My Family Married My Boyfriend and Called Me Crazy

On the day I got laid off, I called my boyfriend, Liam. He never picked up.

Soaked from the rain, I pushed open the front door of our apartment, shivering as I clutched the cardboard box of my belongings.

Inside, the place was packed. Loud music blasted, and to my shock, my parents, my relatives, and all of our friends were there.

In the center of the crowd stood Liam and my best friend, Chloe, dressed in a tuxedo and a white bridal gown, throwing a massive wedding party.

The box slipped from my hands, crashing to the floor.

Liam walked over to me, his expression chillingly calm. "What are you doing here?"

I stared at him, my voice shaking. "What is this?"

His eyes flickered with a brief flash of guilt, but he just sighed. "Chloe and I got legally married last year. Today is just the reception."

Without thinking, I slapped him hard across the face.

"Get out. All of you, get the hell out. This is my apartment." I screamed.

The next moment, our mutual friends shoved me back.

"How could you hit him like that?"

"Seriously. We only kept it from you because we didn't want you to be devastated. Liam would have broken up with you ages ago anyway."

Amidst the chaos, my parents stepped forward, looking at me with deep disappointment.

"Elena, this apartment isn't yours," my dad said. "Your mother and I bought it, and we've already gifted it to Chloe as a wedding present."

"Today is their big day," my mom added. "Don't make a scene. Just go to your room."

I stood by the doorway, laughing through my tears. It was so absurd.

Five years of dating. Three years of living together. My boyfriend had become my best friend's husband. My own parents secretly bought them our home as a wedding gift. And all of my friends had been happily keeping the secret.

Right now, I was nothing but a joke.

When they shoved me into the bedroom, my knee slammed hard against the bed frame.

Before I could even stand up, the door slammed shut in my face.

I froze.

The noise outside dimmed for a second, then the party started up again, even louder than before.

I was locked in that room from noon until total darkness fell.

No one came to open the door. No one even checked on me.

I screamed until my throat was completely raw. In the end, I could only slide down against the door, listening to the party noises slowly fade away.

But my mind only grew sharper and clearer.

When the house finally went completely quiet, the door opened.

I pulled myself up using the bedpost. My legs were completely numb.

My parents walked in first, followed by Liam and Chloe.

My mom's eyes were red, looking as if she were the one suffering.

"Elena, honey... look. You and Liam did those fertility tests before, right?"

"We saw the portal report. The doctor said... it might be very hard for you to ever have children."

My entire body went rigid.

We had done those tests right before Liam and I were planning to get married.

But I never got my hands on the results. Liam said he would handle the portal access, and I hadn't thought much of it.

It turned out I didn't need to think.

Everyone had already made the decisions for me.

I looked at Liam.

"You knew all along?"

He kept his head down, refusing to meet my eyes.

My dad spoke up. "Liam is an only child. This kind of issue would have ruined your marriage eventually. If you two broke up normally, could you even handle the heartbreak?"

My mom immediately chimed in. "So, your dad and I talked it over. We figured it was best to let Chloe and Liam get married first and have a baby. Once that's done, you can come back. We can all live together and get through this."

My brain exploded.

My lips trembled, and it took me forever to force out a single sentence.

"Have you all lost your minds?"

Chloe took a step forward.

Her eyes were watery, her voice soft and fragile.

"Elena, everyone is just really worried about you. I've been alone for so many years, and I've always seen you guys as my family. If I can help you keep Liam, I'm willing to do it."

She finished speaking and gently placed her hand on her flat stomach.

"Besides, I'm already pregnant."

I stared at her stomach, a wave of intense nausea hitting my throat.

I slowly turned to Liam.

"And you agreed to this?"

He stayed dead silent.

My vision went dark. My chest felt so tight I couldn't breathe.

The next second, I collapsed onto the floor.

When I woke up, the room was pitch black.

I fumbled around for my phone. The moment the screen lit up, notifications flooded in.

Missed calls, messages from former coworkers, and over a hundred unread alerts in our group chat on Snapchat.

I tapped into it.

At first, some people were asking why Liam had suddenly married Chloe.

But then, the tone shifted.

Someone wrote, "Oh my god, my favorite ship actually became canon!"

"Right? Chloe is so sweet and gentle. Elena has such a bad temper and is always so dramatic. No guy could stand her."

I scrolled down and saw another message.

"Remember when Liam worked overtime until midnight, and she still forced him to drive across town to get her takeout? So annoying. Total spoiled princess."

"Exactly. She deserved to get dumped."

I stared at those words, my hands turning ice-cold.

On that night, Liam had been the one who insisted on buying me food, telling me to just name what I wanted.

I had even told him to forget it because it was too late.

He had laughed and told me it was fine.

But in everyone else's mouths, it became proof of my selfishness.

With my heart squeezing painfully, I instinctively typed a message into the Snapchat group.

"You all knew about this?"

The chat went dead silent for a second.

The next second, a notification popped up: You have been removed from the group.

They didn't even bother to give me an explanation.

I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a soft, hollow laugh.

It wasn't just my parents. It wasn't just Liam.

My friends, my coworkers. Everyone had been lying to me.

I stood up and started packing.

I didn't want to stay in this place for another single minute.

When I dragged my suitcase out, the living room was still decorated with white drapes and fresh flowers.

Unfinished wedding favor boxes were scattered on the table, and Chloe's jacket was tossed casually over the sofa.

It was as if they couldn't wait to make this place their new home.

As I was packing, I suddenly noticed the birdcage by the window was empty.

I froze.

"Where is my pet bird?"

My mom was clearing the table outside. She didn't even look up.

"Chloe said keeping him locked up was too cruel, so she let him go."

The clothes in my hands dropped right back into the suitcase.

"She let him go?"

Chloe, sitting on the sofa, said softly, "I was just doing what was best for him. It's so sad to keep him in a cage. Isn't freedom better?"

I spun around to face her, my voice shaking violently.

"He is a domesticated parrot. He can't survive in the wild!"

She flinched as if I had terrified her, her hands immediately guarding her stomach.

"How was I supposed to know? I was just trying to be nice."

"Nice?" I glared at her. "I raised that bird for years."

I turned to my parents.

"That was the birthday present you gave me. And you just let her release him?"

My dad frowned, completely dismissing it.

"It's just a bird. It's gone. If you want another one, we'll buy you a new one later."

Buy me a new one.

I stood there, suddenly finding myself completely speechless.

I went back to packing in silence.

Seeing that I was actually leaving, my mom finally got anxious.

"Stop acting out, Elena! You just lost your job. Where are you going to go by yourself? We did all of this for your own future!"

I picked up my suitcase and looked at her.

"If this is your idea of doing what's best for me, then you should have never given birth to me in the first place."

I turned and walked toward the door.

My dad's booming voice echoed from behind. "Elena Vance, if you walk out that door today, don't you dare ever come back!"

I didn't stop.

Just as I reached the door, Liam finally spoke.

"It's still pouring outside. Don't do anything reckless."

I looked back at him.

"Liam, don't ever speak to me again."

His face turned incredibly pale.

I carried my box down the stairs, the cardboard cutting painfully into my arms.

I ended up checking into a cheap, run-down motel.

The room was tiny. The window wouldn't close properly, rattling loudly every time the night wind blew.

I barely slept that night.

I had lost my job, my home, and my boyfriend. My best friend was now his wife, my parents were on their side, and even my friends were laughing at me behind my back.

But the moment the sun rose, I forced myself up to start sending out resumes.

I had to survive.

I used to be a top performer at my old company. I thought that no matter how unlucky I was, I could at least find a decent job.

But reality was much harsher than I expected.

At the first company, the interview went amazingly well, but they suddenly called back to say the position had been filled.

At the second company, I went in person, but after the interviewer took a quick phone call, their attitude turned cold.

The third company was even more direct. They didn't even let me past the lobby.

After getting rejected repeatedly, I finally realized something was wrong.

After getting rejected repeatedly, I finally realized something was wrong.

It wasn't until I was standing outside a restroom at an office building that I overheard two girls whispering inside.

"Yeah, that's her. Vivian said she got fired from her last job for being a homewrecker."

"I heard she tried to steal someone's husband. Who would dare hire a person like that?"

I stood frozen, my blood running cold.

My cousin Vivian worked at my old company.

And she had been at the wedding reception that day.

I immediately took an Uber straight to my old office.

The moment I walked in, I noticed everyone stealing glances at me.

Some quickly pretended to be busy, while others whispered near the breakroom.

I walked straight up to Vivian's desk.

"Are you the one spreading those rumors about me?"

Vivian looked up, acting completely innocent.

"What rumors?"

"That I'm a homewrecker. That I tried to steal someone's husband. That I got fired because of it."

She leaned back in her chair and scoffed.

"I didn't lie. I just told people exactly what I saw at the party."

I laughed out of sheer anger.

"I was the one who was betrayed!"

But the moment I said that, the whispers around us only grew louder.

Clearly, nobody believed me.

Right then, Chloe walked in.

She was there to hand in some paperwork, and she stumbled right into the scene.

I stared at her, as if grabbing onto my last piece of evidence.

"Tell them. Tell them who actually stole from whom!"

"Was it you and Liam who went behind my back?"

Everyone's eyes locked onto Chloe.

Her face drained of color. She instinctively shielded her stomach, her voice barely a whisper.

"Elena, please don't do this... I'm pregnant."

With that single sentence, she sealed my fate.

The looks of disgust from the bystanders solidified.

Tears streamed down Chloe's face as she took a half-step back.

"Things are already like this. The baby needs a father. If you want to blame someone, blame me. Just stop making a scene, okay?"

I looked at her, my chest so tight I could barely draw breath.

In the end, under the judgmental stares of dozens of people, I was escorted out of the building by security.

Rent was due, and I needed to eat.

No matter how angry I was, I had to survive first.

Eventually, I took a job as a waitress at a local restaurant.

One night, the shift manager asked me to bring hot tea to one of the private dining booths.

The moment I pushed the door open, I froze.

My parents, Liam, Chloe, and a few of our relatives were all sitting inside.

They were laughing and talking, looking like a perfect, happy family.

And there I was, wearing a cheap apron, holding a teapot.

The booth fell into dead silence.

My mom's face twisted instantly.

Liam looked up and froze when he saw me.

Only Chloe, after a brief shock, gently rested her hand on her stomach.

I gripped the tray tightly, my knuckles turning white, but I forced myself to say nothing.

I walked in with my head down, pouring tea cup by cup.

My mom hissed in a low voice, "How could you work in a place like this?"

A relative whispered nearby, "She has a college degree. How did she end up like this?"

"Didn't she use to have a nice office job?"

I stood by the table. The teapot was boiling hot, but their words burned much worse.

As I turned to leave, Chloe spoke up in her sweet, gentle voice.

"Elena, have you been under too much stress lately? Why don't you sit down and eat with us?"

"Don't be mad at us anymore."

I finally looked up at her.

She sat there, her baby bump slightly showing, pretending to care so much about me.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

Some people will rob you of everything, and then turn around and look at you with pity.

As if your miserable state is entirely your own fault.

"I'm working," I said coldly.

My mom immediately cut in.

"How long are you going to keep throwing this tantrum? You'd rather serve tables than come home!"

I looked at her.

"I'm working to feed myself. And you call that a tantrum?"

My dad's face darkened.

"Look at yourself. You look pathetic. Stop this nonsense and come home. Stop embarrassing us out here."

I suddenly let out a laugh.

"I'm the one embarrassing you?"

"When you gave my boyfriend to Chloe, did you think about how embarrassing that was?"

The room fell dead silent.

My mom looked furious.

"Do you have to be so hostile?"

"Hostile?" I asked. "I'm standing here pouring your tea. How much politer do you want me to be?"

Liam hadn't said a word since I walked in.

But now, he finally spoke, his voice low.

"Elena."

I glared at him.

"Don't call my name."

His lips parted, but he closed them, saying nothing.

Chloe slowly stood up, still looking weak and delicate.

"Elena, no one wanted to humiliate you. We're truly worried about you being out here on your own. Since we ran into each other today, why don't we sit down and talk things through?"

I stared at her.

"Talk what through? Talk about how you got everything you wanted?"

Her eyes immediately filled with tears, and she cupped her stomach.

"Please don't be like this."

"Then how should I be?"

I took a step toward her. "Aren't you the perfect actress? Come on, tell everyone again how you married Liam 'for my own good'!"

The relatives lowered their heads.

No one dared to speak.

Panicked, my mom reached out and grabbed my arm.

"Enough! Haven't you made enough of a scene?"

I shoved her hand off.

"I'm the one making a scene?"

"Since the day of that wedding, did any of you ever care about my dignity?"

I turned to walk out.

But the moment I spun around, a sharp gasp echoed behind me.

Chloe clutched her stomach, her knees buckling as she collapsed backward.

She knocked over the cups on the table, spilling tea everywhere.

The next second, a splash of red began to seep through her light-colored dress.

The booth erupted into chaos.

"Chloe!"

My mom screamed and rushed over.

My dad panicked.

Liam bolted forward, immediately scooping Chloe into his arms.

Chloe huddled in his chest, her face pale as paper, tears streaming down her face.

"I don't blame her... I really don't blame her..."

The moment she said that, everyone's eyes locked onto me with pure rage.

Because a second ago, I was the one standing closest to her.

I stood there, my body freezing.

"I didn't even touch her."

But nobody listened.

My mom rushed over and slapped me hard across the face.

"Are you trying to kill her and the baby to be satisfied?!"

The slap knocked my head to the side. My ears buzzed.

The relatives started shouting at me.

"How could she do that to a pregnant woman?"

"What if something happens to the baby?"

"She's completely heartless!"

The ambulance arrived quickly.

Chloe was rushed to the hospital.

After the examination, the doctor said the baby was fine. It was just a scare, but she needed absolute rest.

In the hospital room, Chloe lay on the bed, looking pale and exhausted. But the moment she spoke, she was back to playing the saint.

"I don't blame Elena. Really."

"She's been through too much lately. She's emotionally unstable. I understand."

I snapped my head up to glare at her.

But she didn't look at me. She just kept talking to my parents. "Maybe you should get her some professional help. I'm really scared that if she stays like this, she'll end up hurting herself... or someone else."

My mom nodded immediately.

"You're right. She hasn't been acting normal lately."

My dad's face was grim, but he didn't object.

I took a step back, my throat tightening.

"I'm not sick."

Liam stood by the bed. He looked troubled, as if he knew something wasn't right.

But in the end, he didn't say a single word to defend me.

My dad quickly made a phone call.

That very night, I was forcefully taken to a private psychiatric facility.

All the way there, I screamed and tried to explain.

I was pinned down in the back of the car, tears and fury blinding me.

"I'm not crazy!"

"What right do you have to lock me up!"

"Liam, say something!"

I stared at him desperately.

But he sat there in silence for a long time, only whispering, "Just try to calm down, Elena."

Calm down.

Hearing those words felt like a knife carving out my heart.

Before the car doors slammed shut, I could still hear Chloe's weak, pathetic whimpering from the hospital room.

Once we arrived at the facility, the nightmare truly began.

Doctors and nurses swarmed me, pinning me down to inject me with a sedative.

The moment the needle pierced my skin, my entire body shivered from the pain.

I looked up at them, suddenly losing the strength to fight.

As the drugs kicked in, my vision blurred.

I faintly heard my mom whispering nearby, "Once she gets better, she'll realize we did this for her own good."

My dad grunted in agreement.

I couldn't hear anything after that.

The last thing I saw before closing my eyes was Liam's blurry shadow standing under the hallway light.

Five years of love. Three years of living together.

I had truly wanted to marry him.

I had dreamed of our wedding, our children, and a long life together.

But now, I regretted ever meeting him.

After being locked in that private facility, I spent the first day trying to explain myself.

And the second day.

By the third day, I realized it was completely useless.

The doctor asked why I was resisting treatment, and I said I wasn't sick.

The nurse forced pills into my hand, and I told her my family had set me up.

They just nodded and wrote in their notebooks:

"Patient is highly unstable. Continuous denial of illness."

When I refused to take the meds, the nurses held me down and forced them down my throat.

When I tried to run, the orderlies dragged me back.

But the absolute worst part was the electroconvulsive therapy.

The first time they wheeled me into that room, I didn't know what it was. But the moment I saw the machines, I started shaking.

I backed away, crying and begging them to stop.

Two orderlies pinned me down while the nurses strapped my wrists.

I fought with everything I had, screaming at the top of my lungs.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Liam walked in.

Like a drowning person grabbing a lifeline, I screamed to him through my tears.

"Liam! I'm not crazy! Please, take me away from here!"

The next second, Liam reached out and held my shoulders down.

"Elena, stop fighting it. It's for your own good."

In that instant, my crying stopped.

When the needles went in and the electricity surged through my body, my entire frame went rigid. I screamed until my vocal cords practically shredded.

When it was over, I threw up so hard I couldn't even stand.

But they said I was still "unstable."

On the consent form for the treatment, Liam had signed his name.

After that, I became quieter and quieter.

The doses of medication kept increasing, and my brain felt like it was trapped in thick fog.

Sometimes, daytime would pass, and I couldn't even tell if it was night.

When someone asked how old I was, I had to think for a long time without finding an answer.

When they asked for my name, it took me minutes to remember.

One day, a nurse slipped a piece of candy into my hand.

"You were very good today. Here's a treat."

I stared at the candy in my palm, sitting motionless for hours.

I began to lose the ability to recognize people.

When my mom came to visit, she stood by my bed crying, but I just found her noise incredibly irritating.

My dad rarely came. He would stand at the door for a long time, and I had no idea who he was.

But when Liam came, I was terrified.

Even though my brain couldn't place his name, the moment I saw him, my arms would begin to throb in phantom pain, and my body would instinctively shrink back into the corner of the bed.

Once, a nurse took me out to get some fresh air.

Liam was standing near the bench, calling my name in a cracked, hoarse voice.

I clutched my stuffed animal tightly and whispered to the nurse, "Who is that man?"

In that split second, Liam looked as if all the life had been sucked out of him.

But I didn't know him anymore.

Then, the original testing hospital called.

They said they had made a mistake with the fertility screening report. The files had been swapped with another patient who shared the same name.

My actual fertility results had been completely normal.

When Liam received the call, he was standing in the hospital corridor.

His phone slipped from his hand, crashing to the floor as his face drained of all color.