Not My Baby

A Different Bride

Vanessa didn't wait for my answer.

She left in a hurry.

I had seen the messages on her phone. Logan Wells had texted her, saying his hand hurt and that he wanted to see her.

That was all it took for her to rush out the door.

I laughed at myself.

Vanessa had once told me she wanted to marry me and become the best wife she could be.

I had believed her.

For years, I carried that promise in my heart. I worked until I nearly broke myself, turning a tiny startup into a company with more than a hundred employees.

It took me five years. One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five days.

Now, I had a successful career, a house, and a car. I had put Vanessa's name on everything because I wanted her to feel secure. I wanted her to know that my future belonged to her.

The night she accepted my proposal, I was so happy that I couldn't sleep.

After all those years, we were finally about to get married.

Yet when I refused to let her have another man's child, she kept telling me I should understand her.

We argued countless times. And countless times, I fell apart.

I stopped sleeping. My hair began falling out. I could barely eat.

Yet, she didn't notice any of it.

All she cared about was taking care of Logan after his car accident.

All she could think about was how good I had always been to her, how surely I would understand, and how surely I would accept her having a child with Logan—becoming the mother of another man's baby.

I took a deep breath and began packing my things.

In a way, maybe Vanessa was right.

If I stopped loving her, she could start a family with as many men and become anyone's mother as she pleased. I would accept it all.

And since she was so determined to secretly have another man's child while hiding it from everyone, then I would secretly replace her as my bride.

For the next two days, Vanessa didn't come home.

I didn't ask where she was.

Instead, I submitted my resignation at work.

Other than Vanessa, I had no friends in this city and nothing worth staying for. Since the company needed time to hand my responsibilities over to someone else, HR approved my resignation three days later.

Early the next morning, I was awakened by the sound of Vanessa opening the door.

Her beautiful face was filled with guilt.

I glanced at her, frowned, and closed my eyes again.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Daniel, I know you're angry. I can explain. Logan's parents have been pushing him really hard these past two days, and his condition has gotten worse.

"He kept saying he didn't want to live anymore. I was afraid he would do something stupid, so I stayed with him. That's why I didn't contact you. He's doing better now, so I came home right away."

Then her voice softened even more. "Daniel, we're getting married soon. Can we please not let something like this ruin our mood?"

With my back still turned to her, I answered calmly, "Okay."

Vanessa thought I had given in. Her face immediately lit up with relief, and she leaned toward the bed, trying to kiss me.

I pushed her away.

A wave of nausea rose in my throat, and I nearly threw up in front of her.

Vanessa froze, then reached for me with concern. "Are you sick?" she asked. "Did you eat something bad? Tell me what's wrong. I'll take you to the hospital."

I pushed her hand away. "I've just been staying up too late. I'll be fine after some rest."

The truth was, I saw Logan's online post the night before, where he shared Vanessa's IVF paperwork.

I knew exactly what she had been busy with for the past two days. I also knew that every word she spoke was a lie.

It didn't matter.

I had been busy these past two days, too.

I personally canceled all my wedding plans. The hotel, the flowers, the dress, the decorations, the custom gifts—everything I had carefully prepared was either refunded or returned.

Then I cleared my phone.

Years of photos, videos, and chat records were deleted with one tap.

My photo album was empty. Our chat history was empty.

So was I.

The man who had once come to this city alone for her, dreaming of marrying her and becoming the best husband in the world, disappeared completely from that moment on.

Vanessa noticed none of it. She only relaxed and smiled at me. "I'll go buy you breakfast. You rest first."

When she came back, she was carrying a bag of my favorite pastries and a bouquet of white lilies.

She handed me the flowers with a bright smile. "Your favorite pastries, and beautiful lilies for my favorite future husband."