The Substitute Bride and Her Five Brothers-in-Law

Chapter 1: The Night Before The door to Liam's penthouse was unlocked. Elena noticed it immediately, her hand lingering on the handle a second longer than necessary. Liam is obsessive about locking doors. He checked them twice before bed. Sometimes three times. With that, she paused with one foot inside the apartment. She'd come to drop off the rings — his and hers, freshly engraved. She picked it up from the jeweler that afternoon. It's twelve hours before her wedding, and she wanted everything perfect. That was Elena. Always the one making sure everything is perfect for everyone else. "Liam?" she called out, when she finally stepped into the dim living room. Music was playing somewhere —low and slow. The kind of song you put on when you want someone to take their clothes off. Not the kind you play when you're alone. She found his shirt first. Then her dress. Her very own dress. The deep red one she'd lent Emma for the rehearsal dinner because Emma had shown up at her hotel room in tears, saying she had nothing to wear. The dress was draped over the lamp like it had been thrown there. And then she found them. Emma was lying against the pillows like she'd been living there for a while. Liam sat up so fast he nearly fell off the mattress, and Elena stood frozen in the doorway with a velvet box in her hand. The only thing her brain could come up with was: I bought those pillows. I picked those out. I spent forty-five minutes reading reviews. "Elena." Liam's voice cracked. "It's not — this isn't —" "Don't." She surprised herself. Her voice sounded almost calm. "Don't finish that sentence. I'd actually like to respect you for the next ten seconds." Emma didn't even flinch. She didn't reach for a sheet to cover up nor did she look away. She just pushed her hair back over one shoulder and looked at Elena like this was boring her. "Oh, come on, Elena." A slow blink. "Don't make this dramatic. It's not like it's a surprise." Elena's chest went tight. " Not a surprise?" "Liam and I have been talking for months," Emma said it like she was listing ingredients. "You've just been so busy with the wedding planning, you never noticed. Honestly, it's kind of impressive how oblivious you were." Elena looked at Liam. He didn't deny it. He just sat there with his mouth opening and closing. She set the box down on the dresser carefully. She didn't know why she was being so careful about it. Like it still mattered. "Twelve hours," she said, and her voice cracked on the last word. "The wedding is in twelve hours, Liam." "Elena, I can explain—" "You really can't." She was already turning away. "But I appreciate the effort it would've taken to try." "Where are you going?" Emma called after her. "That's it? You're just leaving?" she asked. "Aren't you going to scream? Cry? Or something?" Elena stopped in the doorway, turned back and looked at her sister. And for a second her face crumpled a little. "What would be the point?" she said quietly. "You'd just enjoy it." She walked out while Emma's laughter followed her down the hall — bright and careless. The same laugh she'd used when she stole Elena's favorite sweater in high school and somehow convinced everyone it had always been hers. It wasn't until Elena was sitting in her car in the parking garage, key in the ignition, that her hands finally started to shake. Her fingers wouldn't stay still on the steering wheel. She pressed them against her thighs, but the tremor only spread higher. The invitations have been sent. The flowers have been ordered. Her dress was already hanging in her parents' guest room, steamed and ready. She'd have to call her parents. She'd have to call the venue. She'd have to — Her phone rang. MOM Elena stared at the screen for a second before answering, already bracing for the explosion — the how could you let this happen and what will people say that she knew, deep down, was coming no matter whose fault any of this actually was. "Mom, I—" Elena, thank God." Diane's voice was clipped and fast, none of the warmth Elena had braced for — and underneath it, something tight and strange that Elena couldn't place. "Where are you? Are you still at Liam's?" "I just left. Mom, something happened, I need to—" "I know what happened." Elena's stomach dropped. "You — you know?" "We'll deal with that later." she said the 'later' like the situation was a stain on a carpet. "Listen to me very carefully. The wedding is still happening tomorrow. Everything's already arranged — the venue, the guests, all of it. Nothing will be canceled." "Mom, I don't think you know what just happened? Liam and Emma—" "I know." A pause. When Diane spoke again, her voice was lower and measured. The kind of voice she used when she'd already decided how things were going to go. "Come home right now, Elena. There's something we need to tell you about the wedding." Elena's hand tightened on the phone. Her throat closed up. "What are you talking about? I'm not marrying anyone tomorrow. Liam just—" "I know," Diane said again. And then, quieter: "Elena... what if you never meant to be Liam's bride tomorrow?" Elena froze. The words didn't make sense. ‘Never meant to be Liam's bride?’ Then whose? "Mom." She barely recognized her own voice. "What did you do?" The silence on the line lasted three seconds too long. "Just come home," Diane said. And hung up. Elena sat in the dark garage with the phone still pressed to her ear, listening to nothing. It's twelve hours until her wedding. Except apparently it wasn't her wedding. And apparently everyone knew but her.