The wedding was in full swing, right at the ring exchange part.

Then Mark suddenly asked everyone to pause for five minutes.

He turned to his darling, Brittany, and knelt down. “Brittany, I promised you once that I’d propose in front of everyone. So, if there's a next life, will you marry me?”

Brittany covered her mouth and nodded, crying as she fell into Mark’s arms. Then she turned to me. “Ashley, even though I won't get to marry Mark in this life, I hope you'll take good care of him for me."

I could hear the whispers from all the guests.

My groom was making out with someone else right in front of me.

Everyone was waiting for the bride to crack.

But I smiled and walked toward Brittany, shoving my bridal bouquet into her hands. “Why not? If you want this dirtbag so badly, then you can have him."

For ten years, I had bent over backward trying to please Mark's family. I craved their approval.

In the end, it was my baby bump that got me this belated wedding.

I thought getting married and having the baby would finally make Mark settle down.

But now, I was watching the man who was supposed to pledge his life to me kissing another woman like there was no tomorrow.

Even digging my nails into my palms didn’t stop the pain in my chest.

Suddenly, I didn’t want to take it anymore.

Brittany clutched her chest and collapsed into Mark’s arms because of my words.

He didn’t hesitate. He scooped Brittany up and rushed her to the hospital, making sure to call me "vicious" and "petty" as he left.

He said I had to make a big deal out of something that could've been solved in five minutes.

My in-laws and my parents couldn’t stop Mark.

So, I became the target of all their anger.

The emcee stared at me awkwardly, still holding his congratulatory speech.

My mom was embarrassed and started hitting me, crying and telling me to go get Mark back.

My dad scoffed and told me I was on my own, dragging my mom away.

My mother-in-law had always looked down on me. Now, she berated me for being a clumsy hillbilly.

She told me that to marry into a family like theirs, I had to swallow my pride, not embarrass my husband in public.

For the first time in ten years, I felt like my sincerity had been wasted.

I didn’t want to be a part of this Mark family anymore.

They left with the remaining guests, telling me to walk home and think about what I'd done.

I stood at the entrance in my white wedding dress, watching them leave.

Behind me was the empty, silent hotel.

In front of me was a sudden downpour.

After my in-laws and everyone else left, my parents pulled up in front of me.

My mom rolled down the window. Seeing them, all the frustration I had bottled up just exploded. My eyelashes trembled, and a tear rolled down as I croaked, “Mom.”

I reached for the door, but I heard the locks click.

I stared at them, stunned.

My mom warned me, "I told you not to listen to me. Now you listen to your in-laws. You think about what you've done and get Mark back. You're carrying their grandchild. That Brittany can't take that away from you."

"Mom, how can you say that?"

Mom ignored me. She closed the window, and the car sped away.

I bit my lip, watching the taillights disappear. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

The wedding was at a resort halfway up a mountain.

There was no signal to call a cab.

A kind server gave me an umbrella, her eyes full of sympathy.

I thanked her and started walking down the mountain, holding the umbrella in one hand and lifting my heavy wedding dress with the other.