At My Wedding, My Fiancé Said “I Do” To Another Woman

Chapter 1

Elena's POV:

On the day of our wedding rehearsal, Nolan Grant told me to meet him backstage. He said he was wearing the suit I had carefully chosen for him and warned me not to mistake him for someone else.

When I reached the dressing room, I saw a man with Nolan's build standing with his back to me. I wrapped my arms around him from behind and called Nolan's name. 1 second later, the room erupted in laughter. The man was Nolan's best man.

Katherine Brooks held up her phone and laughed so hard that she doubled over. "Elena got the wrong man again. It's a good thing the wedding hasn't started, or she might hug the wrong groom."

I let go of him, my face burning. The best man made a show of adjusting Nolan's tie pin. "Nolan lent me this pin, Elena. I didn't think it would actually fool you."

My brother, Marcus Hayes, slapped the table as he laughed. "I told you she would never recognize him."

My mother took Katherine's phone and laughed as she replayed the video. "Elena has always been like this. She can't remember faces, yet she still calls people by the wrong name with complete confidence."

Nolan stood in the doorway with a grim expression. I thought he was going to defend me, but he only glanced at me. "Could you try paying attention for once?"

My mother pulled Katherine behind her as though she were afraid I might hurt her. "She meant well. How was she supposed to know you would be so sensitive?"

I stared at the diamond earrings in Katherine's ears. They had been Nolan's engagement gift to me. She wore the earrings and my perfume, and beside her stood the best man in Nolan's spare wedding suit. Every detail had been staged. They had known all along that my face blindness didn't prevent me from recognizing people altogether. I recognized people by their voices, their scent, and the way they walked. One by one, they had replaced every clue I relied on, then waited for me to humiliate myself by throwing my arms around a stranger.

The video was still playing on Katherine's phone. In it, I hugged the best man from behind while everyone laughed. Katherine laughed harder than anyone.

"Don't be angry, Elena," she said. "We only wanted to help you prepare for the wedding. What if you can't recognize Nolan tomorrow? Wouldn't that be even more embarrassing?"

I took the phone from her and tried to delete the video, but Marcus snatched it back out of my hand.

"Why would you delete it? I already posted it in the family group chat. Even Grandma said someone should watch you tomorrow so you don't walk off with the wrong groom."

I stared at him. "You posted it?"

"It was only a joke." Marcus frowned. "Why can't you take a joke?"

My mother pulled Katherine farther behind her. "Don't frighten Katie. She was only trying to lighten the mood."

Tears sprang to Katherine's eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Elena, I truly didn't know you would mind. I just thought you looked adorable when you mistook him for Nolan."

Marcus's expression darkened. "She's crying, Elena. What more do you want from her?"

Nolan came over and picked up the engagement ring I had placed on the dressing table. "That's enough. There will be a lot of guests here tomorrow, so don't turn this into a scene."

He took my hand and tried to slide the ring back onto my finger. I stepped away. "If Katherine had mistaken someone for you today, would you say the same thing?"

The dressing room fell silent. Nolan did not answer, but I already knew the answer. He wouldn't.

When Katherine first came to live with my family, she attended a family dinner and called one of my father's friends by the wrong name. Nolan immediately covered for her, claiming he had told her to do it as a joke. Later, all the guests praised him for being so considerate.

When I was 17, I mistook a stranger at the hospital for Marcus. I followed the man halfway down the hall before he asked who I was, and only then did I realize my mistake. Marcus berated me in front of everyone in the hospital corridor. "Why don't you just let some stranger carry you off?" Nolan stood beside him and said nothing.

At the time, I thought Nolan simply didn't know what to say. Now I understood that he had never thought I had any reason to feel hurt. He had only seen me as a nuisance.

Nolan's voice turned cold. "Elena Hayes, your face blindness is real, but when you mistake someone, that's on you. No one forced you to hug my best man."

My fingertips went white. When I was 6, I got lost in a shopping mall. I grabbed a woman's coat and called her Mom over and over. She shook me off in disgust and called me a little scammer. I sat on the floor and cried until I could no longer speak.

Nolan was the one who found me. He carried me out of the mall on his back and bought me strawberry ice cream. "Elena, it doesn't matter if you can't recognize me," he had said. "I'll always recognize you first."

A promise makes no sound when it breaks. One day, the person who made it can simply leave you in a crowd of strangers and watch as you reach for the wrong person.

Katherine's tears kept falling. "Elena, I really didn't mean to hurt you. I only thought you looked cute when you made a mistake."

Marcus immediately stepped in front of her. "She apologized. What else do you want?"

Nolan released my hand, his voice sharp with impatience. "Enough. Don't ruin tomorrow's wedding over something this small."

I looked at the three of them and suddenly felt exhausted. "All right."

I picked up the engagement ring and placed it in Nolan's palm. "Then go ahead with the wedding without me. Maybe I'm not the bride any of you wants anyway."