Chapter 2

Everyone in the wedding hall fell silent instantly. Nobody expected to hear such a shocking secret.

But as soon as James noticed the effect his words had, he immediately started excitedly recounting how I'd begged for him to come back, clung to him, and kissed him.

As I listened to him, I felt an overwhelming sense of shame that threatened to suffocate me.

"James Linden! Shut up!" I yelled to interrupt him.

Tears came to my eyes faster than I could finish my sentence.

I couldn't tell which I felt more intensely—the hurt or my hatred toward James' betrayal—but the pain in my chest was making it hard to breathe.

We'd loved each other for seven years in this world. Why had things come to this?

James was momentarily taken aback at the sight of my tears.

He looked lost for an instant, but as soon as Yvette started crying, he immediately regained his senses, took her hand, and strode out of the hall.

My last sliver of hope was completely extinguished by his departure, and I well and truly became the laughing stock.

By the next day, headlines across the city boldly reported how I'd been discarded by my would-be husband, and there was no shortage of people laughing at me behind my back.

I was deeply annoyed and had no desire to read those articles. I spent days holed up indoors in a daze and didn't even notice when I fell sick.

By the time I was lucid enough to notice, my entire body was aching, and I felt completely drained. All I could focus on was my desire to look for James.

James used to keep me company every time I fell sick.

I reflexively took out my phone to dial James' number and cajole him into coming back to spend time with me. My voice unconsciously came out sounding pitiful and choked with sobs.

Just as James was about to reply, a delicate female voice interrupted him, after which his voice turned icy.

"You didn't have to prove my point that you can't do without men so quickly."

I felt as if he'd poured a bucket of ice over me. My rationality returned, and I instantly snapped back to my senses.

"If you publicly apologize to Yvie and announce that she's not my mistress, I'll come back and help you. Otherwise, go find yourself some other man," James continued.

I listened blankly to him, unable to believe that the words were really coming from the man who used to pull me into a hug and comfort me.

"Get lost!" I yelled before hanging up.

Yet, a wave of pain washed over me once more. I dug my nails into my palms, afraid that I would really die here thanks to this wretched plot.

The female lead of this world just had to come with this kind of setting, didn't she?

Wait.

I suddenly recalled the man I'd pointed out to the system during the wedding, right after being ditched by James. If the plot had changed, did that mean he would be able to replace James?

In order to get myself acquainted with the man, whose name was Zayne Hendrick, I got the system to arrange a pretty ridiculous scenario in which he would walk in through the wrong door and straight into my house.

As soon as Zayne walked in and saw me slumped over the couch, he was shocked.

He hurriedly ran over to help me up and called for an ambulance after he came into contact with my feverish skin.

There was honestly no need for him to go to so much trouble.

I narrowed my eyes, wrapped my arms around his neck, and snuggled into his embrace.

Zayne slowly stiffened, his ears turning red.

I abandoned my muddled thoughts as I felt the pain slowly recede.

It was only when I was back to normal that I realized Zayne seemed to be burning up.

His eyes were darting around, unable to meet my gaze, and he only left a small cake behind before fleeing the scene.

I stared at the strawberry cake in surprise. It had always been my favorite. Had Zayne's personality changed the moment he assumed the role of male lead?

Meanwhile, James was still waiting for my apology.

He stared intently at his phone, his expression darkening when he realized that he wouldn't be getting a reply.

Yvette scolded him unhappily from the side.