Love Is but an Illusion

I took a deep breath to compose myself before returning to the wedding ceremony.

I decided that since I was already here, I had to see it through to the end. Running away in the middle of it all was never my style.

Cassandra spotted me and a smug smile appeared on her face.

She walked up to me and whispered, "Joanna, I thought you had already left. Let me be straight with you, Sebastian's heart belongs only to me."

She pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of her marriage certificate with Sebastian. "You can't change this fact no matter how hard you try."

I had thought that my heart had long grown numb from all the pain, but hearing her words and seeing their marriage certificate still made me upset.

I turned to the side, refusing to look at Cassandra.

Seeing that I was not running away in humiliation, Cassandra sneered and continued, "Hmph! You should back off now if you still have any semblance of self-respect. Otherwise, everyone will just just call you a mistress and make fun of you!

"This wedding ceremony is nothing more than a little show to comfort your feelings. Take a look around you. Do you think any of the guests are here to give you their blessings? They're here to laugh at you! Everyone knows that Sebastian and I are the real couple!"

With that, she turned around and left.

As Cassandra passed by me, she suddenly lost her footing and stumbled toward me.

I instinctively reached out to try and catch her, but she just used the momentum to shove me into the champagne tower beside us.

The champagne tower collapsed onto me with a loud crash.

The icy champagne soaked my body while shards of glass cut into my skin, sending sharp stings of pain throughout my body.

Cassandra, on the other hand, only suffered a small scratch on her calf. She let out a scream and collapsed onto the floor.

Sebastian immediately rushed over after hearing the commotion. "Cassandra, what happened?"

His voice was anxious, while his gaze was filled with concern.

Cassandra put on a pained expression. "Sebastian, it hurts!"

Sebastian picked her up into his arms without hesitation and strode toward the exit. "Cassandra, are you okay? Someone call a doctor, now!"

His gaze was still filled with concern, but his voice was now frantic.

Cassandra shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "Sebastian, I'm fine. But Ms. Robinson—"

She fainted in his arms before she could finish her words.

Sebastian turned around and glanced at me.

I was sprawled on the ground, drenched by the champagne. My body was covered in cuts from all the broken glass.

"Cassandra fainted, so I'm taking her to the hospital first. You can get there by yourself, right?" Sebastian asked.

With that, he left without even waiting for my response.

My heart twisted in pain as I watched them leave.

I stood frozen in place, drenched from head to toe. All around me were whispers and mocking laughter about my humiliating state.

"Oh, isn't she the bride? Why does she look so terrible?"

"Heh, just who does she think she is? She should take a good look at herself before trying to compete with Cassandra."

"Seriously! She doesn't even compare to Cassandra! Sebastian must be blind to have married her!"

"Just look at how cheap looking this entire wedding ceremony is. Does she really think that Sebastian actually loved her?"

"I heard that their marriage certificate isn't even real!"

I bit down on my lips and forced back my tears as I turned to leave. I then hailed a taxi to head to the hospital all by myself.

The taxi driver was startled when he noticed my disheveled appearance. "What happened to you? Did someone bully you?"

I smiled bitterly and replied, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Even a complete stranger had shown me concern. And yet Sebastian, who I had been with for years, had completely ignored my pain.

Forget it.

I let out a long but silent sigh. I was leaving soon anyway, so I did not really need his concern.

After arriving at the hospital, I registered to have my wounds treated.

The nurses were whispering among themselves, their eyes filled with pity.

"I heard that the CEO of Ford Corporation just called away all of our best doctors just to treat his lover!"

"Seriously? That's insane! Cassandra sure is lucky!"

"I know, right? I heard that she only suffered a small cut and fainted due to low blood sugar, but it was already enough to make Sebastian panic."

I lowered my head, a bitter feeling welling up in my heart.

They were right, Cassandra sure was lucky.

Cassandra never had to do anything in order to receive Sebastian's love and care.

Meanwhile I, despite being drenched and wounded, was only given a single glance before he left.

I took a taxi home after getting my wounds treated.

As soon as I stepped through the door, my phone vibrated.

It was a message from Cassandra. "Ms. Robinson, Sebastian is currently taking care of me and doesn't have time for you. But there's no need to be upset, since you were never important to him in the first place. If you still have any respect for yourself, you should just leave on your own."

I was trembling with rage as I gripped my phone tightly.

Just then, my phone started vibrating again with a call from Sebastian.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down before answering the call.

His voice carried a hint of exhaustion. "Hello? Joan, are you okay? How are your injuries? I'll arrange another wedding ceremony for us."

I calmly replied, "My injuries aren't serious, and I've already got them treated. As for the wedding, we can talk about it some other time."

He fell silent for a short while before replying, "I see. Get some rest, Joanna. I'll come to see you tomorrow."

I rejected him. "I'll be fine. You should just take care of Cassandra."

With that, I hung up, turned off my phone, and headed for a flight abroad with my suitcase.

Before takeoff, I snapped a photo of the airport and sent it to Emily.

Emily replied with satisfaction, "Good. Now that you've left, don't ever come back. And remember, you and Sebastian are no longer a thing from now on."

I threw away my SIM card before turning around to board the plane.

Goodbye, Sebastian. We shall never meet again.