Her Betrayal Made Me Choose Better

My fiancee gets drunk the day before our wedding.

While I'm taking her home, she mistakes me for my best friend.

"Jackson, don't bring our child to the wedding tomorrow. I don't want Samuel to know about us."

I slam on the brakes, causing Madelyn Wilkinson to hit the seatback and come to her senses.

When she realizes it's me, she freezes for a moment before slowly explaining, "Since you heard that, let's call off the wedding for now. You don't have to worry. Jackson doesn't plan on getting married again. But I'm still that child's mother no matter what, so I need to help out.

"Jackson's your best friend. You feel sorry for him if he has to raise a child alone, don't you? I'll marry you after my son starts school."

I can't help smiling bitterly. "Alright then… I don't have a problem with that."

When we get home, she packs up a suitcase and leaves without another word.

Feeling a sting in my eyes, I suppress my emotions as I sit on the couch, falling into a daze.

That's when my phone rings at the worst possible moment. My childhood friend, Hazel Parsons, says in a hoarse voice, "Sam, don't marry her. Please."

I fall silent for a beat. "Alright."

The night before our wedding, my fiancee got drunk. As I was driving her home, she mistook me for my best friend, Jackson Horton.

"Jackson, don't bring our son to the wedding tomorrow," she slurred. "I don't want Samuel to know that I'm Mason's mother."

I hit the brakes, causing Madelyn Wilkinson to lurch forward. Hitting the seat in front of her, she somewhat sobered up.

When she realized it was me, she froze for a long time before saying, "Since you've heard everything, let's cancel the wedding for now. Don't worry. Jackson has no plans to remarry. But as the child's mother, I need to help out.

"He's your best friend. Surely you feel bad seeing him raise a child alone. I'll marry you after Mason starts school."

I gave a bitter smile. "Sounds good… I don't mind."

When we got home, she didn't say another word as she grabbed her suitcase and walked out.

Suppressing the bitterness deep inside me, I sank onto the couch, dazed.

All of a sudden, my phone rang, untimely as ever. It was my childhood friend, Hazel Parsons.

She uttered hoarsely, "Sam, please don't marry her…"

After a short silence, I said, "Okay."

When the call ended, I looked around the carefully decorated home Madelyn and I had prepared for our new life together.

I used to think the decorations weren't festive enough for our marriage. Only then did I realize how glaring and ridiculous it all looked.

When we were in college, I spent two years pursuing her, and we dated for three. We were supposed to get married tomorrow after so long.

I never expected that she and my best friend, Jackson, had been involved for over three