My Groom Abandoned Me, So I Married My Riva

The hotel manager was stunned. "What? Change... change the groom?" "Yes! Please take down the welcome sign at the entrance first. Don't change the digital screen until I tell you to." "Don't you need to check with Mr. Sullivan?" "No. I signed the contract for the banquet hall, and I paid the deposit. It has nothing to do with him." After I hung up, my parents, who had been silent the whole time, looked at me with grim faces. "Hailey, won't you think it over? Switching grooms at the last minute, how are we supposed to explain that to our relatives?" "Just tell them the truth." "The truth?" "Yes. That Ethan abandoned the wedding just to rush off and help the widow next door. Mom, your daughter didn't do anything wrong, so there's nothing to hide." Mom's eyes reddened, and she took my hand. "Are you sure Zachary will come?" I nodded firmly. We had been at each other's throats in business for years, and Zachary had always kept his word. Mason took a deep breath, then pinned the groom's boutonniere to his chest without hesitation, and strode over to pick me up. "Sorry about this, Hailey!" My parents hurried to pull him back, their voices shaking. "Mason! Don't do anything stupid!" But Mason shoved them away hard. "Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, Ethan told me himself to stand in for him. Please don't make this difficult for me." Before anyone could say another word, Megan squeezed in from the side and pushed the wedding shoes into his hands. "Hurry up, the photographer's waiting." Mason took the shoes, crouched down, and reached for my foot. But I immediately pulled my foot back. I wouldn't let him touch me. Mason looked up with an awkward smile, as if I were making a fuss over nothing. "Hailey, it's just a formality. Don't take it so seriously." Megan leaned in too, her tone like she was coaxing a child. "Yeah, the camera's still rolling. Just play along, Hailey. They can swap his face for Ethan's later." The photographer nodded behind her. "Right, we can replace it seamlessly. I guarantee no one will be able to tell." I stared at Megan, full of disappointment. "Megan, you're my best friend and my maid of honor. You think I should play along too?" She pressed her lips together and glanced at Mason. After the two of them exchanged a look, she said, as if it were obvious, "It's because I'm your best friend, Hailey, and I don't want you to miss out on your own happiness. Everyone knows you've dreamed of marrying Ethan. Come on, you're only one step away. Stop being so dramatic." Mason tried to reach for my ankle again, but I yanked my foot back. He grabbed at empty air, lost his balance, and fell forward onto the floor. “Mason!” Megan shrieked. She hurried to help her boyfriend up, then turned to me with a cold glare. “Hailey, what’s your problem? Mason was only trying to help you out!” Mom stepped in front of me, blocking her vicious glare. "Megan, you and Mason are talking about getting married too. You should know that putting on the bride's shoes and carrying her to the wedding car have to be done by the groom!" Dad stepped forward as well, his voice frighteningly low. "Mason, you are not touching my daughter today!" Mason's face turned ugly. He pulled out his phone and called Ethan, clearly losing patience. "Ethan, your bride won't even let me touch her, let alone carry her out! Her parents are blocking me too. And guess what? She even called Zachary Sinclair to come marry her just now!" Mason complained loudly, making sure everyone in the room could hear him. There was a brief silence on the other end before Ethan let out two amused chuckles, as if he didn't believe I would actually do it. “Give her the phone. Let me talk to her,” he said casually. Mason handed me the phone. "Hailey, stop it. How could Zachary possibly marry you? You'll be lucky if he doesn't show up just to laugh at you! Just think of Mason as me. It's only the bride pickup, isn't it?" Before I could react, my phone suddenly buzzed. It was a message from Chloe. [Hailey, I'm so sorry. The hospital is packed, and the twins keep crying and only want Ethan to hold them. He might not make it back for the wedding. Could you delay it by two hours and wait for him?] I stared hard at the message, then told Ethan, "Ethan, are you sure Mason's only standing in for the pickup?" His tone turned impatient in an instant. "Yes, I can't get back anytime soon. Either delay the wedding for two hours or go through the ceremony with Mason. It's just for the guests anyway. As long as everyone knows I'm the groom, that's fine." Before he could say anything else, a child started crying on the other end, cutting the call short. Mason, who had heard every word, looked at me again. "Hailey, the guests are all waiting. Just listen to Ethan and treat me as him for now, so we can get through the ceremony!" Megan came over and tugged at my arm too. "Hailey, stop being difficult. Mason and I don't mind him filling in for Ethan, so what are you being so dramatic about?" I looked at Megan's face and suddenly she felt like a complete stranger. "You seriously don't mind?" She nodded. "Yeah. It's just helping out. Why would I mind? You think everyone's as petty as you?" So it turned out that in her eyes, every hurt I had swallowed was just pettiness. A best friend like this—I was better off without her.

I yanked my hand free of Megan's and shoved Mason away. "If you two don't mind, then why don't you two get married instead?" Megan and Mason both froze. "Hailey, this is your wedding with Ethan. What would it even mean for us to stand up there? Don't be so nasty!" I laughed. "Nasty? When you told me to go through the motions with the best man, why didn't you call that nasty?" "Well, it's your own fault you couldn't keep your groom!" The moment Megan shouted it, she knew she'd said too much and rushed to apologize. But Dad had heard enough. He pointed at the front door and snapped coldly at Mason and Megan. "Get out! My Hailey doesn't need friends like you!" The words had barely left his mouth when Ethan's parents arrived from the hotel, faces full of fury, and came straight at me. "What on earth is happening here?! All our relatives are sitting at the hotel, and you're making a scene about switching grooms? How is Ethan supposed to show his face?!" Mom reached out and slapped away the finger Margaret Sullivan was pointing at me. "Why don't you ask your son what he did first!" "I already asked!" Margaret planted her hands on her hips and deliberately raised her voice, making sure everyone could hear. "He helped a neighbor take two kids to the hospital. What's the big deal? Do you know how hard it is for Chloe, raising two sick kids all by herself?” “Ethan has a good heart. And you, the one who's supposed to be his wife, won't lift a finger to help. Instead, you're here throwing a fit!" "Once you're married into our family, there'll be times you need a neighbor's help too. After all, there's a saying a neighbor next door can be more help than family miles away. You really don't understand how the world works!" Dad's face darkened. "Today is the wedding. He dumped my daughter to drive somebody else's kids around, and you call that a good heart?!" Richard Sullivan's face darkened as he fired back at Dad. "Those two kids don't have a father!" "What's wrong with lending a hand? Hailey's a grown woman. Getting jealous over two little kids, does that make any sense?" I looked at Ethan's parents and spoke slowly, one word at a time, "Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan, I'm not competing with any kids. All I wanted was a groom who wouldn't let me down on our wedding day the way he always had before.” Mom chimed right in. "A widow always attracts gossip. Ethan doesn't keep his distance, and he runs over to her place every single day! Anyone who didn't know better would think that was his wife and kids!" Margaret’s face went even colder. She stepped up and grabbed my arm. "There's no reasoning with people as dirty-minded as you!" "Anyway, the wedding car is downstairs. Hailey, you need to come down now! The guests can't wait!" Mom panicked and tried to pry her hand off. "Let go! If my daughter says she's not going, she means it!" "Not going?" Margaret whipped around to glare at Mom. "This wedding is happening today whether she likes it or not! Our relatives and friends are all here. You want the Sullivan family humiliated in front of everyone?" She was so strong, and with Mason and Megan helping, she dragged and hauled me toward the stairs. Dad tried to stop them, but Richard and some of his people blocked the doorway. "We're about to be family, Mr. Lawson. Don't make this ugly." Dad was so angry, his hands shook. "This is kidnapping! I'm calling the police right now!" Seeing that, Margaret’s tone suddenly softened. "Hailey, I'm begging you, can you just settle down? Just let the wedding go as planned, and I'll give you many luxurious gifts afterward!" She kept saying she was begging me, but her grip never loosened. Richard even snatched Dad's phone to stop him from calling the police. Before I could resist, I was dragged downstairs and shoved into the back seat of the wedding car. My parents were forced into the car behind us. Then Mom suddenly screamed. I turned toward the rearview mirror and saw Dad clutching his chest, his face twisted in pain. Frantic, I shouted, "Don't touch my dad! Give him his blood pressure medicine, now!" Mom tried to force her way out of the car, but someone held her back. Through the car window, Margaret threatened me. "Hailey, promise me you'll behave and go through with the wedding with Mason. Stop throwing tantrums at Ethan and I'll go up and get your dad's medicine!"

I bit down hard on my lip, my nails digging into my palms. "Fine." Margaret immediately pulled my dad's medication out of her own purse. In that instant, I understood. They had already planned how to force me to give in. Only after I saw with my own eyes that Dad had taken his pills did I let the driver start the car. Mason held up his phone and pointed the camera at me. "Come on, Hailey, smile! I'm on a video call with Ethan." I didn't even look at him. Keeping my head down, I took out my phone and sent Zachary a quick message. [Something came up. Go straight to the hotel.] Mason didn't seem bothered by my silence. Still grinning, he turned back to the screen and continued chatting with Ethan as if nothing had happened. "Ethan, I've picked up your bride. Go take care of your stuff and don't worry. I promise I'll handle everything on this end perfectly." For some reason, seeing me with my head bowed made Ethan’s heart ache. After thanking Mason, he spoke to me gently, trying to soothe me, "Hailey, I know today's been hard on you. I've already asked work for two weeks off, so I can take you on our honeymoon." I looked out the window, suddenly wanting to laugh. Last month, I'd brought Ethan the honeymoon itinerary I'd spent six months putting together. He said the project was on a tight deadline, he couldn't get away, and told me to stop making a fuss. The year earlier, I’d told him I wanted to go to the beach. He’d said the end of the year was too busy. Yet when a pipe burst at Chloe's place, he took time off to fix it. When a light went out at Chloe's, he stood up a client and took a detour to replace it. When Chloe's kids had an event at school, he swapped his days off to go as their parent, and he even wrote "father" in the relationship box. It wasn't that he was busy with work. It was that I mattered less than Chloe. Even the two weeks he was now willing to take off for me were just compensation for missing our wedding because of Chloe. My phone buzzed. Zachary had replied. [Okay. Wait for me at the hotel. I've got a surprise for you.] Megan glanced at the message and laughed at me. "Hailey, you're seriously letting Zachary come? What kind of surprise could he possibly have for you?" I ignored her. We'd been best friends for years, but ever since she started dating Mason, she had never once taken my side. Then from today on, I could do without this friendship. When I didn’t respond, Megan's smile froze. "Hailey, are you blaming me?" "No." "Then who are you trying to scare with that cold face?" "I'm not trying to scare anyone." I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. Ten minutes later, the wedding car pulled up at the hotel entrance. Both sides of the red carpet were lined with the Sullivans' relatives and friends. Mason got out first, came around to open my door, and bent down to carry me on his back. When everyone saw that the groom wasn't Ethan, they asked right away, "What's going on? That's not Ethan!" Margaret hurried to explain to them with a smile. "Ethan had something come up last minute, so the best man is helping out with the formalities for now." Everyone nodded, understanding. "Then hurry up, it's almost time for the ceremony!" I ignored her and stayed still. Beside me, Megan shoved me hard. "Hailey, everyone's watching!" I still didn't move. With no other choice, Mason turned back and reached for my arm, trying to pull me along. But the moment his hand touched me, a tremendous force shoved him away. "Get lost! You think you get to touch my bride?"