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

Chapter 2

When I returned to the home Nolan and I were supposed to move into after the wedding, the living room was filled with flowers for the next day. Nolan knew I loved gardenias, so he had said they should fill the wedding venue. Now their fragrance only made my chest feel tight.

I sat on the couch and noticed an album on the coffee table. The wedding-planning company had delivered it. On the first page was a wedding portrait of Nolan and me. He was looking down at me with tenderness in his eyes, and I had once believed that look was love.

Then I turned the page and realized that Katherine appeared in every photograph. She stood nearby watching us, and in several pictures, she had even linked her arm through Nolan's. The photographer must have assumed they were joking around and left those shots in. Nolan hadn't removed them either.

I kept turning the pages until I found a group photograph from the year we graduated from high school. That day, I had received an early admission offer from a top university overseas. The principal had praised me by name onstage.

I stood there with the letter in my hands and searched the audience for a long time, but I couldn't find my family. I learned later that Katherine had suffered an allergic reaction while trying on clothes at the mall. My mother, Marcus, and Nolan had all gone to the hospital with her.

That evening, my mother came home and saw the letter on the table. She said only, "That university is too far away. You have face blindness. Who would take care of you there?"

Marcus was more direct. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Lynthorpe University is good enough for you."

Nolan sat beside me and took my hand. "If you stay here, we won't have to be apart."

I loved him too much back then. I believed no future could be better than one by his side. I declined the overseas offer and chose a university in the same city as the three of them.

Katherine later took my hand and smiled. "You're the best, Elena. The four of us will never have to be apart."

Yet over the next few years, the only people who stayed together were Katherine, Marcus, and Nolan. I was always the one trailing behind.

My phone vibrated. Katherine had sent me a photograph from a hospital room. She lay pale in bed while Nolan sat beside her and held her hand. My mother stood there with an insulated food jar, and Marcus was on the other side, peeling an apple. The four of them gathered around her like a real family.

Beneath the picture was a message from Katherine.

Katherine: Elena, the doctor says I am pregnant. Nolan is very happy.

I stared at those words until my mind went blank. A few seconds later, another voice message arrived.

"I didn't want to tell you at first, but the wedding is tomorrow. I was afraid you'd be upset when you saw my belly. Please don't blame Nolan. He stayed with me until dawn last night and kept saying he would take responsibility."

I thought about the night before. During my dress fitting, the train had been too long. I had stepped on it, missed a stair, and fallen. My ankle had swollen badly.

I called Nolan, but he said his company had an emergency meeting and told me to go to the hospital alone. I sat by myself in the emergency room for 2 hours. When the doctor asked when my family would arrive, I said no one was coming.

I had a family. They simply had someone more important to stay with.

The doorbell rang. When I opened the door, Katherine stood outside. She had changed out of her bridesmaid dress and was wearing Nolan's suit jacket. She carried a gift box containing my wedding veil.

"Elena, Nolan asked me to pick up the veil. He wants me to walk down the aisle in your place tomorrow. I didn't want to, but he's worried I'll get upset and hurt the baby. You understand, don't you?" She stroked her lower abdomen as she spoke.

I looked at her. "What exactly should I understand? That you stole my fiancé, or that you're carrying his child and plan to wear my wedding dress?"

Katherine's face paled, but she soon smiled again. "Don't make it sound so ugly, Elena. Haven't you always been understanding? You gave me your room, your clothes, your mother, and your brother. You can step aside for me one more time. You aren't truly right for Nolan anyway."

She leaned closer. "He told me that you are too quiet. You can't even recognize his face, and being with you exhausts him."

I said nothing. Katherine pushed the veil into my hands. "I'll see you tomorrow."

After she left, I was alone again. I sat there for a long time without crying. I had finally understood something.

For all those years, I hadn't truly been a fiancée, a sister, or a daughter. I had only been a placeholder they could replace at any time.