“No, this can’t be happening!” My husband’s anticipation for our wedding night turned to horror when I took off my wedding dress. I had been hiding something beneath it all day, but the moment had come to reveal a shocking truth.

Our wedding was like a storybook come to life. Greg stood at the end of the aisle, grinning as if he had just hit the jackpot. For him, it was the start of our idyllic life together, but I knew what was ahead.

The fragile fantasy was about to shatter, but I wasn’t prepared to break it open just yet.

The reception was flawless — the clinking of champagne glasses, laughter echoing across manicured lawns, and Greg’s parents playing the perfect in-laws. After all, their cherished son deserved the perfect day, didn’t he?

And me? I fit into my role perfectly. I smiled at every cue, laughed at all the jokes, and danced with Greg as if everything was wonderfully normal.

A couple on their wedding day | Source: Midjourney

Greg thought he had figured me out. He believed he knew all my secrets, but he was wrong.

As the evening passed, Greg could barely contain his excitement for our wedding night. He made no effort to hide it.

His touches lingered longer than usual, and his smile stretched wider. I felt like an actor on stage, playing a role set for me long before I even agreed to wear the dress. But I had my own script.

A bride | Source: Midjourney

We thanked our guests for their presence and received their compliments on the beauty of the occasion. Greg’s parents had retired to the guest rooms, and Greg was eager to usher me upstairs to the master suite they kindly offered for our first night together as husband and wife. So poetic.

He nearly danced with joy as he shut the door behind us.

A man closing a door | Source: Midjourney

The room filled with a different excitement, almost touchable. As he approached me, his eyes gleamed with anticipation. He was already reaching for the zipper on my wedding dress.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment all night,” he whispered into my ear, his breath warm and promising.

I replied with a knowing, secret smile. “Me too.”

A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney

He gently unzipped the dress, and I stood still while my heart raced. He was full of confidence about what came next but completely in the dark.

As the dress finally pooled at my feet, I turned. His face was unforgettable, disbelief etched into his features as if he was balancing on a cliff’s edge.

“No…” His voice trembled. “No, this can’t be real!”

A shocked man | Source: Midjourney

A large temporary tattoo showed Greg’s ex, Sarah, right across me. Underneath, the words from his night before our wedding: “One last taste of freedom before I’m bound to the same body forever.” It looked real enough to make Greg’s knees give way.

“How did you know?” he cried, his eyes locked on the tattoo.

A man on his knees | Source: Midjourney

“Sarah was thrilled to flaunt your betrayal,” I replied.

“I didn’t mean it,” he pleaded, regret dripping from his words. “I’m so sorry, it was an accident!”

Then came the footsteps. Marianne and James rushed in, eyes wide with worry.

“What happened?” Marianne asked, her voice shaking. Her eyes moved quickly between Greg’s tears and me, then froze on the tattoo. Her face paled.

A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney

“It’s simple,” I explained. “Greg was unfaithful.”

Marianne gasped, her disbelief echoing in the room. Greg’s father, James, stiffened in the doorway. Though typically silent, his clenched fists and tightened jaw said more than words ever could.

An angry man | Source: Midjourney

For a brief moment, silence enveloped us, heavy with truth. Greg was still on the floor, hands gripping his hair, trying not to break entirely.

Marianne’s gaze darted back to Greg, her lips quivering. “Is it true?”

She stepped forward uneasily, her voice pleading for him to refute the sight before her: disbelief that her son could do something so unforgivable.

An emotional woman | Source: Midjourney

Greg remained in silence, his body shaking as sobs continued to shake his frame.

“Tell me!” Marianne’s voice cracked under the weight of disbelief. “Tell me it’s a lie!”

James moved forward, his face set but clearly boiling with anger. Towering over Greg, his fists clenched, he was a force of contained rage.

“Gregory,” he growled, his voice deep and harsh. “Is this true?”

An angry man | Source: Midjourney

Still, Greg remained wordless, a crumpled heap unable to face reality. I decided to speak up again.

“He was with her the night before we married,” I said, slicing through the tension. “He claimed it was ‘one last taste of freedom before being with the same person forever.’”

Marianne let out a anguished sound, collapsing onto the bed as her world caved.

A woman sitting on a bed | Source: Midjourney

James’s face darkened further, veins pulsing with repressed ire.

“You’ve shamed us all,” he spat with contempt. “How dare you? How could you betray Lilith in this way?”

Greg turned to me, anguish twisting his features. “I’m sorry,” he whimpered. “I didn’t mean for any of this to occur. I made a mistake.”

“Mistake?” I repeated, my voice laden with incredulity.

A furious woman | Source: Midjourney

“Calling it a mistake when you chose to be with your ex right before our wedding?” I stepped closer, fury spilling over. “No, Greg, you made a deliberate choice to betray me. Now, you’re facing the consequence.”

Greg’s gaze fixed on mine, his eyes filled with desperation. “Lilith… please, I love you. This wasn’t what I wanted. I’ll do anything! Just don’t leave!”

I laughed, a sound devoid of warmth or mirth.

A grimacing woman | Source: Midjourney

“Love?” I shook my head in disbelief. “You have no idea what love means, Greg. If you did, you wouldn’t have committed this betrayal.”

His hands reached for me, trembling, imploring. “Please… I beg of you.”

I stepped back, letting him fail to touch me, my gaze cold and uncaring. “I’m done, Greg. This is finished. You ended it the minute you went to Sarah.”

James stepped in, his voice commanding.

A furious man | Source: Midjourney

“Stand,” he commanded Greg firmly. “Face this.”

Greg hesitated, then slowly rose to his feet, still shaky. He was pitiable in his wrinkled wedding attire, face streaked by tears, with his life in ruins.

I turned to Marianne and James, who were still processing the unfolding disaster. Marianne’s face was red and tear-streaked, while James’s held a fierce disappointment.

A serious woman | Source: Midjourney

“I’m leaving,” I declared, steady and resolved. “He’s yours to handle now.”

“Lilith, please,” Greg tried one final time, his voice a painful plea. “Don’t go.”

But I was through. I turned away, from the wreckage of our wedding night, to slip my robe on and head toward the door.

“Lilith,” Greg called behind, his voice empty with need. “I can change! I’ll make things right!”

A pleading man | Source: Midjourney

But I didn’t reply. There was nothing more to say.

As I exited, I heard James’s voice, heavy with anger: “Look what’s left, Greg. You’ve destroyed it all.”

And then, Greg’s pitiful cries, but they couldn’t reach me. I descended the stairs, feeling unburdened with every step. Free from him, from deceit, from betrayal.

This story draws inspiration from actual events and people, but has been fictionalized for creativity. Names, characters, and details have been changed to ensure privacy and enhance the narrative. Any similarity to persons, living or dead, or actual events is accidental and not purposeful.

The author and publisher don’t vouch for the accuracy of events or portrayal of characters and aren’t responsible for any interpretations. This story is presented “as is,” with character opinions not representing those of the author or publisher.