Chapter 1 Wedding Called Off

"You have no shame! You're nothing but a tramp!" The once joyful and romantic wedding venue suddenly descended into chaos. Jessica Scott lifted her gaze amidst the murmurs and whispers, only to be met with a shocking sight—several explicit images displayed on the massive screen! The woman in those pictures was undeniably her, but the man entangled with her in bed was not her fiancé, Hugh Hensley! For a brief moment, Jessica stood frozen, her mind completely blank. What was happening? Where had these photos come from? In the images, she was trapped beneath a man, her face captured in perfect clarity from every angle. Yet, the man's features remained obscured, revealing only his back or the side of his face. She was certain she had never seen that man before! Jessica instinctively turned to Hugh. His face was ashen, his eyes burning with fury as he glared at her. "You vile woman! How dare you cheat on me!" Before she could utter a word, Hugh's hand struck her across the face with a sharp slap! The force of the slap sent Jessica crashing to the floor. Pain flared across her cheek as it swelled instantly. Clutching her face, she lifted her eyes to him and pleaded, "Hugh, this isn't what it looks like! There has to be some mistake!" "Misunderstanding? Are you seriously going to deny that the woman in those photos is you?" Hugh's face drained of all color as he roared, his fury barely contained. Jessica shivered. "I ... I have no idea how this happened." Panic gripped her—she knew she hadn't been with any man, except for that one night … Hugh seized her chin, his grip painfully tight."Swear to me—can you truly say you've never been with another man?" "I ... " The words caught in Jessica's throat as her closest friend, Rhea Benton, suddenly chimed in."Jessica, on Hugh's birthday last month, you never came home. Who were you with then?" Jessica was stunned. That night, she had been drinking and only had a hazy memory of staying at a hotel with Hugh. "I was with Hugh at the hotel that night!" she blurted out without hesitation. However, Hugh let out a cold laugh. "I was drunk that night and went home early. How could I have been at the hotel with you?" Jessica froze, the blood draining from her face. If it hadn't been him that night ... then who could it have been? A wave of dread crashed over her, and her legs gave out beneath her. She sank to the floor, completely shaken. Watching her reaction, Hugh's expression hardened. His voice was like ice as he declared, "Enough! Well done, Jessica! I'm calling off this wedding—right now!" "No!" Jessica snapped back to reality. "Hugh, I didn't betray you! Someone set me up—you have to believe me!" Her voice trembled with desperation. Who could have done this to her? But Hugh was beyond reasoning. His fury boiled over. "Enough, Jessica! Stop acting innocent—you disgust me!" With a vicious kick, he sent her sprawling, then leaned down and violently ripped at her wedding dress, his tenderness from before nowhere to be found. "Hugh! What are you doing?!" Jessica's voice trembled as she shrank back. "Take it off! You don't deserve to wear this!" he snarled. She struggled, but her resistance was useless. In front of everyone, her custom-made wedding dress was ripped away. Left with only a flimsy layer of fabric covering her, her bare figure was exposed for all to see. Humiliation washed over her, making her body tremble. Hugh cast her a cold glance before turning to Rhea. Holding out the wedding dress, he asked, "Rhea, do you want to marry me?" Rhea couldn't contain her excitement. "Of course, I do!" Jessica stood frozen, unable to believe what she was witnessing—her closest friend slipping into a wedding gown right before her eyes. Hugh even slid the wedding band onto Rhea's finger himself! "No! Rhea, how could you do this? He's my husband!" Jessica's voice trembled as she glared at her best friend, her eyes burning with rage. Looking down at her with disdain, Rhea smirked. "Jessica, you need to understand—Hugh belongs to me now." She made sure to flaunt the massive diamond ring on her finger. With a sly smile, Rhea leaned in and whispered, her voice meant for Jessica alone."So, do you like the wedding gift I prepared just for you?" Jessica's eyes widened in shock as it hit her—those photos were Rhea's doing all along! Fury boiled inside her, and she barely held herself back from ripping that smug grin off Rhea's face."Rhea! So it was you, wasn't it?" Before she could finish, Rhea casually flicked her wrist and signaled to the security guards. "Throw this disgraceful woman out," she commanded, already carrying herself with the authority of Mrs. Hensley. "Let me go!" Jessica thrashed against their grip, but no matter how hard she fought, it was pointless. The security guards dragged her away without hesitation. Her chest burned with fury—never in her wildest dreams had she thought her closest friend would betray her like this, trapping her in such a cruel scheme! And the man who once swore he would marry her? He simply stood there, watching it all unfold with an icy gaze. Left at the hotel entrance, she barely had time to process the humiliation before her phone rang.The hospital was calling. "Ms. Scott, we regret to inform you ... your father has passed away." "What?!" Her hand shook, the phone slipping from her grasp and crashing to the floor as a sharp pain pierced her heart. She forced herself to stand, desperate to rush to the hospital, but a sudden, searing pain shot through her abdomen. A warm, wet sensation spread down her legs—blood. She gasped in horror, clutching her stomach in agony and despair. "My baby ... "