My Groom Sprinted Out of Our Wedding to Save His “Childhood Friend” Who Faked a Suicide—He Never Knew I’d Already Seen the Medical File That Said He Was Dying

PART 3: OFFICE DRAMA AND THE DOWNFALL

By lunchtime, Serena showed up at our office building holding an elaborate, multi-tiered “love bento” box. Dressed in a flashy outfit, she practically skipped to Julian’s desk to deliver the food.

“Julian~ I spent the whole morning cooking this for you! You have to eat every last bite!” she announced loudly.

Julian’s face instantly turned incredibly awkward. Our coworkers stared at him weirdly, then glanced over at me, their faces screaming that they were ready for some premium office drama.

Rachel, sitting at the desk next to mine, nudged me and whispered loudly, “Lily, what the hell is this? Who brings a ‘love lunch’ to a man in front of his fiancée?”

I realized then that Julian hadn’t told anyone at work about the canceled wedding. Everyone still thought we were getting married, making Serena’s little performance look utterly shameless.

I spoke up, my voice clear and unbothered. “Oh, the wedding is off. He’s not my fiancé anymore.”

Rachel’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god, really?!”

Before anyone could say another word, Julian grabbed the bento box and hurried over to my desk. “My sister made this. You should eat it. I’m not hungry.”

He deliberately emphasized the word sister, desperately trying to hide his actual relationship with Serena. He was up for a major promotion this month, and he knew a scandal about him cheating and abandoning his bride would ruin his reputation and his career.

Hearing him clarify she was just his “sister,” the disappointed coworkers slowly turned back to their screens. Julian visibly relaxed.

But I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily.

I gave Serena a dazzling smile, watching her eyes burn with jealousy. “Is that so? Your ‘childhood sister’ spent all morning cooking this just for you. How could I possibly steal away something made with so much love? Besides, Mr. Miller, I don’t accept food from strangers.”

In two sentences, I ripped off his hypocritical mask. The office immediately perked back up. The coworkers looked at Julian the way a pack of wolves looks at a wounded deer.

Julian’s face darkened instantly. Seeing the situation going south, Serena immediately activated her “fragile victim” mode. Her voice trembled. “Lily, you must be misunderstanding. Julian and I grew up together like siblings. He loves you, only you! How can you call him a stranger? You’re going to break his heart!”

Wow. She switches personalities faster than a chameleon. A few days ago, she was texting me declaring victory, and now she was playing the gracious, forgiving saint.

Hearing her saintly speech, Julian played right along, looking deeply wounded—as if I was the one who betrayed him.

I laughed out loud. “A sister? A sister who threatens suicide to make you run away from our wedding altar? Because of her, I was humiliated in front of hundreds of people. And now she’s standing here telling me you love me? Do you guys practice this comedy routine, or is it natural?”

Julian’s face drained of color. The entire office erupted into shocked whispers, all eyes locked onto him with disgust and curiosity. He realized his perfect professional image was shattering into pieces.

“Lily, what are you talking about? I didn’t run away! I just stepped out for a minute, I was going to come back!” Julian hissed, leaning in close and lowering his voice so only I could hear. “Lily, that’s enough. Ruining my reputation doesn’t do you any good!”

Because he leaned in so closely, from the outside, it looked like an intimate, affectionate whisper. Serena’s face instantly turned black with jealousy.

I didn’t care. I pulled out my phone and loaded a video of the wedding disaster.

Meanwhile, Serena continued her performance. “Lily, it’s all my fault. Please don’t be mad at him because of me!” She reached out, trying to grab my sleeve.

Annoyed, I swatted her hand away. I barely touched her, but Serena instantly threw herself backward, letting out a dramatic shriek as she stumbled and fell to the floor.

“Ah!”

Julian lunged forward and caught her just in time. He whipped his head around, furious. “Lily! If you’re mad at me, take it out on me! Why do you keep attacking Serena?!”

Serena, tears brimming in her eyes, whimpered, “Don’t yell at her, Julian. I’m sure she didn’t mean to push me.”

“Thank God you’re so forgiving, Serena,” Julian said, looking at me with cold disgust. “I’ll let it go this time for her sake, but if you ever—”

Before I could even respond, Rachel stood up, slamming her hand on her desk. “Julian, do you have eyes in the back of your head? Lily barely touched her, she threw herself on the ground! Are you blind?”

The other coworkers nodded in agreement. The tide instantly turned against them.

“Julian, we literally have security cameras in the office,” another coworker sneered. “We can just pull the tape and see who pushed who. You have a lot of nerve yelling at Lily.”

Julian stood there, his face burning with embarrassment, unable to speak. Seeing the crowd turning against them, Serena tried to backpedal. “M-maybe I just slipped… I lost my balance.” She looked incredibly wronged, tears streaming down her face.

Julian, heartbroken by her tears, started comforting her, gently wiping her cheeks. I stood there watching the soap opera with a blank expression, while our coworkers looked like they had just eaten something rotten.

“Julian, you’re the king of double standards,” Rachel snorted. “When Serena was accusing Lily a second ago, you didn’t question it at all.”

A flash of pure hatred crossed Serena’s eyes, but she quickly masked it, looking at me with innocent, tearful eyes. “Lily, I’ll apologize, okay? Please don’t rally your coworkers to bully Julian. If you just forgive him, I’m willing to step away entirely.”

Julian looked at her like she was an angel descending from heaven, sacrificing herself for his happiness.

They are both completely insane.

I stared at Serena and articulated every word perfectly. “First, I don’t accept your fake apology. Second, I didn’t ‘rally’ anyone; my coworkers just have functioning brains and eyes. Third, Julian and I are done. We have zero relationship, so there is nothing to ‘forgive.’ I just want both of you out of my life. If you keep harassing me at work, I will call security and file a restraining order.”

With that, I picked up the extravagant bento box Julian had left on my desk and dropped it straight into the trash can. I sat back down at my computer and started typing, completely ignoring them.

Julian stood there, his fists clenched, while his little saint Serena looked like she had swallowed a lemon. The office was dead silent, soaking in the absolute humiliation of the two of them.

After that incident, Julian’s life at work went into a freefall. Everyone knew he was a cheating, runaway groom, and they ostracized him. Nobody helped him with projects, nobody covered for his mistakes. Without support, his performance tanked. Within a week, management reprimanded him several times for sloppy errors.

That promotion he was vying for? It vanished into thin air. Management was actually considering firing him. Finally, HR gave him two choices: take a massive demotion with a 30% pay cut, or pack his bags and resign with a small severance.

Logically, Julian should have taken the demotion. He had terminal cancer; keeping his health insurance and a steady paycheck was his only lifeline. But he didn’t know he was sick yet. Egged on by Serena’s flattery, he chose to resign with pride.

When Julian was packing his desk, Serena came to help him, making sure to loudly announce to the room, “My Julian is incredibly talented! Gold will shine anywhere! This company not appreciating him is your loss!”

She linked arms with him and shot us a disdainful glare.

Rachel snorted loudly. “Gold? More like fool’s gold that can’t even finish a basic spreadsheet.”

Another coworker laughed. “Maybe he’s talented at juggling two women at once, but we definitely can’t learn that skill here.”

The whole office erupted in laughter. Serena tried to yell back, but Julian grabbed her arm. “Haven’t you embarrassed me enough?!” he hissed, all his previous gentleness gone. He grabbed his cardboard box and dragged her out the door.

After Julian left, management gave me the promotion he had been competing for. To celebrate, my parents bought me a brand-new car to commute to work in.

They say the three greatest joys for a modern woman are getting promoted, getting rich, and losing a toxic husband. I hit the jackpot on all three. My mood was so good I couldn’t stop smiling. I took my entire department out for a lavish dinner to celebrate. At the restaurant, everyone genuinely cheered for me.

Rachel raised her glass. “Lily, here’s to always walking in the sun, never looking back at the shadows.”

I clinked my glass against hers. “Life is beautiful, and the future is bright.”