Sebastian still believed I would forgive him.
That was the most ridiculous part.
After five years together, he still thought I was the woman who would swallow every humiliation as long as he came back and said:
“Everything will be fine.”
But this time…
I wasn’t waiting for him to fix anything.
I was preparing to end it.
The night before the wedding, everyone thought I was probably crying.
My relatives thought I was nervous.
His family thought I was excited.
Sebastian probably thought I was finally being reasonable.
Nobody knew that I was sitting alone in my hotel room, looking at the wedding dress hanging in front of me.
A dress I had chosen six months ago.
A wedding I had planned carefully.
A future I thought I was building.
Until I discovered that the first home I wanted to share with my husband…
Had always been connected to another woman.
At midnight, my phone kept lighting up.
Messages from Sebastian.
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t overthink today.”
“Tomorrow is our big day.”
I looked at those words for a long time.
Then I placed the phone face down.
Because for the first time…
I didn’t want to explain my pain.
I didn’t want him to understand.
I wanted him to experience the consequences.
The next morning…
The wedding venue was full.
Three hundred guests.
Flowers everywhere.
Music playing.
Everyone was waiting for the bride.
Sebastian stood at the altar wearing the suit I had chosen for him.
He looked confident.
Happy.
Certain.
His parents smiled proudly.
Camila was sitting among the guests.
Wearing an elegant dress.
Watching everything with a strange calm expression.
As if she already knew something I didn’t.
Or perhaps…
As if she believed she had already won.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Sebastian’s smile slowly disappeared.
The guests started whispering.
“Where is the bride?”
“Did something happen?”
His mother immediately called me.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Sebastian finally stepped away from the altar.
His face was no longer calm.
He called me himself.
This time…
I answered.
“Natalia.”
His voice was low.
“Where are you?”
I looked at my suitcase beside me.
The plane ticket was already printed.
“I won’t be coming.”
Silence.
“What?”
“I said…”
“I’m not getting married today.”
His breathing became heavier.
“Natalia, stop joking.”
“I’m standing here in front of everyone.”
I smiled faintly.
“I know.”
“That’s why I chose today.”
For the first time…
Sebastian had no prepared answer.
Because he was used to controlling the situation.
He knew how to calm me.
How to make me doubt myself.
How to convince me that I was exaggerating.
But he never imagined I would simply leave.
Then his voice changed.
“Is this because of Camila?”
I didn’t answer.
He continued quickly.
“You misunderstood.”
“She was only staying there temporarily.”
“The property issue was complicated.”
“You know I was going to transfer everything.”
I closed my eyes.
“Sebastian.”
“Do you remember what you told me yesterday?”
He was silent.
“What?”
I repeated his own words:
“What does it matter what name appears on a piece of paper?”
A long pause.
Then I said:
“It matters.”
“Because that piece of paper showed me exactly where I stood in your life.”
At the wedding venue, Sebastian’s face became pale.
Because he finally understood.
This wasn’t about an apartment.
It wasn’t about Camila.
It wasn’t even about the betrayal itself.
It was about realizing that after five years…
He had never truly chosen me.
After hanging up, I sent one message.
Not to Sebastian.
To the wedding organizer.
“Cancel everything.”
Then another.
To all the guests.
“The wedding has been canceled due to personal reasons.”
No explanation.
No drama.
No tears.
But what Sebastian didn’t know…
Was that while he was standing at the altar waiting for me…
My lawyer had already submitted the documents.
The property freeze.
The financial records.
The evidence.
Everything.
That afternoon, Sebastian finally arrived at my apartment.
But this time…
He couldn’t open the door.
The access code had been changed.
He called me immediately.
“Natalia.”
“What did you do?”
I looked at the message from my lawyer.
The property restriction had been approved.
I smiled.
“Nothing.”
“I just protected what was mine.”
His voice became angry.
“You can’t do this.”
“This is our home.”
I looked at the apartment building outside the window.
“No.”
“That was your mistake.”
“You thought it was our home.”
“But according to the documents you cared so much about…”
“It was never yours.”
Then Sebastian said something that made me stop.
A sentence I never expected.
“Natalia…”
“Camila wasn’t the only reason I put the apartment in her name.”
I froze.
“What do you mean?”
Silence.
Too long.
Too suspicious.
Then he whispered:
“There is something you don’t know.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What?”
Sebastian took a deep breath.
And the next sentence changed everything.
“Camila didn’t ask me to use her name.”
“Someone else told me to do it.”
I stood still.
Because suddenly…
The apartment wasn’t just hiding a betrayal.
It was hiding a much bigger secret.
And Sebastian was about to reveal the person who had been controlling everything from the beginning.
