All Chapters of I Gave My Future to Another Man: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The moment I said yes, my fiance, Jeffrey Sullivan, visibly relaxed. Then, he handed me a list, saying, "Harper will move into the master bedroom tonight. Go ahead and pack up your things."I stared at the list, a knot forming in my stomach. I had put down the entire down payment on this house, and I had drawn up the renovation plans from scratch. "Why am I the one who has to move?" I demanded.Jeffrey couldn't bring himself to meet my eyes. "Harper's morning sickness has been pretty bad, and the master bedroom is closer to the bathroom. Besides, the guest room's too small for her. I'll find you somewhere better later."He said it so casually, as though it were perfectly obvious that I should be the one to step aside. Though I had already decided to let go, hearing him say that still sent a sharp ache through my chest.…I dragged my suitcase back to the house to pack my things. Out of habit, I punched in my birthday, only for the lock to flash an error.Before I could react,

Chapter 2

After packing up my things, I had no choice but to go back to my mother's place. But when I pushed open the door to my old bedroom, I found a crib and baby toys taking up most of the space. Even the wallpaper had been changed to pink. Just then, Mom came out of the kitchen. She wiped her hands on a towel and said, "Harper's due soon. We had to get a room ready for the baby."I looked at the few cardboard boxes shoved into the hall closet. They were all that remained of me in this house. "Where am I supposed to stay when I come back?" I asked softly.Mom frowned, clearly displeased. "You have Jeffrey and that huge house of yours. Why are you fighting Harper for this little room?"Suddenly, a coldness crept into me, so deep it seemed to seep into my bones. As it turned out, they weren't asking me to step aside for a while. They had already planned to cut me out of their lives. Later, I dug out my old phone and called my high school classmate, Clifford Nash. "Will you come get

Chapter 3

Back in the car, I showed Clifford the photo and the prenatal records. "The baby isn't Jeffrey's.""Why didn't you just tell him?" Clifford asked as he pulled away from the curb.I watched the scenery blur past me and replied, "I wanted to see if he'd still choose her if the baby weren't in the picture."Clifford gave the steering wheel a light tap. "How much longer are you going to wait?"I closed my eyes, forcing down the ache inside me. "Until I've had enough of waiting."…Three days before the wedding, Mom invited relatives from both families to dinner. On the surface, it was a dinner to discuss the final wedding details. But in reality, Mom was making sure everyone stuck to the same story about Harper and Jeffrey.It wasn't until I reached the door of the private room that I realized what Mom had done. She'd already told everyone that Harper was the bride-to-be. According to her, I'd called off the engagement because Jeffrey and I simply weren't right for each other.

Chapter 4

Two hours later, Jeffrey texted me. He wrote, "Harper's fine. Does your hand still hurt? And can you review the wedding itinerary and menu and send them back to me?"I stared at the screen until tears finally streamed down my cheeks. Later, I sent in my resignation and made arrangements to hand over my work before calling Clifford. "I don't want to wait anymore. If you still want this, I'll marry you tomorrow."…On the morning of the wedding, Mom opened my room door. "Barbara, Harper and Jeffrey have signed the paperwork," she said with a pleased smile. "Don't worry. Once she has the baby, Jeffrey will make it up to you."I stuffed the last of my clothes into my suitcase and nodded. "Okay."Mom ran a hand through my hair. "I knew you'd understand. You'd never make things difficult for me."She didn't know that Clifford and I had gotten married the evening before. Before we made it official, he had asked me thrice, "Are you sure about this? "If you're only doing this to g

Chapter 5

By the time Jeffrey came rushing in, the ceremony was already over.He hadn't even knocked. He'd barged straight in, sending the door crashing against the wall. Jeffrey was breathing heavily, and his eyes were bloodshot. His gaze met mine before dropping to the plain wedding band on my left ring finger. "Barbara, have you lost your mind?" His voice shook. "You really went and married someone else just to spite me?"Looking at him now, I felt nothing—none of the satisfaction I'd imagined. "Jeffrey, you were willing to marry Harper because you thought it was your responsibility. So, why couldn't I marry Clifford because I wanted to?"He rushed over and grabbed my wrist, gripping so hard it felt like he could crush it. "After 12 years together, you can't make a joke out of marriage just because you're angry!"Come with me. We can still undo this. It's not too late."Seeing that, Clifford stepped forward and positioned himself between us. But he didn't push Jeffrey away. He si

Chapter 6

My phone started vibrating in the middle of the night. It was Jeffrey. I answered the call but didn't say a word. "Barbara, Harper had the baby. It's a boy. But the doctor just had me double-check the blood type, and mine doesn't match his."Jeffrey sounded completely wrecked, his voice raw and hoarse. Then, I heard him suck in a sharp breath."Barbara, she lied to me, didn't she?"I leaned against the headboard and stared out the window. "Go check the records from her first prenatal appointment."Jeffrey's breathing hitched. A moment later, he asked, "Did you know all along?"I didn't deny it. "I knew the baby might not be yours. I just didn't think it was my place to tell you."His voice broke. "Why didn't you tell me? If you had, I wouldn't have—""Jeffrey," I cut him off. "You held her, kissed her, and eventually married her. Are you really saying you did all that because of the baby?"There was silence on the other end. Without hesitation, I hung up. …Three days

Chapter 7

Once Harper finished speaking, I turned to Jeffrey. "You heard that? She lied to you and made you believe that child was yours. That's on her. But you were the one who kept putting me last."Tears welled in his eyes. "Barbara, I've sent her away. I won't have anything to do with her anymore. Can we start over? I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."I rose to my feet and said, "If that child had been yours, you would've married her out of obligation. And now that you've found out the baby isn't yours, you came running back to me. "Jeffrey, what did you take me for?"He sat there without saying a word.…That night, Mom called. Her voice trembled when she spoke."Barbara, there's something I've been hiding from you for 13 years. It's about what happened the day Scott died. I can't keep this from you anymore."My fingers tightened around the phone when I heard that. …The next morning, I went back to Mom's. Clifford went with me, but he stayed outside. He par

Chapter 8

Harper burst into tears and lunged at me, trying to shove me. "How dare you say that! You took my father from me! You took Jeffrey from me, and now you want to take Mom too!"I sidestepped her, caught her by the wrist, and looked into her eyes. "Harper, what happened to your father was tragic, but it wasn't my fault. I never took anything from you," I said, enunciating each word. I went on, "You kept acting like everything I had was yours to take and that somehow you were entitled to it because of what you'd lost. "From now on, stop holding your father over my head. I don't owe you anything anymore."With that, I released her wrist and turned toward the door. Behind me, Mom cried out my name, but I didn't look back.…Outside, Clifford was waiting beside his car. The moment he saw me, he straightened up and opened the door for me.I looked at him, and suddenly, the weight I'd been carrying seemed to disappear. I reached for his hand and took it in mine. "Let's go home,

Chapter 9

All at once, Harper snapped. She set the baby down, grabbed a potted plant outside the bookstore, and lifted it over her head to throw at me.Just then, Clifford came striding out. He caught Harper by the wrist, wrenched the potted plant from her hands, and tossed it aside. He ignored her completely, turned to me, and asked softly, "Are you okay?" I nodded, and only then did Clifford turn to Harper. His expression was icy as he warned, "Ms. Brooks, if you keep this up, I'm calling the police."One look from Clifford was enough to scare her off. She grabbed her baby and hurried away in a panic. …That night, a relative called me. Mom had suddenly fallen seriously ill and was in the ICU. My relative let out a sigh, then said, "Your mom wouldn't let Jeffrey try to convince you to come, and she wouldn't let any of us pressure you, either. She said she wouldn't hold it against you if you didn't want to see her."I sat there with the phone in my hand, saying nothing for a long ti

Chapter 10

On the train ride home, Clifford held my hand tightly. He gazed out the window at the scenery blurring past. Suddenly, he asked softly, "Barbara, when all of this is behind us, would you let me give you a real wedding?"I froze for a beat, then turned to him. Clifford looked into my eyes, tenderness creeping into his features. "This time, it wouldn't be to prove anything to anyone or to do it out of spite. I just want to wait until you're truly ready to choose me."Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at him. I squeezed his hand in return and said, "Okay."…In the end, Mom didn't make it through that winter.Her funeral was a simple affair. Harper stood off to the side in black, holding her child in her arms. Jeffrey was there, too. When he noticed how hard the wind was blowing, he walked over, took off his coat, and wrapped it around the baby.But as soon as he was done, he stepped back. He didn't take his usual place beside Harper, protecting her as though it were the

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