促銷資訊載入中...
The Stand-In Groom: I Buried My Love at Our Wedding
NovelShort
new
已完結
At our wedding, my fiancé, Spencer Prescott, hired a total stranger to stand in for him as the groom. The man wore a garish mask printed with Spencer's face, held a prop ring, and actually expected m...
章節（6）
第1章
At our wedding, my fiancé, Spencer Prescott, hired a total stranger to stand in for him as the groom.
The man wore a garish mask printed with Spencer's face, held a prop ring, and actually expected me to go through with the ceremony alongside him.
My hands were shaking as I dialed Spencer's number. I accidentally put the call on speakerphone.
Two seconds later, the sound of ragged breathing blared through the speakers.
"Baby, no one gets me going like you do. I've spent twelve years sharing a bed with Chloe, and looking at her reminds me of a slab of greasy meat. Honestly, she makes me sick."
The woman on the other end let out a flirtatious giggle.
"Oh no, I pressed answer by mistake. I think she just heard every word."
I recognized the voice immediately.
It was Vivian.
Spencer went quiet for two seconds, then laughed.
"Doesn't matter. She's an orphan. I've had her under my protection for twelve years, and now she's six months pregnant. Where the hell would she go if she left me? Who else would take her?"
He sighed with satisfaction. "Don't worry about her. She always comes crawling back eventually. Now, where were we? You up for round two, baby?"
The entire hall fell silent.
I stood frozen on the spot, as if someone had poured boiling oil straight into my heart.
Every word hurt me so much, and he hadn't spared a single thought for what any of it might do to me.
So this was what I got for loving him for twelve years. Trampled underfoot like it had never meant a thing.
Maybe he was right.
I always find a way to swallow the hurt and stay.
But not this time.
This time, I'd take what was left of my dignity and walk out of his life for good.
...
I ended the call and lifted the microphone with trembling hands.
"I'd like everyone here to witness this. I'm calling off this wedding. Right now."
"From this day on, Spencer Prescott and I are done. Whatever we had ends here."
Whispers erupted throughout the hall.
I couldn't bear to look at any of them. As I walked away, Spencer’s groomsmen called after me, laughing and jeering.
"Hey, Grandma, don’t be a buzzkill!"
"Spencer's busy with his little girl right now. Come on, let’s have some fun!"
I froze.
Someone scoffed, then deliberately planted a foot on the hem of my gown.
I went down before I could catch myself, and a sharp, wrenching pain tore through my lower abdomen.
The crowd roared with laughter.
I forced myself upright and called 911.
At the hospital, a nurse cut away the hem of my gown, which was soaked in blood.
"You're bleeding from your uterus. Can you get in touch with the baby's father?"
Before I could answer, my phone rang with the special ringtone I'd assigned to Spencer.
I thought maybe Spencer had heard I'd ended up in the hospital, and had finally gotten worried about me, even if only a little.
But when I picked up, all I heard was his heavy breathing on the other end.
The first thing out of his mouth was a reprimand.
"Chloe, you’re not even that sick. Did you really have to blow this out of proportion and call 911? Now all my buddies are stuck there wondering what the hell happened."
My belly cramped again.
I bit down hard, waiting for the pain to ease enough for me to speak.
"Spencer, the doctor says I'm at risk of losing the baby."
Silence fell on the other end for a couple of seconds.
"You're using the baby to threaten me again?"
Vivian's playful giggle drifted through the phone.
"Spencer, you stood her up at your own wedding and said all those cruel words. Maybe she really just wants you to come comfort her. How about I give you a thirty-minute break?"
Spencer laughed.
"Comfort her for what? You know better than anyone, she can do anything for attention."
After a few more lines of flirting, he finally turned his attention back to me.
"Chloe, you're not young anymore. Don't act like some jealous little girl who needs everyone to pay attention to her."
"Vivian's upset that you and I registered our marriage, and now I have to smooth things over with her. So once you're done putting on this little show, just go home."
Once, words like these would have left my heart aching for a long time.
But now, as I watched the nurse replace one blood-soaked gauze after another, I found I didn't even have the energy to argue.
I just hung up.
The doctor came in with the report and asked.
"There's significant bleeding at the edge of the placenta. We need to try to save the pregnancy. Will your family get here tonight?"
I was quiet for a few seconds. Then I said, "No, I don't want to save the pregnancy. Please schedule an abortion."
The doctor hesitated. "You're sure about that?"
第2章
"The fetus is twins. Terminating the pregnancy comes with serious risks, and there's a chance you may never be able to get pregnant again."
I kept my eyes down, my fingers curling tighter and tighter before slowly relaxing again.
At last, I nodded. "Yes. I'm sure."
After the procedure, the bleeding wouldn't stop, and a high fever left me drifting in and out of consciousness.
I was barely lucid when Spencer called.
"Chloe, whip up a few dishes and bring them over to the Interstellar Hotel. Keep it light."
"My girl has worn herself out today, and now she's interested in your cooking."
He said it as if asking me to cook for his mistress while I lay in a hospital bed were the most natural thing in the world.
I stared at my phone for a few seconds before letting out a bitter laugh.
For twelve years, I'd chased after him, always making excuses for him, always giving in.
And all it had gotten me was a man who could hurt me without giving it a second thought.
I closed my eyes, finally ready to let him go.
"Spencer, let's get divorced."
Spencer was silent for a few seconds, then gave a derisive snort.
"Chloe, there's a limit to how jealous you can get. Don't make a threat you can't follow through on."
His tone was confident as usual. Just like every other time we'd fought, he was convinced I'd never leave him.
I gripped the edge of the bed, my chest so tight I could barely breathe.
Before either of us could say another word, a nurse pushed the door open.
"Ms. Hayes, are you still bleeding?"
That was when Spencer's tone finally changed.
"You're still at the hospital?"
Half an hour later, he finally showed up in my hospital room.
His eyes swept over my pale face, and he reached out to gently pinch my cheek, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
"Thank goodness you and the baby are all right."
"That's my good girl. Don't be upset. I'll take care of those guys for you."
He soothed me with such practiced ease.
As if that humiliating wedding fiasco had never happened.
As if he really cared about me
But then he opened his mouth again, and whatever comfort he'd offered vanished.
"Tomorrow, the Prescotts are hosting a family dinner. It was meant to celebrate our marriage. Since you need to stay in bed and recover, I'll have Vivian attend in your place for now."
I looked up, hardly able to believe what I was hearing.
"She attends in my place, and everyone congratulates the two of you?"
Spencer's voice grew impatient.
"Chloe, you've put up with it for all these years. Why make such a big deal out of something so trivial?"
Then he pulled a property transfer agreement from his folder.
"Right—Vivian likes that house out in the suburbs. This is the perfect opportunity to put it in her name. I'll get you another place later."
I clenched the paper.
That house was the only thing my parents had left me. Their ashes were buried in the yard.
My voice came out hoarse as I tried to make him understand. "My parents' ashes are buried there."
"I know."
He pressed the pen into my hand, using his finger to force my hand toward the signature line.
"It's not like she's going to dig up a grave. Think of it as helping me keep my girl happy. Don't be difficult."
I yanked my trembling hand away. "I'm not signing."
Spencer's expression hardened.
"Chloe, I have a hundred ways to make you sign. You don't want to find out what they are."
My head snapped up, my breath catching in my throat.
He wouldn't even give me a chance to resist. He grabbed my hand, forced it down, and forged my signature, then pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"Good girl."
It felt like he'd ripped my heart out. I could barely breathe through the pain.
He stayed with me for all of ten minutes, just long enough to keep up appearances. The entire time, he was texting Vivian.
Just as he was about to leave, a nurse came in to change my dressing.
"Are you Ms. Hayes's family? She just had an induced abortion. She needs someone with her for twenty-four hours, so you—"
Spencer cut her off before she could finish.
"Enough. My girl's scared of being alone. I need to stay in bed with her tonight."
He turned back and gave me a mocking smile.
"Chloe, trying to get a nurse to guilt-trip me into staying with you? That's honestly pathetic."
第3章
I closed my eyes. Whatever feelings I had left for him died in that moment.
I gritted my teeth against the pain and called a lawyer to draw up the divorce papers.
Just before I put my phone down, a post popped up on my feed.
Vivian had posted a photo.
She was kissing the side of Spencer's face, and behind them lay a dazzling spread of gifts.
The caption read:
He said he wanted to give me the best of everything in the world.
I hit Like without a second thought.
Twenty minutes later, Spencer's assistant walked into my hospital room.
Looking awkward, he handed me a scarf that wasn't even wrapped. It was wrinkled, with some mysterious stain on it.
I'd just seen this scarf on Vivian's feed.
It had been tossed across the rumpled bed in the background of her photo.
Spencer's message came through at the same time.
"Stop being jealous of the girl. See, you got a gift too."
I told the assistant to set it down calmly. I couldn't even be bothered to feel disappointed anymore.
The next day, a nurse wheeled me down for a follow-up scan, and I ran into Spencer at the hospital.
I thought he'd come to see me. I had just pulled out the divorce papers when a sweet, coaxing voice stopped me cold.
"Spencer, the baby just kicked me."
I turned my head stiffly and saw Vivian, her belly even bigger than mine.
The sheer absurdity of it left me speechless. It took me a long moment to find my voice.
"She's pregnant?"
Spencer said nothing.
He helped Vivian into the car with a tenderness I'd never seen him show me before, then came back to face me.
Apparently, there was no point pretending otherwise anymore.
"Eight months along."
"She couldn't sleep with me while she was pregnant, so I came home and slept with you instead."
"Chloe, honestly, you should be grateful to Vivian. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten pregnant so fast and become Mrs. Prescott."
"It's good that you found out. Now I can give Vivian the wedding she deserves and finally have her by my side in public."
For a second, I felt like the biggest fool in the world.
I fought down the sting in my nose and asked him.
"Spencer, we've been together since high school. Twelve years, Spencer. What was I to you this whole time?"
He was quiet, then finally answered.
"What other reason is there to cheat? Things cooled, I got tired, I got bored, I wanted something new and exciting."
"Chloe, it was the same thing for more than twelve years. Day in, day out. I got so bored I couldn't even bring myself to touch you anymore."
I stared at him blankly, then suddenly started to laugh, until tears gathered in the corners of my eyes.
So this was how a relationship of more than a decade could end up.
A joke.
"Spencer, let's get a divorce. I'm serious this time. I'll get out of your way."
After those words, Spencer stared at me for a long time.
For a moment, I thought he was going to refuse. Then he finally answered.
"Fine."
"After Vivian has the baby and finishes recovering, I'll sign the divorce papers."
With that, he gave me one last look and walked away.
I tried to take a deep breath, but the pressure in my chest was so intense I felt like throwing up.
Back in the ward, my fever wouldn't break. I was barely conscious when my phone suddenly started blowing up with notifications.
I lit up the screen with trembling hands, and froze instantly.
My name was trending online—
[News anchor Chloe Hayes Exposed as the Mistress: Used Her Pregnancy to Force My Boyfriend to Marry Her.]
Vivian had posted a forty-minute video naming me outright and accusing me of being a mistress, trying to destroy the happy life of her and Spencer.
She even claimed I had multiple abortions, seduced a married teacher, and engaged in sexual acts right in the classroom
She'd backed up her accusations with a mountain of so-called evidence, even a photo of me in a school uniform being escorted to an OB-GYN's office by a male teacher.
My phone rang then. It was Mr. Monroe from the TV station.
"Chloe, you know how it is—there are lines we can't afford to cross in this business. With this blowing up the way it has, we have to be careful. Take some time to sort out your personal affairs, and stay off the schedule for now."
第4章
The phone slipped away from my ear.
I couldn't keep it in any longer. I doubled over beside the bed and retched violently, my whole body convulsing.
When there was nothing left but bile, I fumbled for my phone and called Spencer with trembling hands.
He answered as if he'd been waiting for my call, letting out an impatient sigh.
"The wedding's set for three days from now. Vivian doesn't want to be branded a mistress, so she made that video on purpose."
"Chloe, she's young. Just let her have this one; don't take it to heart."
"As for your job, I can get you an even better position somewhere else. Or, if you'd rather have money, just name your price. I'll make it up to you."
I begged him to tell everyone the truth, my voice shaking. His tone was dripping with irritation, as if he'd already grown tired of hearing me complain.
"Chloe, stop making a scene."
Stop making a scene. One easy sentence, and the future I'd dreamed of for twelve years came crashing down around me.
I hung up, brushed away my tears, then forced myself to write a statement of more than a thousand words setting the record straight.
I attached a copy of our marriage certificate as proof and published the whole thing online.
Three minutes later, my post was taken down after someone reported it.
The reason given: misinformation, spreading rumors, and defamation.
Right after that, Spencer's call came through, his voice tight with barely restrained anger.
"Chloe, do you really have to stoop to fighting with a young girl?"
My heart burned as if someone had poured boiling oil straight into my chest.
I grabbed the divorce papers off the nightstand.
And burst out laughing as I ripped it to shreds.
"Spencer, I'm not divorcing you. I won't. If I don't, she stays a mistress who can never see daylight. She ruined my life, and I won't let her off easy either."
Spencer let out a short, cold laugh. "You're welcome to try."
Ten minutes after the call ended, he left a comment on Vivian's video.
Spencer denied that we were married and claimed I'd had multiple abortions, slept around with different men since I was barely legal, and repeatedly tried to seduce my male teachers.
"Ms. Hayes has been harassing me for years. She sneaked into my hotel room while I was drunk and deliberately got pregnant to force me into a relationship. Her actions have seriously violated my rights, and I reserve the right to take legal action."
The online backlash grew even more vicious. The comments were filled with people calling me every name under the sun and accusing me of sleeping my way to the top.
Someone had made a fake funeral portrait using my photo, stamping ‘filthy whore’ across my face.
Spencer sent me a video.
I opened it with shaking hands. It was a video of our first time, back in that cramped little apartment we'd rented together.
But the man in it was no longer him. His face had been replaced with those of several teenage boys who looked barely old enough to be out on their own.
"Chloe, after all these years together. I didn't want to watch your name get dragged through the mud. You'd better behave."
I burst out laughing, until tears blurred my vision.
I'd once loved him with everything I had. Now he was using the love I'd given him to destroy me, as if he wanted me dead.
I had never imagined he'd go this far to protect Vivian, let alone use something so intimate to threaten me.
I gripped the phone, too devastated to get a single word out.
After the call ended, I finally called the police.
When the officers came to take a statement, I thought someone would finally take what had happened to me seriously.
But Spencer pulled out our marriage certificate.
He told them it was nothing more than a private relationship dispute, and even presented records of my depression and claimed I'd fabricated the entire story.
The matter was dismissed as if it were nothing more than a petty lovers' quarrel.
I was so overwhelmed with helplessness that I broke down sobbing, and Spencer gently wiped my tears away and sighed.
"Chloe, you're still pregnant. Why can't you learn to behave?"
The words had barely left his mouth when the door of the ward swung open.
Vivian came in carrying a takeout box.
"Chloe, Spencer said you love vegetable porridge, so I made some for you."
She stood with her head bowed, apologizing in a tearful voice.
"I was only scared of being called a mistress. That's why I made that video. I never thought things would get this far..."
第5章
"If you're really that angry, then hit me."
She grabbed my hand and tried to force my hand against her cheek.
When I pulled free, she threw herself backward and slammed her lower back into the corner of the wall.
Spencer rushed to pull her into his arms, his face a mask of shock and concern.
"Vivian..."
He looked back at me, his eyes frigid with fury.
"Chloe, Vivian has done more than anyone could ask of her. If you've got a grievance, bring it to me!"
I stared at the two of them, too stunned to speak.
Three minutes after Spencer swept Vivian out of the room, a text came in.
"If you don't go look at your parents' ashes now, there won't be anything left to see."
My legs gave out, and I slowly crumpled to the floor.
Ignoring the nurse trying to stop me, I stumbled out of the hospital.
But by the time I reached the old house, the excavator had reduced the yard to a wreck.
Shards of the ceramic urns lay scattered everywhere. I dropped to my knees and clawed through the dirt, but I couldn't find a single trace of their ashes.
Vivian texted again. "Do you like the gift I gave you?"
I clutched my head and broke down sobbing, my whole world crumbling around me.
I raced back to the hospital in a blind rage and slapped Vivian across the face.
She'd only been taunting me, trying to get a rise out of me.
But the moment she saw Spencer in the corridor, her expression changed.
She slapped me hard across the face.
Then she lunged at me, clawing and grabbing at me as she screamed for me to leave her baby alone.
"Please don't hurt my baby. He's my whole life. I can't lose him..."
My belly slammed against the corner of the bed frame over and over, and white spots exploded across my vision.
Then I felt a warm trickle run down the inside of my thigh.
The color drained from my face.
Spencer rushed in without even sparing me a glance.
He gathered the trembling, frightened Vivian into his arms.
He shot me a look of pure fury.
"Chloe, how dare you!"
Vivian tilted her head and gave me a smug, taunting smile.
I was shaking so badly I could barely stand. My vision darkened, and then everything went black.
It wasn't until I was lying in an ICU bed that I faintly heard the doctor call Spencer.
"Mr. Prescott, your wife's condition is critical. Please come to the hospital immediately."
"I'm at the hospital."
The nurse froze. "Then please get to the emergency department on the fifth floor right away."
Spencer was silent on the other end of the line.
Vivian, her voice thick with tears, said, "Spencer, go see Chloe. The doctor said my shock might affect the baby, but Chloe matters more."
"Just lie down and rest. Don't move."
Spencer turned back to the nurse. "Just follow your usual procedures. Whatever paperwork you need, send it over and I'll sign it remotely."
The nurse's voice turned urgent. "Mr. Prescott, some things have to be discussed in person."
Spencer's voice went cold. "She had enough strength to hit someone a little while ago, and now she's critical? Is this how your hospital drums up panic?"
The nurse ended the call in anger.
Ten minutes later, my bleeding became much heavier.
In a brief moment of clarity, the doctor placed a critical-condition consent form in front of me.
I signed it with a trembling hand, and my phone screen lit up.
"Chloe, stop making a scene."
"You know I can't bear to hurt you. Don't throw away more than twelve years together."
The phone slipped from my hand.
Before I lost consciousness, I thought of that summer years ago, when a shy young boy held me in his arms and promised he would never let me down.
Twelve years. That's all it had taken for love to turn into nothing.
Two hours later, Spencer finally made his way up to the fifth floor.
"Is Chloe still making a scene?"
The nurse looked at him.
"Mr. Prescott, Ms. Hayes suffered another severe hemorrhage following her abortion. We've already issued a critical-condition notice once."
第6章
Spencer Prescott stopped dead, as though he couldn't make sense of what the nurse had just told him.
"An induced abortion? A critical condition notice? What are you talking about?"
The nurse handed him the chart.
"Ms. Hayes was admitted yesterday morning with uterine bleeding and underwent an induced abortion. The bleeding continued after the procedure, and her fever wouldn't come down. Two hours ago, she suffered a severe blow to the abdomen, triggering another massive hemorrhage. She had to be rushed to the ICU."
"She had no family member there to sign the first critical condition notice, so she had to sign it herself when she briefly regained consciousness."
"She'd already received three blood transfusions. She was still in surgery."
The nurse ran through everything I'd been through since I was admitted, her voice edged with barely restrained anger.
Spencer staggered.
No matter how bad things had gotten, he'd always taken one thing for granted: after twelve years together, I could never bring myself to leave him, much less give up a baby I'd fought so hard to carry.
He had never imagined I would actually go through with the abortion.
Never imagined that this might be our final goodbye.
Never imagined losing me like this, in the kind of parting that was a last goodbye.
The ICU doors suddenly swung open. "Is Chloe Hayes's family here?"
Spencer hurried forward. "I'm her husband. How is she?"
"The uterine lining is severely damaged, and she's just suffered another hemorrhage. If she has another major bleed, she may not survive the night."
The nurse handed him another critical-condition form.
"We need a family member's signature."
Spencer stared at the form, his knuckles turning white as he gripped it.
The confidence he'd clung to, along with every trace of hope, drained away.
All that remained was a helplessness so acute it felt like something inside him was being torn apart.
The nurse asked, as part of the required assessment, "Why did the patient suffer such a severe blow to the abdomen?"
Spencer froze, a flicker of conflicting emotions crossing his face.
He signed the form, glanced once at the red light glowing above the ICU doors, and turned to find Vivian.
He walked into the ward and fixed his gaze on Vivian Larson, measuring her.
"Vivian, you know how much I hate being lied to. I'll give you one chance. Why did Chloe suddenly attack you?"
"You said she wanted to hurt the baby. Then why isn't there a single mark on you?"