👉 Click here to read more chapters 😍
At my pre-wedding dinner, my fiancé's female best friend took my place. She knelt before his parents. She called them Mom and Dad. They handed her my cash gift. I stood behind her, holding an empty tray. Ethan patted her head and smiled. "She's like family. Don't make a scene," he said, his tone brushing me off like I was being unreasonable. The same woman who wore my clothes, slept in my bed, and spent my fiancé's money. He said she was just a friend. His mother beamed. "Mia always knows what to do." They laughed and ate without me. The table was warm. Everyone was happy. Ethan looked at me like I was the one being difficult. "Come sit down," he said flatly. "Stop standing there like a stranger." I looked at the food. The family. The life that already worked without me. And I finally understood. There was no place for me at this table. Tomorrow's wedding wasn't mine anymore. At the pre-wedding family dinner, as we were about to do the ceremonial toast to Ethan’s parents, Ethan’s close friend, Mia, suddenly rushed ahead of me, picked up a glass, knelt before them, and sweetly said, “Mom and Dad, please accept this toast.” The couple paused for a couple of seconds, then smiled as they accepted the glass and handed her a generous cash gift. “Come on, kid, get up.” I stood there, holding the empty tray, feeling cold all over. Ethan’s mother turned to look at me. “Ivy, don’t take this the wrong way, but Mia and Ethan have grown up together since they were kids—she’s like a little sister to us. We’ll all be family from now on.” Ethan smiled as he ruffled Mia’s hair. “Make sure you hold on to that cash gift—if you lose it, I won’t replace it.” Mia tilted her face up and smiled mischievously. “I’ve got your paycheck card right here—is this little cash gift really all that’s missing?” Ethan’s mother nodded from the side, looking pleased. “Mia really knows how to keep people in line. Ethan has been a spendthrift since he was a kid, but now that you’ll be keeping an eye on h
