I Needed Him But He Stood Me Up

A week before the wedding, the roads were blocked by heavy snow. Fortunately, I stocked up the house with supplies in advance.

Clyde took his first love in and moved in with her.

He tricked me into staying at a friend's villa where there was nothing to eat or drink.

He and his first love flaunted their delicious meals on Instagram Stories daily.

I starved in the villa, with no food, no water, and no electricity.

After clearing the roads, he sent frantic messages during the wedding preparations.

I had already returned to my parents' house. I sent him a message saying, "I’ll let you two be together."

——

Betty Winn posted an Instagram Stories message about Clyde York's first love.

"It's snowing, eating hot pot is so delicious. Thank you for being in love with him."

Below was a photo of two tightly clasped hands. I recognized the man's hand instantly—it was my fiancé, Clyde’s hand. The ring on his finger was one I had chosen.

Then, Clyde liked Betty's Instagram Stories.

Seeing that Clyde had access to the internet, my frozen fingers dialed his number again.

Clyde finally answered the phone.

I hurriedly said, "Clyde, my car is out of gas and my phone is running out of battery. Can you come pick me up? It's so cold here and there's nothing to eat."

Looking at my phone’s 1% battery, I silently prayed it would last a little longer.

But there was laughter on the other end.

Then Clyde's best friend, Nick Hanson, spoke loudly.

"Angela, we made a bet with Clyde. If you can hold on in my villa with no food, no water, and no electricity until the wedding day, it means that you really love Clyde."

"All of our friends from Clyde’s in-laws' side will call you sister-in-law in the future. We’ll make sure to advise Clyde to calm down and stop thinking about our goddess, first love, Betty."

I was stunned. It had been snowing heavily for a month, and the roads were treacherous. Most of the city was blocked.

There was no water, no electricity, no food or drink. How could we hold on until the wedding a week later?

Clyde said he needed to take his blood pressure medicine, but he forgot it at Nick’s villa. So, he asked me to drive there to get it. I risked my life, driving so far to retrieve the medicine.

Upon arriving at the villa, I found no one there, and there was no water or electricity. It turned out he had just been testing my love.

But I had been chasing Clyde for ten years. I wasn’t just Angela Duncan; I was his secretary. I had taken care of him for ten years. Isn’t that proof enough that I loved him?

I simply wanted Nick to hand the phone back to Clyde.

Clyde snatched the phone away.

"We didn’t bet on anything. Angela, I just want to spend a week with Betty before getting married."

"After marriage, you’ll enter a hellish cage, and you can no longer associate with Betty. I can’t let people say that Betty is a third party."

Hearing this, my heart felt colder than the weather at minus ten degrees.

Is marrying me entering hell? I almost cried as I asked.

"Clyde, so you deliberately tricked me to come here? And you intentionally cut off the water and electricity just because you don’t want me to disturb you?"

Clyde, on the other hand, was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Angela, can you help me and Betty for a week? Stay there for a week, and after that, I will respect the marriage agreement agreed by the elders and marry you."

"For just this week, I want to belong to Betty. Don’t call me again; I’ll block all your contact information in the next few days and then unblock it after the marriage."

After saying those words, he hung up the phone without waiting for me to respond.

I called his number again, but it was no longer connected. He had really blocked me.

The phone was turned off at that moment.

It was minus ten degrees outside, and my fingers were so stiff that I couldn't straighten them.

If I don't leave here, without water and electricity, I will die.

Knowing that there was still a bit of gas in my car's tank, I opened the car, let my phone charge a little, and then called my best friend.

My best friend said they would send someone to drive over immediately.

Half an hour later, my best friend sent a snowplow and an off-road vehicle.

In this way, I drove the snowplow in front and the off-road vehicle behind. Finally, at 10:30 PM, I managed to drive 20 to 30 miles to get home.

When Clyde saw me returning, his face hardened. He waved his hand, signaling the bodyguards to block me at the door.

"Angela, you didn’t understand what I told you, did you? Why do you keep coming to disturb me and Betty?"

Clyde’s cold eyes made me want to turn around and get on the off-road vehicle and leave. But all the supplies stored here for the heavy snow were bought by me, and my dowry is also here. Why should I leave?

I’ve taken care of him for ten years. Does he really want to drive me out during this natural disaster of heavy snow? I looked at Clyde sadly and asked in a trembling voice,

"Clyde, this is the nearest place I can get warm. I haven’t eaten in twelve hours and I’m close to hypothermia. Do you really want me to die outside?"

Clyde looked at me, my whole body trembling, then waved his hand, motioning for the bodyguards to leave.

"Forget it. You can go to the nanny’s room on the first floor to sleep."

"The second floor is my and Betty’s private pre-wedding love space for this week. Don’t disturb us, or the marriage will be canceled."

I looked at Clyde’s straight back and walked upstairs to charge my phone.

After the heavy snow stops, I will book a flight and leave without hesitation.

I always thought that it was my ten years of pursuit that made Clyde agree to be with me, but I didn’t expect that he still saw marrying me as a hellish life to fulfill his parents’ marriage agreement.

If that’s the case, I would rather let go. I don’t want to be the cause of his pain.

After charging, I went to my bedroom upstairs to gather my things.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Clyde hugging Betty, taking wedding photos in the wedding room I carefully prepared.

The wedding dress Betty wore was designed and made by my mother, who is a fashion designer.

The set of jewelry she wore was a green jadeite passed down from my grandmother's ancestors. My grandmother gave it to me when I got engaged, intending it to be a treasured piece for a lifetime.

It was my grandmother’s love for me. I rushed to Betty.

"Why are you touching my things without my consent?"

Betty looked like a frightened little white rabbit, shrinking in Clyde’s arms, her eyes filled with tears that dripped down onto Clyde’s suit.

This suit was a high-end piece I had made in my mother’s studio, carefully crafted stitch by stitch as I followed my mother’s guidance.

Clyde hugged Betty tightly, wiping her tears with his sleeve, and looked at me with reproachful eyes.

"Angela, it’s just a wedding dress. Why are you acting like this? Betty just wants to take a wedding photo with me before we leave."

"After all, you did get the marriage certificate with me, didn’t you?"

Betty nestled closer to Clyde, nodding sadly.

"Angela, don’t blame Clyde. I’ve never worn such a beautiful wedding dress. If I can’t marry Clyde, I may never marry in my life again. I may never wear a wedding dress again."

"So, I couldn’t help but cry when I saw it. Clyde was so kind to let me wear it and take wedding photos with him."

"If it bothers you, I'll take it off right now," Betty said, her red, tearful eyes looking up at me. Her trembling hands reached behind her back to unzip the wedding dress.

Worried she might accidentally damage the dress my mother had painstakingly created, I stepped forward.

"I'll help you," I said calmly.

Betty glanced at me as I moved behind her, her eyes darting briefly before she suddenly stumbled forward.

In front of her was a small platform, about 50 to 60 centimeters high, temporarily set up for taking photos. She screamed as she fell.

I instinctively reached out to catch her but couldn’t.

When Betty hit the ground, the jade necklace around her neck snapped, scattering fragments everywhere.

I immediately knelt to pick up the broken pieces, the sharp edges piercing my cold, swollen fingers. Blood dripped from my hands, yet I felt no physical pain—only the sharp ache in my heart.

Clyde’s eyes widened when he saw my bloodied hands. He reached out to pull me up, but I turned my face away, refusing to meet his gaze.

He hesitated, his lips parting as though to speak, but Betty’s voice interrupted.

"Clyde, my stomach hurts so much... I don’t know if the baby can be saved," she whimpered, her face pale with pain.

"That’s your child... the child I tried so hard to conceive for you. Please help me!"

Her words struck like a blade to my chest. Betty was pregnant with Clyde’s child. Judging by her flat stomach, she couldn’t have been pregnant for more than three months—months that coincided with the happiest time of my life, when Clyde had agreed to marry me and we traveled the world together.

Was it possible that during our travels, he had brought Betty along?

Clyde scooped Betty into his arms as if she were a fragile doll. His voice softened as he murmured, "Betty, how did you fall? Don’t be afraid—I’ll take you to the hospital right now."

Betty clung to Clyde’s arm, her tearful eyes briefly meeting mine before darting away in feigned guilt. She buried her face in Clyde’s chest.

Clyde’s gaze turned icy as he looked at me, now holding Betty protectively. His voice was sharp and accusing.

"Angela, it’s just a set of jade jewelry. Did you really have to push Betty over it?"

"If you have any grievances, direct them to me. Betty and the baby in her womb are innocent."

"If anything happens to her, I swear you’ll regret it."

I silently shook my head, signaling that I hadn’t pushed Betty, but the lump in my throat made it impossible to speak. My heart felt like it was shattering into pieces.

Clyde’s eyes bore into mine, filled with fury. "I saw it with my own eyes, Angela. How could I be wrong? You went behind Betty, and she fell."

Betty tugged on Clyde’s sleeve, her voice trembling. "Clyde, let it go. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have worn Angela’s wedding dress or her jade jewelry. I shouldn’t have touched things that don’t belong to me."

"Even if I’ve never experienced luxury before, I can tell this wedding dress must be worth millions, and the jade jewelry tens of millions. Someone like me has no right to touch such extravagant things."

Clyde held Betty even tighter, his voice softening. "My dear Betty, you’ll have everything in the future. With me by your side, you don’t need to worry about anything."

He turned back to glare at me, his tone biting. "I brought her into this world. I won’t let anyone bully her just because they think their wealth gives them the right."

After Clyde finished speaking, he carried Betty out of the room.

The door was left ajar, and I overheard him commanding ten snowplows to clear the road. He even instructed his friends to drive their sports cars along the path to smooth it out.

In less than ten minutes, Clyde orchestrated a route for Betty to safely escape the nearly one-meter-thick snow.

Meanwhile, I had been stranded in the freezing cold for twelve hours, begging for his help. But he ignored me, afraid I would cling to him and disrupt his life.

Before leaving, Clyde ordered his bodyguard to take me to the hospital.

I was dragged into the car, my hands still bloody.

Inside the spacious vehicle, Clyde called the family doctor to treat my wounds. Betty was lying in the back seat, and as he looked at me, his expression softened.

For a fleeting moment, I was reminded of the time when he had agreed to marry me—his gaze then had been tender and full of affection.

After my wounds were dressed, Clyde gently took my hand and spoke in a low voice.

"Angela, I need you to keep Betty's pregnancy a secret. If the elders find out, she’ll be exiled from the capital again, just like before."

My heart sank instantly. His sudden gentleness wasn’t for me—it was for Betty.

Clyde’s eyes turned cold again as he sat closer, trying to pull me into his arms.

But the thought of Betty’s perfume and tears lingering on him made my stomach churn. I instinctively pushed him away and shifted to the farthest corner of the seat.

He stared at me with a mix of confusion and irritation. After all, in the past, if he’d so much as touched my hand, I would’ve been overjoyed for days.

Suppressing his temper, Clyde spoke again, his tone firm and matter-of-fact.

"After Betty gives birth, the child will be raised as a York. I’ll be the father, and you’ll be the mother. To reassure Betty, I’ll transfer all my property to her so she’ll never have to worry again."

"But there’s one condition. Before we gain custody of her child, we must both undergo sterilization. It’s the only way Betty will trust that we’ll truly care for the baby. After the wedding, we’ll proceed with the operation."

He wasn’t asking for my opinion—he was informing me of his plan, as though it was already decided.

Clyde seemed confident I would agree. Perhaps he thought my love for him was so deep that I’d accept anything.

I stared at him, his words echoing in my mind. He wanted to give all his assets to Betty, use my wealth to support her child, and rob me of the chance to have children of my own—all while expecting me to comply without question.

It became clear that Clyde’s supposed affection for me had always been an act for Betty’s sake. Even our marriage was likely orchestrated to provide legitimacy for her child.

But I needed him to admit it. I wanted him to say it outright. If he did, it would be like handing me the knife I needed to sever all ties with him.

I gazed into his eyes, searching for a hint of truth, and asked, "Clyde, so you married me because of Betty and her baby? In these ten years, did you ever love me? Were you ever moved by me, even a little?"

Clyde didn’t respond immediately. He sat in silence, as though seriously contemplating my question.

Then, from the back seat, Betty—eyes closed, voice faint as if in a dream—murmured, "Clyde, don’t worry. Once I give birth, I’ll disappear from your world forever."

Her words seemed to pierce him. Clyde’s attention shifted entirely to Betty, his gaze filled with concern and tenderness.

When he finally turned back to me, his voice was measured but distant.

"It’s been ten years, Angela. It’s not like there were no feelings at all. But what we have feels more like family. Marrying you gives me peace of mind."

"Being with Betty feels like love," Clyde said.

I stared at him in silence, not uttering a word. If that’s the case, I decided, let them have their wedding.

After Betty was sent to the emergency room, the doctor confirmed she was fine. I took one last look at Clyde, turned away, and asked the driver to take me back to the villa.

I planned to book a hotel, wait for my flight connection, and leave Brooklyn for good.

Clyde followed me out, calling after me.

"Angela, I’ve transferred the money for the wedding dress to your account. Go buy yourself a new one."

"I’ll be with Betty for the next few days, but don’t worry. I’ll be there for the wedding and won’t let you down. And don’t forget the vasectomy."

I didn’t respond and left without looking back. I waited until the wedding day to act.

Clyde bombarded me with frantic messages.

I finally replied with a single text:

[I wish you and Betty a happy marriage. I will not marry you.]