The Day He Married Her

When they shoved me into the bedroom, my knee slammed hard against the edge of the bed. Before I could even steady myself, the door slammed shut in my face.

I froze for a moment. There was a commotion outside, but soon enough, the celebration picked back up.

I was locked in there from noon until dark. No one came to let me out. No one even asked if I was okay.

I screamed until my throat was raw. In the end, all I could do was slowly slide down against the door and sit there, listening as the voices outside gradually faded. Yet my mind grew clearer by the minute.

Once the house fell completely silent, the door finally opened. I pushed myself up using the bed, my legs numb.

My parents came in first, followed by Zane and Sophia Sterling.

My mother's eyes were red, as if she was hurting too.

"Remi, there's something you need to know. You and Zane had those tests done before the wedding, right? We saw the results. The doctor said it might be difficult for you to have children."

My whole body went rigid. Zane and I had gotten the tests done together before we were supposed to get married.

The results never made it into my hands. He said he would pick them up, and I never thought much of it.

It was not that I had not thought about it. It was that everyone else had already thought it through for me.

I looked at Zane. "You knew?"

He lowered his head, refusing to look at me.

My father said, "Zane is an only child. This was always going to become a problem eventually. If things ended between you two, could you really handle that?"

My mother immediately added, "So, your father and I talked it over. We thought it would be better if Sophia and Zane got married first and had the baby. You can come back later, and things can go on as usual."

A buzzing filled my head.

My lips trembled. It took me a long moment to force out a single sentence. "Are you all insane?"

Sophia stepped forward. Her eyes were red, and her voice was soft.

"Remi, your parents are really worried about you. I've been on my own all these years, and I've come to think of you all as family. If I can help you keep Zane, I'm willing to do it."

As she finished speaking, she gently placed a hand over her stomach. "Besides, I'm already pregnant."

I stared at her belly, my stomach churning.

Slowly, I turned to Zane. "So, you agreed to this too?"

He remained silent.

My vision blurred, and I struggled to breathe through the tightness in my chest. The next second, everything went dark.

…

When I woke up again, the room was already dark. I reached for my phone. The moment the screen lit up, a flood of notifications appeared.

Missed calls, messages from coworkers, and hundreds of messages in the group chat.

I opened it.

At first, people were asking how Zane had suddenly ended up married to Sophia. Then, the tone changed.

Someone wrote, "Oh my God, the couple I was rooting for actually got together. Older, steady guy and younger, sweet girl. I love it!"

"Seriously. Sophia is so sweet. Who could put up with that other girl? She's got such a temper and is always making a fuss."

I scrolled down and saw another message.

"Remember when Zane worked late into the night and she still made him go out and get her a late-night snack? Seriously, what a spoiled princess."

"Exactly. She deserved to get dumped."

I stared at the words, my fingers slowly going cold.

…

That night, Zane had been the one who said that if I wanted something to eat, I just had to tell him and he would go get it.

I had told him never mind. It was too late. He had laughed and reassured me that it was fine. Yet somehow, in everyone else's version of the story, I had been the demanding one.

I stared at the screen, my chest tightening as I instinctively typed, "You all knew?"

The moment I sent it, the group went silent. Then, the next second, I was kicked out. They could not even be bothered to give me an explanation.

I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a quiet laugh.

So it was not just my parents. It was not just Zane. My friends and coworkers had been lying to me too.

I got up and started packing. I did not want to spend another minute in this place.