Chapter 20 When Jacob proposed , I believed Id finally found my escape from a life of uncertainty . His world was so different from mine polished , privileged , promising everything Id never known . We were engaged for years , a status that felt more like a holding pattern than a commitment . His family made it abundantly clear : I wasnt their first choice . My ordinary background was a stain on their pristine social canvas . I was the scholarship kid , the outsider whod somehow caught their sons attention . Jacob was good at making promises . Hed sweep me into grand gestures , talk about our future with such conviction that I almost believed we were invincible . Well prove them wrong , hed say , kissing me with a passion that made me forget their disapproving glances . Finding my biological father was supposed to be a turning point . A connection Id always craved . Martin Lopez a name that came with a complicated backstory and a stepsister , Bella Lopez . She seemed perfect at first : polished , welcoming , everything I thought I wanted to be . My fathers last words echoed in my mind : I want to be there when you say I do . But fate had other plans. The wedding dress a cheap rental that held all my broken dreams now hung like a ghost in my closet . Ten hours after sending Jacob the final breakup message , I found myself alone , surrounded by the remnants of a life that had never truly been mine . Bella , my stepsister turned lover , had been systematically dismantling our relationship for months. Her coincidental illnesses , her strategic interruptions , her constant presence all calculated moves I was too blind to see . Jacob had transformed from my rescuer to my tormentor . The man who once promised to rebuild my world had instead destroyed everything I believed in . My fathers funeral was just hours behind me . The weight of loss pressed down on me not just the loss of my father , but the loss of every illusion Id cherished . Dreams of family , of love , of belonging . Chapter 20 As midnight approached , I found myself in a cold , empty room . The wedding dress a symbol of hope and betrayal felt heavy as I slowly peeled it off . Exhaustion consumed me , and I sank to the cold tiles , my body finally surrendering to the numbness that had been building for months . I didnt know then that this was just the beginning of my transformation . Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!