a word I said, Serafina?"

I hit the end call button, cutting off his noise. I pulled up a high-res shot of Raina from the live stream.

I compared her face to Cody's photo for a long time. The realization made my blood run cold.

I curled into a ball on my seat, trembling.

Cody and Raina looked almost identical.

The conclusion was something I didn't want to accept.

I couldn't believe it. For seven years, Caspian hadn't told me a single truth.

After saying goodbye to my friends, I raced to the foster center.

Cody was waiting by the door. His face lit up when he saw me, and he ran over, calling me "Auntie Sera."

I stared at his face. I had never looked at him this closely before.

The boy really did take after his mother. He was the spitting image of Raina Sterling.

I let out a hollow laugh and took his small hand.

"Cody, does your fever hurt? Auntie Sera is taking you to the doctor."

Cody nodded obediently. He didn't make a sound the whole way.

He was such a well-behaved child. I used to adore that about him.

At the hospital, I didn't just get him treated. I ordered a private DNA test.

I waited until evening for the results.

The probability of Caspian being the father: 99.99%...

The strength left my legs, and I collapsed onto the hospital floor.

I clutched my chest, trying to slow my racing heart.

The entire thing was a massive lie.

Cody was the secret love child of Caspian and Raina.

Caspian was so good with the boy that I just assumed he was a natural father. I even felt bad that he didn't want kids of his own.

I was such a damn fool.

He probably agreed to date me instantly because he thought I'd make a perfect, unsuspecting stepmother.

Cody appeared by my side, looking nervous as he leaned down.

"Auntie Sera, why didn't Uncle Cas come to play with me today?"

I roughly wiped the tears from my face and looked at him with a choked voice.

"Do you want me to take you to see your daddy?"

The word "daddy" made Cody's eyes sparkle.

He smiled brightly, but his face fell almost immediately.

"I do, but Uncle Cas said he's the only one I have!"

I suddenly realized that Cody's gloomy expression was exactly like Caspian's.

After handing Cody back to the center director, I went straight to a lawyer to draft the final divorce papers.

The city was covered in Caspian's face. His movie posters were everywhere.

He had successfully clawed his way back into the spotlight and reunited with his dream girl.

And I had spent seven years playing the fool.

With the papers in my hand, I went back and picked Cody up again.

The boy thought we were going on a fun trip and talked more than he ever had.

I drove to the Starfire Mall, where Caspian was doing a live promotional event.

The place was swarming with fans waving glow sticks. It was so crowded that even the reporters were being pushed back.

What was supposed to be an interview had turned into a massive fan meeting.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, a fan pointed at me and screamed.

"Look! It's that woman from the wedding! The homewrecker who tried to steal Caspian from Raina!"

That one sentence turned the entire crowd against me.

The malice in their eyes was terrifying. Cody gripped my hand, trembling.

The reporters, seeing a better story than the interview, swarmed me instantly.

"Are you here to try and break them up again?"

"Does it make you feel powerful to ruin a beautiful relationship?"

"Is this little boy your secret child with Caspian?"

The word "homewrecker" made me let out a sharp, cold laugh.

The reporters took my reaction as a sign of being unrepentant. Flashes went off like gunfire in my face.

Caspian was only a few yards away.

He was busy acting the part of the doting lover with Raina. He hadn't noticed the chaos yet.

"You're right. I am here for Caspian."

As soon as I said it, an egg smashed against my forehead.

The crowd went wild. Trash started flying toward me from every direction.

The fans were furious, thinking I wasn't even fit to look at their idol.

"Stop trying to guilt-trip him! You don't belong anywhere near our Cas!"

"Caspian already said the wedding was a joke! He just hired a clown to make Raina jealous, and this idiot actually believed it!"

The commotion finally drew Caspian over.

When he saw me standing there, covered in filth, he looked like he was about to faint.

He immediately pulled Cody behind him, completely ignoring the fact that I was being physically assaulted.

The fans stopped shouting as soon as they saw him.

"What the hell are you doing? You don't belong here."

Caspian was shaking with rage. He looked at Cody and me as if we were stains on his expensive suit.

I chuckled. He was so terrified that this would ruin his career.

If the world found out their "King of Cinema" had a five-year-old secret son, it would end him.

I would enjoy that.

In front of the cameras and the thousands of fans, I pulled the divorce papers from my bag.

"Caspian, I'm divorcing you."