All Chapters of Runaway Groom: Dumping the Cheating Bride: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Joshua's POVIt was a pregnancy test report with Renee's name on it. What hit me hardest was how far along she already was.The report clearly stated that she was four weeks pregnant. That meant she'd undergone artificial insemination about a month ago and was already carrying Chad's child.She had never really wanted my opinion in the first place. She'd already made up her mind long ago.If that was the case, why had she kept bringing it up over the past month, acting as if she wanted to discuss it with me? Was it just to make herself more determined to have Chad's baby?I felt as if all the strength had drained from my body. I collapsed onto the floor, my vision blurring. A suffocating tightness gripped my chest, making it hard to breathe.No wonder Renee had looked so thrilled after that call and rushed out the door without a second thought. She had just received confirmation that the insemination had been successful. She was probably at the hospital now, celebrating the news

Joshua's POV"We need to change our wedding date," Renee said.I glanced at the calendar on the table. The word "wedding" was written in big, bold letters beneath the date, seven days from now.I didn't know why she wanted to postpone the wedding, but I had already decided not to go through with it anyway. Even if she hadn't brought it up, I would have found an excuse to call it off. Her request actually saved me the trouble.I nodded. "Okay. I'll call the hotel and cancel the reservation."Renee froze, taken aback by how easily I agreed.She probably had expected me to press her for an explanation. After all, I had spent a lot of time meticulously planning every single detail of the wedding. I even paid the hotel a hefty extra fee just to secure the date, all so we could have the perfect wedding venue.But instead of questioning her, I had calmly agreed. Renee looked at me with a complicated expression."You don't have to cancel it. Chad says he'll never get the chance to get

Joshua's POVFive days before my departure, I handed in my resignation to the school.Back when I still wanted to be with Renee, I'd turned down Professor Stark's offer to keep working with him on his research and chose to work as a teacher instead.When my colleagues heard that I was leaving, they seemed extremely surprised."Why are you resigning, Mr. Downey? You were just telling us about your wedding two weeks ago. Are you planning to become a full-time househusband? Your wife must be one lucky woman!" one of them teased.I smiled as I gathered my things. "Actually, the wedding's been called off."…When I opened my front door, I found Renee and Chad, whom I hadn't seen in a week, standing inside.When Renee's eyes fell on the box I was holding, she instinctively asked, "What are you doing with all that?""I don't really need them, so I thought I'd bring them home," I said casually, making up an excuse.She nodded. Then, she glanced around the house with a puzzled express

Third-Person POVOnce Renee was sure Chad was out of danger, she finally left the hospital. On the way out, she texted Joshua to ask if everything for the wedding was ready and told him she was already heading to the hotel.But by the time she got into the car, he still hadn't replied. She unlocked her phone, ready to text again, when she realized the last time they'd texted was half a month ago.She scrolled up through their chat, the screen almost nothing but text bubbles from his side. Sometimes it was him asking what she wanted to eat that day; sometimes it was him asking for her opinion on wedding details.Her replies were always short."Whatever.""Anything.""You decide."But Joshua never seemed bothered. He still messaged her every single day. Yet for the last half month, there'd been no communication between them.A strange feeling crept into Renee's chest. Why hadn't he texted her for so long?As that thought surfaced, what flashed through her mind was the shock and

Third-Person POVIn that instant, Renee felt like she'd been struck by lightning. The vague suspicion she'd had finally got confirmed—Joshua really was breaking up with her!But why?This was supposed to be their wedding day. She knew he'd been dreaming about this for 20 years. How could he possibly bear to walk away?Amid the chaos swirling in her head, she suddenly pictured his overly calm face from just before she left. It was like he'd wanted to say something then, but she'd been in such a hurry to rush to the hospital to see Chad that she hadn't stayed to hear him out.Right as she was closing the door, she'd caught a glimpse of Joshua out of the corner of her eye, sitting on the couch. There had been no joy about the upcoming wedding on his face, nor was there any anger about her running off to see Chad the day before their ceremony.He had been as calm and indifferent as a still lake.So last night, what he'd wanted to say was that they were over?Renee collapsed onto th