The Bride Who Came for Cake

The day Phill and I signed our marriage papers, his boys suggested we go live on stream to share the moment with our followers. I smiled and agreed.

I held up the freshly signed documents, showing off our happily ever after to the camera.

Right then, Phill's childhood bestie, Beth, rolled out a massive tiered cake. The two of them exchanged a secret, knowing look.

Just as Beth opened her mouth, supposedly to wish us well, a vicious force slammed into the back of my head, shoving my face buried deep into the cake.

A blinding pain ripped across my forehead. The hidden plastic dowels supporting the cake tiers had sliced my skin open. Sweet vanilla frosting mixed with warm, metallic blood, sliding down my face.

"Surprise!" The whole room erupted into roaring laughter. The camera stayed dead focused on my humiliating, messy state.

The live chat exploded, scrolling faster than I could read.

Phill affectionately pinched Beth's cheek. "Happy now? The boys really pulled through for your little dare."

He chuckled. "Even hijacked my own wedding for it. See, Beth? Now you know who spoils you the most."

Only then did he casually turn his gaze to me, using that condescending tone reserved for a toddler. "Oh, come on. We are just messing around."

I stared at the ruined cake splattered across the floor. Without saying a single word, I ripped our freshly signed marriage certificates into tiny, useless shreds.

Frosting choked my throat. I could barely breathe.

Laughter, jeers, camera shutters clicking. It was pure chaos.

The stream was going viral. Within minutes, my humiliating photos and the hashtag about my ruined wedding were trending number one.

My phone blew up with calls from my agency.

And the mastermind behind it all was hiding behind Phill, her voice trembling, her face completely devoid of any real guilt.

"I think Malika is mad at me..."

"It is all my fault for losing that dare. The guys just felt bad for me and wanted to help..."

My custom gown, the one I waited six months for, was ruined. My hair and makeup, which took three hours starting at dawn, were destroyed.

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. My overflowing joy turned into nothing but pathetic, hollow sorrow.

Phill draped his suit jacket over my shoulders to cover the mess, but then he saw my red, swollen eyes.

He froze.

"Are you actually crying?"

"If it bothers you that much, we can just throw another wedding. Okay?"

"I promise the next one will be even bigger."

The Phill from the past was never like this.

At eighteen, he was a broke kid who emptied his pockets just to take me to a bridal boutique. He carefully smoothed out the train of a dress I tried on, promising to give me a beautiful, proper wedding one day.

At twenty eight, as a successful entrepreneur, he bought me a designer gown, holding me like I was his entire world, promising a lavish ceremony as soon as his company stabilized.

Now, at thirty three, Phill shattered our promises and spat on his vows. He gave me the most humiliating wedding imaginable.

Smack.

I slapped him across the face with everything I had.

The room went dead silent.

His friends scrambled to cut the live feed, tripping over their words to apologize.

"Sorry, Malika."

"We just wanted to cheer Beth up..."

Phill wiped a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes flashing with irritation.

"Why are you taking this so seriously?"

"Wedding ceremonies are boring anyway. I let Beth have a little fun to lighten the mood. Why are you picking a fight with a kid?"

"You were never like this..." I whispered.

Beth always loved playing cruel pranks on me. She stomped on the flowers Phill bought me, ruined our anniversaries. She orchestrated hate campaigns in my comment sections, causing me to lose hundreds of thousands of followers. She even mixed poison ivy extract into my perfume, giving me a full body rash so I would miss a massive brand deal.

Every time, Phill would stroke my hair and say he would teach her a lesson and that she was just being immature.

But his punishments were always empty threats. A loud bark with absolutely no bite.

"Phill! Beth's dad saved your life, but that does not mean you get to enable her like this!" I screamed. "She has no basic decency! She is a brat!"

Beth buried her face in his chest and wailed. "I miss my daddy..."

"Malika!" Phill snapped at me. "Do not cross the line!"

"Do you think poking at her trauma makes you a better person?"

I choked back my tears. I never imagined he would protect her with absolutely zero boundaries.

"You really think she did nothing wrong?"

Phill instinctively opened his mouth to defend her.

"Fine," I cut him off. "Since you cannot see how messed up this is."

"Then we are done."

"We are over."

I went home, hid in the bathroom, and cried until I was numb. Then I scrubbed my face, packed away my emotions, and started dealing with the catastrophic mess.

My boss, Marcus, screamed at me over the phone. "You turned your own wedding into a circus!"

"Meme photos everywhere! You have been trending for three hours. The brand sponsors are blowing up my line. Terminated contracts, penalty fees, it is a disaster!"

"Do you have any idea how much money we are losing?"

The crisis meeting lasted until four in the morning.

The living room was pitch black, lit only by the cherry of a cigarette burning down to my fingertips. Nicotine numbed my frayed nerves.

I watched the wedding video over and over, trying to figure out what to say to the public. How to spin my absolute humiliation into a funny joke. How to pretend my tears meant nothing.

"Heh..." I let out a self deprecating laugh and collapsed against the sofa.

The last time I was this exhausted was when I was paying off Phill's bankruptcy debts.

I livestreamed day and night, testing toxic skincare products until my face broke out in chemical burns, doing eating broadcasts until I got a stomach ulcer. All just to earn those daily payouts to ease his stress.

Eventually, my account blew up.

Phill bounced back, too.

But the very first thing he did when he got rich again was bring Beth right back to his side to live the high life.

Meanwhile, I was still stuck under a predatory contract with my agency. Swallowing Marcus's empty promises at work, and Phill's empty promises at home.

I was so incredibly stupid.

Fifteen years. Gone in a flash.

By my thirtieth birthday, Phill had consumed half my life, my youth, and my brightest years.

I grabbed my phone and opened Beth's socials.

She had recently posted a celebration for her two thousand day snap streak with Phill. They ate a seven tier cake, set off fireworks, and rented out an entire theater for a midnight fairy tale play.

Phill only ever showed his playful, childish side to Beth. With me, he complained that those things were too immature.

[Could not sleep, so my Phill took me stargazing.] That was her latest update.

The photo showed them on a mountain peak, the city lights glittering below. She was sitting on his shoulders.

I blinked, not even realizing my tears were sliding down my temples into my ears.

The updates kept rolling in.

[Late night hot springs.] A picture of their heads leaning close together in a private pool.

[Breakfast made with love by Phill.] Eggs fried in the shape of a little cat.

Dawn broke. My mom's name popped up on the screen.

"Malika, sweetie, did you sleep okay?"

"I am fine, Mom."

She hesitated for a few seconds. "Malika, about your wedding yesterday..."

"Mom, it was all scripted!" I forced a bright laugh. But the damn tears poured out uncontrollably. "It was a marketing stunt by the agency. I am totally fine."

My mom let out a heavy sigh of relief. "I knew it. I kept saying there was no way Phill would ever treat you like that."

I bit my lip to muffle a sob. "Yeah."

"Phill loves you the most. You have to cherish him."

"Yeah."

The words felt like broken glass in my throat.

The screen went black, reflecting my tear soaked face.

Mom, the Phill who loved me the most is gone. He disappeared a long time ago.

I changed my clothes and headed straight to the agency. I took several deep breaths before pushing open Marcus's office door.

"I am sorry..."

"It is handled," Marcus said, crossing his legs. "Phill paid off every single one of your breach of contract fees."

"Do not let this happen again."

"Go prep for tonight's stream. You need to salvage your image. If you do not hit your sales quota, I really will ship you off to the European branch."

I pressed my lips together.

After a long pause, I spoke. "Send me to Europe."

Marcus sat up straight. "Are you serious?"

The company had expanded overseas a few years ago. Signing that transfer meant a twenty year commitment. Most top streamers avoided it like the plague.

I had wanted to go back then. But Phill refused to do long distance.

I had been so naive, telling him he could just expand his own company and come with me.

Phill stammered for a long time before finally saying Beth was staying in the city and she could not survive without him.

Then he held me and begged me not to leave, saying he could not survive without me either.

So, I gave up the opportunity.

Thinking about it now made me sick. He used his tears to trap me. And years later, at our wedding, he let my tears shatter against the floor without a second thought.

"If you go, you are the Vice President of the London branch." Marcus pulled out the contract. "Sign it if you are sure."

I signed my name without a hint of hesitation.

"Good," he smiled. "You fly out next week. Go wrap up your loose ends."

I went back to my studio. While prepping the products for tonight, I scrolled through the online drama.

The narrative had flipped.

Someone had dug up Beth's secret accounts. All her targeted bullying, her attempts to seduce Phill, and her passive aggressive posts flaunting their weird relationship were dragged into the light.

[She is so shameless! He has been with his girlfriend for fifteen years, why is she playing the third wheel?]

[She is a pick me girl! She loves being surrounded by guys and destroying relationships. It is disgusting!]

[Poor Malika.]

My fans flooded Beth's comments, demanding an apology.

Before I could even scroll to the bottom, Phill's name flashed on my screen.

The second I answered, he exploded. "Did you orchestrate this?!"

"Malika! How could you weaponize your fans to cyberbully Beth!"

I could hear a girl sobbing violently in the background.

"Yes, she went too far yesterday. She messed up your work. But I already paid your penalty fees! Why will you not just let her go!"

I let him scream. I listened as he made endless excuses for Beth, minimizing the devastating damage she caused me into a simple, harmless mistake of a naive child.

"What about when Beth started rumors about me, intentionally sending her trolls to attack me?" I asked him quietly. "She incited a mob. They cornered me offline. In the chaos, someone slapped me so hard it ruptured my eardrum."

"I was so afraid you would worry, I never told you."

"Phill, to this day, I am completely deaf in my right ear."

"Does my pain mean anything to you at all?"

Dead silence on the other end.

"That cannot be true..."

"Beth!" Phill barked at her.

"Did you not say it was just a harmless prank?"

The girl burst into hysterical wailing. "I... I just made a joke in the comments... I did not know people would actually go after her..."

My head was pounding.

I hung up, put my phone on silent, and tossed it into my drawer. I felt a suffocating, heavy exhaustion and a faint, dull ache.

It was not until early evening, right before I went live, that I checked my phone again.

Phill had texted me.

[Malika, just quit streaming.]

[I will take care of you. Let us get married. I will give you all my credit cards, okay? I will hire the best specialists in the world to fix your ear.]

Then came the real motive.

[Beth accidentally hurt you, and I will make sure she gives you a proper apology.]

[But please, just issue a public statement clearing her name first. Apologize to the fans to calm them down.]

[We need to stop the cyberbullying immediately.]

I only replied with two words.

[Keep dreaming.]

The scandal was boiling over.

When I went live, the chat was a warzone.

Phill logged into the stream, desperately trying to defend Beth amidst the relentless wave of insults.

Marcus's voice crackled through my earpiece. "You need to address this right now, or no one is going to buy a single thing."

I stared directly into the camera lens.

I plastered on my brightest, most professional smile. "My boyfriend and I have officially broken up. Please do not worry about my personal life anymore."

The chat went nuclear.

[Oh my god! So Beth really is the homewrecker!]

[Trash man! Trash girl! Malika deserves better!]

My phone lit up with rapid fire texts from Phill.

"When did I agree to a breakup?"

"Are you insane?"

"Are you trying to completely destroy Beth's life?"

"I promise I will keep my distance from her from now on. Just clear her name, please!"

I ignored him and continued showcasing the lipstick.

"Forgive me, Malika. I have no other choice."

Phill started dropping massive donations in the stream.

Within seconds, he shot to the number one viewer spot. Using the premium VIP chat effects, he broadcasted his message to millions of viewers.

[Beth is my girlfriend.]

The message faded. He dropped another massive donation. And another.

I stared blankly at the glowing gold text taking over the screen.

My fingers went slack. The expensive glass perfume bottle hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

[Beth and I have been together for years. We are very happy. Please leave us alone.]

[And I would appreciate it if the streamer stopped using our relationship for clout.]

[Anyone who continues to slander Beth will be hearing from my lawyers.]

Phill dropped tens of thousands of dollars to fabricate a fake innocence for Beth.

He did not hesitate to erase our entire past.

He completely denied our years of survival, our struggles, and the purest, most passionate love we ever shared.

Fifteen years meant absolutely nothing to him.

My world went completely silent.

I opened my mouth, but all I could taste was copper.

It felt like a giant, invisible hand had reached into my chest, violently crushing my heart and tearing my sanity to shreds.

It ripped the boy I loved most right out of my universe, leaving behind a barren, scorched wasteland.

The harsh studio lighting offered no place to hide my breakdown.

I covered my face and broke down sobbing in front of millions of people.

It was an unbearable, suffocating agony. The kind that destroys all logic and rips you apart from the inside out.

The studio plunged into chaos.

"Block the camera!"

"Cut the feed! Cut everything!"

"She passed out! Someone catch her!"

The stream died.

I was rushed to the hospital.

When I finally opened my eyes, Phill was standing by the window, talking on his phone.

"Is Beth okay?"

"She is not threatening to jump off the balcony again, is she?"

"Malika collapsed. I am stuck at the hospital. Go handle the PR. Make sure you suppress everything on the internet."

"I do not care what it costs. Do not let a single negative word reach Malika's ears."

I buried my face in the stark white blanket, desperate for even a fraction of safety.

My mind was flooded with the final comments from the stream.

People calling me delusional. Saying I made up a fake relationship for clout. Saying I was the homewrecker trying to steal Beth's man.

Netizens had scoured Phill's social media. All they found were pictures of Beth. I did not exist in his digital world.

I knew it all.

"Phill," I croaked softly.

My vision blurred as I stared at his back.

"Does your conscience hurt at all?"

He whipped around.

He hung up the phone, rushed to my bedside, and crouched down to my eye level.

"Malika, I had no choice."

"Beth was getting death threats. She was about to jump off a building. I owe her my life, I could not just watch her die..."

I raised my arm.

Smack.

The IV needle tore out of the back of my hand. Drops of blood splattered against Phill's cheek as his head snapped to the side.

"So I am the one who has to be sacrificed?"

I was so tired.

Tired of enduring. Tired of turning a blind eye. Tired of holding onto fifteen years of memories while letting him cross the line over and over again.

I had spent my whole life begging Phill for an answer he was never going to give.

So, I swallowed the thousands of words screaming in my throat.

There was no point in speaking anymore.

No more torture.

"...Just go."

"Let us pretend we never met."

Phill's pupils shrank. He frantically reached for my hand, but I pulled away.

"Malika, please, just give me a little more time."

"When this blows over, I will release a statement! I will give you the most beautiful wedding in the world! We will be happy again!"

I had heard these lies far too many times. And I had believed them far too many times.

"I swear! I will put you first from now on! I will do whatever you want! I owe you too much, I will never..."

His phone rang, slicing through his desperate vows.

A frantic voice screamed through the speaker.

"Phill! Beth is crying hysterically! She wants to see you!"

"She is super unstable, you need to get here right now..."

A bitter smile touched my lips.

I reached out and gripped Phill's forearm.

"Did you not just say you would do whatever I want?"

"Then I want you to stay."

Crashing sounds erupted from the phone.

"Phill! She is climbing onto the window ledge!"

Phill panicked. He violently yanked his arm out of my grip, jumped to his feet, and sprinted out the door without looking back.

It was exactly what I expected.

I did not try to stop him again.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Marcus.

"Move up the transfer."

"I am booking my own flight. I am leaving tonight."

Phill threw money at the platforms to erase the trending hashtags and censor the keywords. But he could not stop people from talking.

Wearing a mask, I stood at the boarding gate. As I walked through the terminal, I heard the whispers.

"I bet there is a plot twist to this drama."

"It is so messy. Apparently, this is not the first time Beth has pulled this. She is a total mean girl. She bullied several of the guys' girlfriends out of the group. The victims are speaking out."

"They dated for fifteen years, and Beth ripped them apart."

"That guy is trash anyway. Keeping his options open like a coward."

I lowered my eyes and pulled my mask up higher.

Hearing those words did not even cause a ripple in my chest anymore.

My phone buzzed repeatedly. Texts from Phill.

[Malika, you are not at the hospital? The nurse said you left.]

[Where are you? Did you go home? I bought your favorite soup.]

[Just answer the phone, please. We need to talk.]

I did not reply. I powered off my phone.

The plane accelerated down the runway. The glittering city lights shrank into tiny sparks before being swallowed entirely by the dense clouds.

I reclined my seat and buried my exhausted body under the thin fleece blanket.

Fifteen years felt like a long, agonizing fever dream.

It was time to wake up.

I was ready for my new life.