ONCE HIS PLUS-SIZE UGLY BRIDE, NOW HIS LIVING NIGHTMARE

Chapter 1

​“We have to cancel the wedding today, Alina. I can’t make it there as planned.”

​Bryce’s voice came through the phone, cold and flat. It instantly froze the blood in Alina’s veins.

​“Something very important came up, and I have to deal with it immediately.”

Alina stood at the altar in her white lace, long-sleeved wedding dress. Her wavy dark brown hair rested neatly over her shoulders, and a soft smile had been on her face only moments ago.

She had been waiting for Bryce Damien, the man she had loved for five years, to walk through the church doors and become her husband.

But here, it was her sister, Ava, who had rushed to the altar with her ringing phone.

Now, instead of exchanging vows before God, Bryce's words shattered her heart into pieces.

​“What?” Alina asked, her voice small and shaky. She forced herself to sound calm, trying to stay strong even as a painful ache filled her heart.

“Bryce, what are you talking about? What happened?”

“Victoria is having another breakdown,” Bryce replied impatiently. “She's crying over her husband's death again, and she needs me right now. You know I'm the only one who can calm her down. My presence always helps her whenever she loses control.”

​Alina squeezed the phone so hard her knuckles turned white.

​“You’re joking, aren’t you?” she whispered, trying hard to hold back the tears forming in her eyes.

“Tell me you’re kidding, Bryce. You are cancelling our wedding… leaving me here at the altar because your childhood friend needs a shoulder to cry on?”

“She just lost her husband!”

“She lost him seven months ago!” Alina fired back, unable to hold back the anger boiling inside her.

“Today is our wedding. Out of every day in the world... you chose today to be the shoulder to cry on?”

Bryce let out an annoyed sigh.

​“Are you listening to yourself, Alina? Or do you simply have no conscience?”

“What does that mean, Bryce?”

“You're an orphan.”

​Those three words hit Alina like a physical blow. She covered her mouth in shock as the tears she had been holding back ran down her beautiful face.

Bryce knew those words were enough to break her.

Alina lost her parents in the worst way ever, and that's one thing she'd never heal from.

One time, he had promised never to use her painful past against her. Yet he did it anyway.

And ​even though he could hear her crying , his voice remained completely heartless.

​“You lost your family to the cold hands of death,” he continued without the slightest sympathy. “So you, out of everyone, should understand how Victoria feels right now. Tell the guests and the priest whatever you want. I’m off to see Victoria.”

​“No… Bryce, you can’t do this to me! It’s our wedding!”

Alina yelled in tears, her voice echoing through the quiet church.

Every guest turned toward the altar.

“You can't leave me here because of another woman!”

“She isn't just another woman,” Bryce snapped. “She's my childhood friend and my late best friend's wife. I promise him I'll protect her all my life. ”

“ And you saw how he never left her to attend to anyone when she needed him.” Alina cried out loud. “Why are you choosing her over me?”

There was silence for a moment.

Then Bryce laughed, a cold, mocking laugh.

“Choosing her over you?” ​Bryce scoffed over the line. “Did you really think I would ever marry someone as fat and filthy as you? Did you think I would embarrass myself in front of the whole city by marrying a fat, ugly hag?”

Alina stopped breathing, and her mouth hung open.

“Do you know what people would say?

They would say the handsome CEO of BD Luxe Corporation married a fat, ugly woman.

I would become a laughingstock, Alina.

With your body, you should be grateful I even dated you for five years.”

​With that, he hung up. Alina remained frozen where she stood.

The phone on her ear slowly slipped from her hand.

Tears rolled down her cheeks one after another. She could no longer hear the wedding music. Everything around her became blurry.

Her elder sister bent down with a mocking smile on her face and picked up the phone.

Then she stepped closer until her lips were beside Alina's ear.

​“Did you really think a handsome CEO like Bryce would ever settle for an oversized pot of mess like you?” Ava whispered. But Alina didn't even look her way.

“You should have looked in the mirror before dreaming about becoming Mrs. Damian. You're too fat, too ugly. And too embarrassing.” Ava chuckled. Alina lowered her head

​ “Enjoy your beautiful wedding, Alina!”

Alina held the sides of her wedding gown tightly. Her nails dug into the expensive fabric. She wanted to run, but just then, Bryce's sister, Sydney, materialized from nowhere to the altar.

She folded her arms across her chest and laughed.

“ I knew my handsome brother would never settle for less than he deserves.”

The two girls, Sydney and Ava, burst into laughter before walking away.

​The priest stepped forward with a sad look and patted her shoulder gently. “It’s okay, my child.”

​Alina looked up at him and nodded softly.

“Thank you.”

Before the priest could say another word, Alina lifted the sides of her wedding dress and stepped down from the altar.

She wanted to escape. She wanted to disappear to a place very far away from this humiliation.

She hurried through the long aisle.

The guests moved aside, staring at her with mocking smiles.

​As she rushed past the crowd of guests, whispers filled the air.

“I knew the young billionaire, Bryce Damian, would never marry a woman like her,” one woman said loudly.

“She isn't even beautiful.”

“She should be grateful he stayed with her this long. She's a mess to his reputation.”

Alina continued walking and refused to look at them.

Then another voice stopped her. That voice, it sounded very familiar.

“Well... look who's running away.”

​Alina turned her head and saw Mrs. Damian, Bryce’s mother.

Mrs. Damian stood proudly among the guests with a satisfied smile on her face.

“Did you really think my son would marry a filthy rag like you? You belong on the street.” Mrs. Damian smirked at her.

“My son is handsome, rich, and successful. He deserves someone beautiful. Not a fat woman everyone laughs at.”

Alina stared at her in disbelief as her heart shattered even further.

Only three days earlier, Mrs. Damian had apologized for treating her badly for the past fives she's been with her son.

She had even promised to attend the wedding after she swore she'd never set foot there.

Alina had believed every word and even gifted her for accepting her as her daughter-in-law

Now she realized the apology had been nothing but another lie as usual.

Mrs. Damian had come only to watch her son humiliate her in front of everyone.

​“Bryce saved himself,” another guest added with a laugh. “If he married that woman, he wouldn't live long enough to enjoy his wealth.”

“Climbing on top of that ugly creature could shorten his lifespan!”

The crowd burst into laughter, Alina bit her lower lip and ignored the stares and cruel words.

But she couldn't hold back the tears pouring out of her eyes.

She had heard insults about her weight almost her entire life, but today hurt differently.

Today, the man she loved and trusted had joined them. And to make it worse, he did it on her wedding day. A day that should've been one of her happiest days of earth.

Alina wiped away her tears and continued toward the church entrance.

​

​Just as she reached the doors, only a few steps away to escape her mockers, a woman's leg suddenly stretched into her path.

​Alina couldn't stop in time. She tripped over the foot and stumbled forward.

“No!”

Her body crashed heavily onto the polished marble floor.

The loud thud echoed through the church.

​“Watch out!” someone in the crowd shouted, laughing loudly.

Then another person joined. “ Oh my goodness! Her body hitting the floor almost caused an earthquake!”

​The entire church erupted into cruel laughter.

People pointed at her, and some covered their mouths. Others laughed openly without shame.

Alina's face burned with humiliation as she slowly pushed herself up from the floor.

Her wedding dress was now a mess. She stared at it, her hands shaking as she brushed the dust from the white fabric.

Then she spun around, furious, to see who had tripped her.

The moment her eyes landed on the woman standing beside her, her heart shattered all over again.

​Standing right there, laughing together with her mockers, was her very best friend – her childhood friend, Raya Maison.

"No... Ray...Raya!?"