He Skipped Our Wedding, So I Married His Rival

Chapter 3

Once the reception began, Alex settled into his role faster than I'd expected.

When I introduced him to clients, he kept up with every conversation.

When he introduced me to investors, he never talked over me.

Someone joked, "Ms. Carter, this last-minute stand-in husband is a serious upgrade from the original."

Before I could think of an answer, Alex raised his glass.

"One correction.

"I'm not a temporary model.

"We've already signed the marriage license."

Everyone at the table laughed.

My ears warmed, and I lowered my head to sip my champagne.

As the luncheon drew to a close, my phone wouldn't stop vibrating.

Ethan had finally realized the wedding hadn't waited for him.

His first message read:

Ethan: What is this supposed to mean?

The second:

Ethan: Elena, I'm one day late, and you actually get Alex to walk down the aisle with you?

The third:

Ethan: Has something been going on between you two all along?

I stared at the screen for 2 seconds.

Alex leaned over beside me just in time to catch the last message.

He asked, "Want to reply?"

"No."

"Then don't."

"He'll keep calling."

Alex thought for a moment. "Send one word."

"What?"

"Okay."

I couldn't help letting out a laugh.

Then I actually replied with just that one word.

Elena: Okay.

Ethan sent no more messages.

10 minutes later, he made a public post.

In the photo, he sat beside Sophia's bed, holding her hand.

The caption was a single sentence:

Some people are worth standing beside, even when the whole world refuses to understand.

The comments blew up almost immediately.

Some people praised his loyalty.

Some assumed I was throwing a fit because he'd stayed with a sick friend.

Others had somehow obtained secretly filmed footage of the wedding. They claimed Alex and I had been involved for ages and had simply used today as an excuse to swap grooms.

After reading it, Alex set the phone on the table.

"It's started."

"What?"

"The PR war."

His voice was calm.

"First, he makes himself the good guy who had no choice. Then he paints you as a jealous, controlling fiancée who was already cheating. And while he's at it, he casts me as the other man."

Megan's face darkened. "He didn't even show up for his wedding, and he has the nerve to blame her?"

"People who care about saving face are the difficult ones," Alex said. "The shameless ones will say anything."

I scrolled through several more pages.

Several major accounts were using almost identical talking points.

A: [Sources say Elena has long pressured her fiancé to cut off all contact with female friends.]

B: [Carter Tech and Vaughn Tech already have financial ties. The pair are suspected of being romantically involved before the wedding.]

C: [Ethan left before the wedding because he couldn't accept the harsh prenuptial agreement.]

I laughed at the last one.

"Harsh prenuptial agreement?

"We hadn't even finished signing it."

Alex took my phone.

"Don't explain yourself yet."

"Why not?"

"Because they're not done lying."

He placed the phone facedown on the table.

"Let him keep going.

"The more he says, the more we'll be able to prove false."

I looked up at him.

"You're good at this."

Alex went still for a moment.

"Someone used the same trick on me 3 years ago."

My heart sank.

I knew exactly what he meant.

The funding round I'd always believed he'd stolen from me.

After that disaster, Carter Tech had nearly run out of cash.

I'd hated him for 2 full years.

Only 6 months ago had I discovered that Vaughn Tech had nothing to do with that deliberate sabotage.

I was about to speak when he checked the time.

"Let's go back to the office first.

"If that ex-fiancé of yours is smart, he'll stop tonight."

"And if he isn't?"

Alex smiled a little.

"Then tomorrow should be interesting."

As it turned out, his assessment of Ethan was spot-on.

Ethan wasn't smart at all.