All Chapters of Five Nos, One Better Bride: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Only one word came from the other end."Okay."After I hung up, that post stayed stuck in my head.Seven years.I wasn't waiting anymore.I remembered the first time Sylvia postponed the wedding. She'd promised she'd make it up to me.But once someone finds one excuse, they'll find a hundred more.At three in the morning, the fingerprint lock beeped softly.Sylvia walked in, carrying the night's chill with her.A faint smell of baby formula clung to her clothes, mixed with Kenny's favorite cologne.I'd had plenty of chances to expose her.Six months ago, she suddenly claimed the company was expanding overseas and disappeared for half a year.I'd tried more than once to visit her.She stopped me every time.Now that I think about it, that was probably when she hid away and gave birth to Kenny's child.But I hadn't wanted to believe she'd betray me.I sat on the couch in the dark without turning on the lights.Watching her.She spotted me and frowned. "Why didn't you tu

Chapter 2

When I woke up the next morning, a note sat on the nightstand in Sylvia's handwriting.[Sorry for being so tired last night. I shouldn't have acted like that. I'll make it up to you with a big dinner tonight. Love you.]Her handwriting was still as beautiful as the letters she'd written me years ago.But the words didn't feel warm anymore.I picked up my phone.Kenny had posted again.This time, it was a video of fireworks over the water.Brilliant bursts lit up the night sky one after another.The caption read:[Thank you for the exclusive romance. Let's stay happy forever.]I knew that place.Back when Sylvia and I were broke, our favorite date spot was the riverside park.Seven years ago, on a freezing winter night, we squeezed onto a bench together, sharing one thin coat to stay warm.Across the river, fireworks suddenly lit up the sky.I pointed at them, unable to hide my envy."Sylvia, look. That's amazing."She wrapped her hand around my frozen fingers and looked

Chapter 3

I walked straight toward them.Kenny spotted me first. The smile on his face froze."Luke... what are you doing here?"Sylvia turned around. Her body went rigid.Instinctively, she handed the baby to Kenny and stepped in front of them."Were you following me?"I ignored her and walked closer, my eyes locked on the lucky-charm necklace around the baby's neck.I held out my hand."Take it off." My voice shook."Luke, it's just a necklace." Kenny tightened his hold on the baby. "You already have everything. Why are you fighting a baby over one necklace?"A surge of anger hit me.I stepped forward.Sylvia immediately shoved me back."Enough. Whatever this is, we'll talk at home.""Don't you remember why we bought that necklace?" I demanded.Her expression faltered.Like she'd finally remembered.For a moment, conflict flashed across her face.Kenny lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Luke. I asked Sylvia for it. After your injury, you still can't give her a child. It would've g

Chapter 4

I made my way to the hospital alone.The doctor looked surprised when he saw me.After the exam, he asked, "Where's your wife?"I stared at the ceiling.The last time I'd ended up in the hospital was after a stomach perforation from too many business dinners.Sylvia had stayed outside the operating room all night.She cried and begged the doctors to save me, saying she couldn't live without me.Now all of that care belonged to someone else.I didn't answer.Tears slid quietly down the sides of my face.Lying in the hospital bed with an IV in my arm, I felt strangely calm.Seven years of loving Sylvia had been like a fever.Tonight, it finally broke.***Sylvia had never cared much about the wedding.I handled everything myself from beginning to end.So she probably thought canceling it would be easy.On the wedding day, after I hadn't come home for several days, Sylvia finally remembered to call me.I declined the call.Then I sent Kaela a message.[The wedding is s

Chapter 5

When I woke up, I was in a VIP hospital room.My lower back had been treated, but the ache was still there.Kaela sat beside the bed.The moment she saw my eyes open, some of the tension left her face."How are you feeling? The doctor said you aggravated an old injury. You need to rest."Her voice was soft.I remembered the early days of Sylvia's business.To help her land contracts, I'd spent night after night drinking with clients until I ended up with a perforated stomach.That was when I injured my back, too.It had never fully healed.Whenever it flared up, Sylvia always said the same thing. "You're way too fragile for a man."Does it really hurt that much? Even assistants from other companies can drink more than you."I noticed the dark circles under Kaela's eyes. She must've rushed here straight from the airport."Sorry for dragging you into this."Kaela poured a glass of water and helped me sit up."Are you an idiot?"There was frustration in her voice.But mos

Chapter 6

Sylvia stood there, stunned, as Kaela and I walked away.Kaela's car was parked outside the hospital.She opened the passenger door for me and placed a hand above my head so I wouldn't bump it getting in.Sylvia had never done anything like that.She usually shoved me into the car and complained that my dress shoes scratched her floor mats.The car pulled away.I leaned back and watched the city slide past the window.I was exhausted.Body and soul."Don't worry about the discharge paperwork. I already had someone take care of it." Kaela glanced at me. "Where do you want to go?""My apartment."It was a small place I'd bought with money from my studio.Nothing fancy.But it was mine.A place that belonged to me alone.Kaela nodded and turned the car around.She didn't ask any more questions."Luke, you've carried a lot these past few years."Just one sentence.That was all it took.My eyes burned.***Third-Person POVAfter leaving the hospital, Sylvia didn't go

Chapter 7

Luke's POVKaela drove me back to my apartment.She looked around the small space I'd made comfortable and inviting.A hint of admiration crossed her face."You've always had great taste. Unlike some people who think throwing money at everything makes it classy."I knew she meant Sylvia and her over-the-top mansion.I smiled and poured her a cup of coffee. "Thanks, Kaela. If you hadn't shown up yesterday, I don't know what would've happened."She accepted the cup but kept her eyes on me. "What I said yesterday—I meant it."Can we... start over?"I froze.The hope in her eyes was impossible to miss."I...""You don't have to answer right now." She cut me off with a gentle smile. "I can wait."I'll wait until you've completely moved on. Until you're ready to accept me."I'll always be here."Her words settled somewhere deep inside me.Like warmth spreading through ground that had been frozen for years.Over the next few days, she never brought it up again.Instead, she

Chapter 8

Luke's POV"Luke! Get over here!"Sylvia grabbed my arm and yanked.I stumbled forward, nearly losing my balance.Kaela reacted immediately.She caught me and pulled me behind her.Her gaze turned icy."Sylvia Reed, what do you think you're doing?""What am I doing?" Sylvia's eyes were red. "I'm here for my man. Stay out of it."She pointed at me. "Luke, come home with me."Did you forget what you promised? You said you'd love me forever. You said you'd never leave me."I looked at her.The desperation.The panic.The madness.All of it felt absurd."Sylvia, did you forget? We broke up."You were the one who kept pushing me away. You were the one who told me that if I left, I shouldn't come back.""Now I've left. And I'm not coming back."Isn't that what you wanted?"The color drained from her face.She looked like she'd been stabbed."Luke, I know I was wrong." Her voice trembled. "I really do."Kenny lied to me. He set everything up. I've already cut him off.

Chapter 9

Third-Person POVKaela didn't waste a second.The very next day, Reed Corp's stock started crashing.Major projects hit one problem after another. Authorities stepped in and suspended them for investigation.Sylvia panicked.She called in every favor she had, only to discover the people she once relied on wanted nothing to do with her.That's when she realized she'd seriously underestimated her opponent.She immediately ordered a deeper investigation into Kaela's background.The report landed on her desk.She went still.The Kleins were old-money elites—the kind of family that could shake the entire business world with a single phone call.Compared to them, Reed Corp was nothing.Sylvia couldn't understand how Luke had gotten involved with a family like that.What she knew even less was that the Langdons and the Kleins had once been close family friends when the Langdon family was at its peak.The startup capital that helped her build Reed Corp had actually come from the

Chapter 10

The news said Reed Corp's crisis kept getting worse.Under Kaela's ruthless attacks, Sylvia went from a powerful, untouchable CEO to a woman drowning in debt in less than half a month.The company went bankrupt.The mansion was seized.The people who had once crowded around her disappeared overnight.The moment she fell, Kenny took whatever money she had left and vanished.Sylvia came to my studio, begging to see me.She looked like she had aged years.Rain poured outside.She was soaked from head to toe.In the end, I gave in and told security to let her up.In my office, she broke down in tears. "Luke, I was wrong. I really was. I ruined everything. I've lost it all. I have nothing left now. You're all I have. Please give me one more chance, okay? Let's go back to how things were. I'll listen to you. I'll do whatever you want."I looked at her quietly.No hatred.No love.Just calm."Sylvia, you don't love me. You just can't accept losing. You can't accept losing a ma

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