Chapter 1

"I want you to cancel this wedding!"

Ivan Hatfield's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make the initially cheerful and lively atmosphere turn tense.

All my friends and family exchanged glances with each other, with shock evident in their eyes. Then, they turned to look at me pitifully.

I felt my blood freezing in my body. I tried to keep my voice calm as I said, "Ari, everyone is watching."

I looked at Ariana Holmes with a beseeching look in my eyes that even I wasn't aware of. However, she didn't seem to have heard me as she stared at Ivan with red-rimmed eyes. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

Ivan also stared back at her with the same intensity.

"You never got over me, did you, Ari?"

While speaking, he turned to look at me with a mocking grin curled on his lips. "That man is nothing but a replacement. Are you really going to marry my substitute after all?"

Ariana bit her lower lip as her eyes glimmered with a clear dilemma. In the end, she took a step backward and spoke in a voice as cold as ice.

"Stop making a fuss. We are never going back to how we used to be. It's impossible!"

Then, as if to convince herself even more, she repeated, "Never!"

At her words, a look of disbelief flashed in Ivan's eyes. He seemed to be suddenly triggered by her answer as he ran over to the champagne table nearby and flipped it to the ground.

Champagne glasses toppled over and crashed onto the ground next to the fallen table. The floor was filled with broken glass and spilled alcohol.

He then roared at the top of his voice, "How dare you do such a thing to me, Ariana Holmes!"

After that, he grabbed a paring knife from the fruit table and pressed the blade firmly against his wrist. He screamed, "If you're going to marry someone else, then what's the point of me being alive anymore?"

Everyone was shocked and gasped aloud. Nobody thought that things would get out of hand so quickly.

I stood next to Ariana, and I could see that her fists were clenched at her sides. Her nails were digging hard into the palms of her hands, and blood was trickling out from between the cracks.

She rushed over to Ivan and slapped the knife away.

Then, she grabbed hold of the best man, took off his coat, and draped it around Ivan's shoulders. She sounded helpless as she said in a voice filled with heartache, "Don't do this, Ivan. Don't hurt yourself anymore."

"I knew it. I knew that you still loved me, Ari."

Ivan took advantage of the situation and hugged her back tightly. A smug, victorious grin spread across his face as he arrogantly cocked his chin up at me.

"Ariana Holmes! You are my bride now!" I bellowed, taking a deep breath to try and suppress the emotions swirling in my chest.

"I can't watch him ruin himself, Zack Norman!" she yelled back. "But don't worry. I will still marry you no matter what! We will proceed with the wedding in a few days!"

With that, she turned and left with Ivan in her arms, striding out of the engagement party without caring how embarrassed or pathetic I looked now.

My heart felt like it was being destroyed with a sledgehammer. It hurt so much that I couldn't even breathe properly anymore.

The guests took it as a sign to leave, leaving me standing alone and disheveled in the center of the hall. Memories of the past began flooding my mind.

Back then, Ariana was the one who pursued me first. I was quickly moved by the passion and gentleness she showed me, and I eventually fell in love with her too.

However, a short while later, one of her friends told me in secret that she used to have an ex-boyfriend whom she loved very dearly in the past. This man abandoned her for his career, and Ariana was now only treating me as his replacement.

When I heard that, I felt my heart sink into my stomach. The pain I felt in my chest was almost too much for me to bear.

I immediately confronted Ariana about it to confirm if what her friend told me was the truth.

Ariana was so devastated that she even took an oath saying that I was not anybody's replacement. She even made me point out the friend to her so that she could force the friend to apologize to me.

I had blindly believed her oath that she was only in love with me.