For Better, Not Yours

Jayden's voice came through the phone, filled with an infuriating sense of entitlement.

"Whitney, come over right now. Luna's not feeling well—you should help her take care of the baby. I'm taking her to an auction to help her relax."

Take care of a child he had with another woman?

He must have lost his damn mind.

"Jayden," I said coldly, "I'm not your maid, nor am I a nanny. You've got the wrong person."

There was a pause, then a long sigh.

"Whitney, Lunara went through all this for you, for the Ford family. She struggled to give birth to this child.

"She's the mother of a Ford child. As the future matriarch of the Ford family, shouldn't you be learning how to raise a child anyway?"

I almost laughed. His words were so absurd, I could not believe he said that out loud.

A sharp, mocking laugh slipped from my throat. "Jayden, your logic's so touching, it gave me goosebumps."

I added, "We broke up. Whoever you decide to sleep with, whoever you have kids with—none of it has anything to do with me. From now on, don't ever call me again."

He was about to say something else, but I did not give him the chance—I hung up without hesitation.

I flopped back onto my bed, fuming.

I picked up my phone, thinking I would scroll through the news to calm myself down, but right then, a notification popped up.

[Ford Corporation's CEO Spends Billions for True Love–Publicly Acknowledges Relationship with Lavish Jewelry Gift!]

I clicked on it, and sure enough, there was a picture of Jayden holding Lunara Holmes at an auction.

In the photo, he looked at her with soft, adoring eyes full of affection and attention.

Eyes I never once saw in our five years together.

My chest tightened. A sharp, stinging pain pierced my heart.

During our relationship, even on my birthdays, the most he would do was to have his assistant send me a random designer bag or a piece of jewelry.

He never personally chose a gift, never put in that kind of effort to make me feel special.

'Where the money goes, the heart follows,' I thought to myself.

And by the looks of it, Jayden never really loved me at all.

I thought maybe trying on my wedding dress would help lift my mood.

But the moment I stepped into the boutique and opened the door, I froze.

…

In front of the full-length mirror, Lunara was spinning gracefully in a wedding gown.

With a dissatisfied frown, she pointed at the dress and said to the store assistant, "Can you tighten this part a little? And the train—if it were three centimeters longer, it'd look much better."

That dress took me half a year to design, in collaboration with the designer. Every stitch was done by hand. It was priceless.

And it held every dream I ever had about my future wedding.

Rage exploded inside me.

I took a deep breath, trying to suppress the fury boiling in my chest. Then I stepped forward and said coldly, "Take it off. That's my wedding dress."

Lunara flinched at the sound of my voice and quickly shrank behind Jayden like a frightened child.

"Do you have to be so aggressive? You're scaring Luna," he said, scolding me like I was some unhinged shrew.

I almost laughed out loud in disbelief.

"Jayden, that gown was custom-made for me. It took six months—every stitch sewn by hand! Who the hell gave her the right to wear it?"

His eyes flickered, and for a second, I thought I saw a trace of guilt.

"Whitney, she does have the right. She's the bride, so the dress is for her."

I stared at him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll still marry you—legally. The union between the Ford and Sheridan families will proceed as planned."

He paused and looked back at Lunara, who was still clinging to him. His gaze softened as he continued, "But Luna went through so much to give birth to my child. I don't want her to feel left out.

"So, I was thinking, let her attend the wedding ceremony. That way, she gets some public recognition."

"W-what did you just say?" I blurted out in disbelief.