1 a.m. I was shocked when I learned the real reason why my husband had begged me on his knees to marry him…/th
I always thought he was determined to marry me because of love. But the scheme behind it all was far more terrifying…

When I was 16, my father passed away. At 17, I moved to the city to work. By 22, I invested my savings and borrowed some money to open a tiny nail salon in an alley. By 25, I hadn’t bought a house yet, but I had enough to buy a small car and rent a nice apartment. At 26, I met my fiancé, and now at 27, I am about to become a single mother.

According to plan, in two weeks, I would walk down the aisle, wear my wedding dress, and officially start my family. But just before the happiest day of my life, I discovered that the wedding was nothing but a horrifying play. Even worse, my fiancé’s entire family was in on the scheme to deceive me.

My fiancé, three years older than me, runs a tech shop. I met him when my phone broke. Since his shop was near my place, I brought it there for repair. After fixing it, he asked for my Facebook, saying he wanted to keep me as a “regular customer.” I went back a few times to buy accessories, but in the first few months, we barely talked.

Then, during the Covid lockdown, with nothing to do at home, I started cooking and posting photos online. He often commented on my posts, praising the food, and sometimes messaged me, jokingly asking me to “ship” food over for him.

Gradually, I developed feelings for him. Once the lockdown ended, the first thing we did was go on dates—eating out, hanging out. In the three years we dated, we argued a lot, mostly because of his messy relationship with his ex. That woman was shameless—though they had broken up long ago, she still kept in touch with him, still flirted. Many times, I caught sweet, flirty messages. I forgave him repeatedly, but sometimes I couldn’t hold it in and called her directly, telling her to stop messing around, yet she kept provoking me.

What was strange was that my boyfriend openly displayed our relationship on social media, yet he still spoke sweetly and tenderly to his ex. Every time I suggested breaking up, he panicked and refused. I told him to just go back to her, but he wouldn’t listen.

On the day he proposed, he had everything prepared. He knelt down with tears in his eyes, and I was deeply moved. Believing his love to be sincere, I agreed. Little did I know, behind it all was an elaborate deception.

Because we were planning marriage, I listened to him and agreed to get pregnant. The day I handed him the positive pregnancy test, I was anxious, unsure how he would react. After reading so many stories online about men abandoning their girlfriends when they got pregnant, I was terrified. But to my relief, he didn’t react that way.

After a moment of shock, he lifted me up and cheered loudly right in the middle of his shop, making me embarrassed. Customers and staff all congratulated us. At that moment, I thought my life had truly entered a new chapter.

Besides the issues with my fiancé still lingering with his ex, we also fought because his family strongly opposed me.
The first time I visited his house, his mother and sister criticized my “poor background,” mocked me for being fatherless, and said my household registration was from the countryside. I cried and wanted to break up right after that, but my boyfriend comforted me, so we continued dating.

Another time, when I went over for dinner, I accidentally overheard his sister whispering to his mother. They speculated that I was deliberately seducing him just to change my residency to the city, and they plotted to sabotage our relationship so that “some country girl wouldn’t gold-dig their family.” I just smirked because his family was so selfish. Should I have told them that my monthly income was three times higher than his? That during the holidays, I sometimes earned half a billion dong in a single season?

To make it worse, his mother often compared me to his ex—the very same woman who “couldn’t let go of the past” with my fiancé. She praised that woman for being pretty, rich, a Hanoi native, well-spoken, and tall. Fine, maybe she was skillful, while I was clumsy. Clumsy, because I didn’t cook at home but instead treated the whole family to expensive restaurants. Clumsy, because instead of buying gifts, I transferred tens of millions to his parents on holidays and birthdays. Clumsy, because I handled almost all the engagement and wedding preparations by myself. Their family’s betrothal offerings were just cheap candy, wine, and fruit, and I didn’t even bother complaining.

Despite all that, I tried to hold on because at least my fiancé treated me kindly. He bought me all kinds of prenatal milk, vitamins, supplements, maternity dresses, and carefully drove me everywhere. Whatever cravings I had, he indulged. Even at 3 a.m., when I couldn’t sleep because of the baby kicking and wanted bread, he went out into the city to buy it for me.

Yes, he had bad habits—like vaping, gaming, or complaining about trivial things—but overall, I thought he was acceptable. Looking at myself, with many flaws and an ordinary background, I believed marrying a man like him in the capital city was already more than I could ask for.

I was eagerly waiting for the day I could wear my wedding dress. Then suddenly, I discovered a shocking truth.

Last night, he came home drunk after drinking with friends at 1 a.m. He answered a call and left his phone on the table. I was about to plug it in to charge when it suddenly vibrated. Oddly, there was no notification on the screen. My instincts told me something was wrong.

I know what kind of man he is—he knows plenty of tricks when it comes to using phones. Even with his password already unlocked, I felt nervous. If he wanted to hide something, it wouldn’t be easy to find. Social media messages were too simple—he probably used some obscure app.

I searched carefully through his phone until I thought of the silly games he often played. I opened them one by one. Some required login, which I couldn’t access, but then one strange game caught my eye. As soon as I opened it, I saw a flashing mail icon in the corner. I clicked on it, and right in front of me was a very familiar tone of reproach:

“Don’t you miss me? Why do you disappear every time you go home?”

The sender’s name partly matched that of his ex. So that’s how they were secretly chatting—in the game!

My hands shook. At first, I wanted to wake him up and confront him, but then curiosity made me stay calm. I pretended to be him and replied to her.

“I’m too drunk tonight. Did you want to tell me something?”

“Don’t forget tomorrow afternoon you promised to take me shopping. I see you’ve been spending too much money on that surrogate already. Don’t forget who your real wife is.”

Reading that, all the blood rushed to my head, my ears went deaf. What did she mean? I’m just a surrogate? The man lying next to me, my fiancé, is supposedly hers? How dare she! I kept asking, pretending to be him, to get more answers.

“She’s about to give birth. I’m just playing along so she doesn’t suspect.”

“So what? Are you scared of her? I’m not scared, so why should you be? Once she gives birth, you’ll dump her and be with me. That’s when you should worry. For now, just deal with her.”

“Do you want me to leave her sooner?”

“Didn’t you promise to fake a wedding with her for my sake? I never forced you! Even your mother came to me, promising that next year she’d officially arrange our marriage. Don’t you dare betray me. I’ve been with you for years. If it weren’t for you making me abort multiple times, I wouldn’t have suffered like this while that country girl got everything. I don’t even want to give birth—giving birth ruins a woman’s body. Let her carry the child, then I’ll raise it. No problem at all. Just don’t register the marriage with her. Pretend you’ll sign after she delivers, so she won’t fuss.”

By then, the scheme became clear. My fiancé had never left his ex. He planned to marry her for real. To them, I was just a womb, a surrogate to carry their child.

Even worse, his mother knew about it all. She supported their plan, helping them deceive me. In her eyes, his ex was better than me in every way—except for being infertile. That’s why she agreed to spend money on a cheap wedding, just to get a grandchild. Afterward, they’d throw me away and welcome the ex as the real daughter-in-law.

Such a vicious plan—and they dared to carry it out!

My belly is big now, but I can still move. I must escape immediately. I need to protect my baby. Thinking back to all their fake kindness—their so-called care for me—makes me sick. Thank God I discovered the truth early.

I’d rather be a single mother than lose both my child and everything I’ve worked for. I will cancel this cursed wedding and return to my family’s home for now, to see what those wolves in disguise will try next.

I always thought such schemes only happened in movies. Who would have thought—I would become the victim.