The Wedding He Skipped Became My Ticket To An Empire Chapter 01
On the morning of the wedding, when my directionally challenged fiancé was supposed to pick me up. Instead, he took the wrong turn and ended up at his friend Chloe’s place.
Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Since you’re here, why not just get married and then leave?”
The groomsmen started chanting and pushed Ethan toward her.
“Kiss her! Kiss her!”
“Come on, Ethan, don’t be shy. Weren’t you just cuddling with her at the bachelor party last night?”
Ethan laughed and kicked one of the groomsmen lightly. “Stop messing around. My wife is still waiting for me.”
But the tips of his ears turned red.
- Chloe shrugged. “I don’t mind, but someone’s new wife might start crying.”
Only then did Ethan remember to call me. His tone was casual.
“Sorry, babe, I got lost again. I’ll just go with Chloe for now. We’ll make it up to you later.”
I didn’t respond. I turned to my secretary instead.
“Tell my father I agree to the arranged marriage.”
***
On the video call, the rowdy groomsmen went dead silent.
Ethan frowned, thought for a moment, then let out a mocking laugh.
“Stop pretending. What kind of arranged marriage would á bastard like you ever land?”
“Can’t you be a little more understanding? I’ve already gone to all this trouble for the wedding. If I don’t go through with it, Chloe will look bad.”
“Your grandmother wants to watch the wedding video. I’ll just have someone photoshop Chloe’s face into yours.”
The night before, my grandmother had briefly regained consciousness and tremblingly placed our hands together.
He had stood by her hospital bed, holding my hand and promising to love me forever. Then he had turned around and fooled around with Chloe at his bachelor party.
My eyes stung with tears as my voice rose.
“So cuddling and sleeping in the same bed was an accident too?”
Ethan’s face flushed with embarrassment and anger. He lowered his voice threateningly. “Shut up. Do you have to make this so ugly?”
Chloe leaned into the camera and smirked “It’s not just sleeping in the same bed. We used to bathe together when we were two years old. Isn’t it a little
late to be jealous now?”
With a few words, she brushed off the inappropriate behavior. I became the unreasonable one instead.
The groomsmen burst into laughter and chimed in.
“Chloe grew up with us. You can’t compete with that, so don’t even try.”
“A bastard child like you only got attention because you latched onto Ethan. Your mother was nothing but a
low-class mistress.”
“Lucas!” Ethan cut him off sharply. “Don’t go there.”
He nervously studied my expression, his eyes filled with guilt and pity.
My face went pale. A dull ache spread through my chest.
Ten years ago, my mother was working as a waitress at a banquet when she saw a drunk Ethan about to fall off a terrace.
She tried to pull him back, but he stumbled onto her. They fell off the terrace together. She took the brunt of the fall and died.
If my mother were still alive, she would never let me be treated like this.
Chloe crossed her arms and pouted at the camera. “Don’t tell me you’re actually crying over that.”
“Look, if anything were really going on between us, you wouldn’t even be in the picture.”
“Fine, fine, it’s all my fault. I’ll leave.”
Ethan’s face changed. He ran after her, wrapped his arms around her waist, then turned back to the camera with a frown, his voice full of blame.
“Chloe flew all the way back from overseas just to celebrate our wedding. You won’t even appreciate it, and now you’re driving her away?”
Seeing Chloe’s smug smile, I suddenly felt tired of it all. I pulled off my wedding ring and threw it toward the screen.
“She doesn’t have to leave. I will. If you want to get married that badly, I’ll have someone send you the rings.”
Ethan stared at the ring, his eyes blazing with anger. “Sophia, you’re really something.”
“If you dare send that ring over here, the wedding will have a new bride before you know it.”