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On the eve of what should have been their third wedding anniversary, Madison Owen had thoughtfully arranged a surprise for her husband, Declan Owen, hoping for a proper celebration.
However, he informed her that overseas business demanded his immediate attention. He rushed home from the office, then went upstairs to pack his bags for the trip.
Feeling heartbroken, Madison sat on the couch and opened the chat of an online friend she had spoken with for three years without ever meeting face-to-face, searching for somewhere to pour out the ache in her chest. Instead, a digital wedding invitation appeared on her screen.
The photo showed a pretty woman and the side face of a man. That vivid crimson mole beside his nose was something Madison could identify instantly, even in a crowd of thousands.
Her entire body went numb.
Completely unaware of the devastation on the other side of the screen, Lily Hayes continued sending cheerful messages one after another in rapid succession.
"Amanda, I'm finally marrying the man I've loved all this time!"
"If you hadn't been there lending an ear to my troubles these past few years, I honestly don't know how I would've carried on. You absolutely have to come overseas for the ceremony, alright? I'll arrange your plane ticket and hotel personally. Come a few days early—you can even stand beside me as my maid of honor!"
Madison's grip tightened around her phone until her knuckles stiffened, all warmth draining from her trembling fingers. Amanda was her online alias; she hadn't told Lily her real name.
She wanted desperately to believe she had mistaken him for someone else, yet how could she possibly fail to recognize that mark beside his nose?
What shattered her even further was the glimpse of the cufflinks adorning his sleeves in the photograph—an expensive custom-made pair she had saved for years to buy him for his birthday only two months earlier. His initials gleamed unmistakably across the polished metal.
A crushing ache twisted violently through her chest, finally snapping her out of her daze. Fighting the tremor in her hands, she slowly typed a message to Lily.
"Didn't you once tell me the man you loved already had a wife? Did he finally end his marriage?"
The tiny word "Typing..." flickered across the screen. After an agonizing stretch of silence, Lily's messages finally came through.
"No, he still hasn't divorced her. But the country where we're holding the wedding doesn't verify marital records from back home. I never expected a proposal either, but I'm carrying his child now. He said our baby needed the company of both parents, so he's flying here tonight to marry me."
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