He Married My Sister, I Found My True Love

On my wedding day, my husband forced me to take off my wedding dress and give it to my older sister, all because her only wish was to be his bride. Years later, he tracked me down and reached for my hand, just like he used to do. "Selene, are you still mad about me marrying your sister back then? She's gone now. Don't hold a grudge against a dead person, okay? As for the wedding, we can just have another one." I jerked away from him so fast, then turned and laced my fingers through another man's hand. "Mr. Reynolds, keep your distance. I'm married, and my daughter just turned three this year." ***** "Mommy, when are we gonna meet Daddy? I miss Daddy." I tapped the tip of my daughter's nose fondly. "It's barely been any time since you saw him, and you're already missing him? Daddy's already in the lounge. Let's go find him right now." As we spoke, we walked into the banquet hall. My little girl whooped and darted straight toward the lounge. "Yay! I'm going to find Daddy!" When Lydia Dorion, my associate, saw my daughter run off, she teased me with a grin. "Who would've thought? Mr. Bones dotes on you so much he acts like you two are glued at the hip 24/7. How'd he actually let you come out alone today?" My cheeks heated up, and I gave her a light playful shove. "Oh, cut the crap. You make it sound like I'm some helpless toddler. He just didn't want me to be bored, that's all." Lydia gave me a 'don't lie to me, I know exactly what's going on' look. "I knew it. Ugh, I'm just destined to be stuck eating other people's couple candies all my life. Still, it's a good thing Ray showed his true colors back then. That's how Mr. Bones hit the absolute jackpot, and now you two have that adorable little daughter. Everything worked out perfectly." Hearing Ray's name sent me into a momentary daze. "Yeah. Everything now is exactly how it's supposed to be." The banquet had just gotten started. Lydia had some clients she needed to network with, so I went to find a seat. Five years prior, the Pet Group had been poorly managed. After we lost a major bid, the whole company went into a steep decline and got carved up by all the rival firms that had been circling like vultures. Now, five years later, barely anyone remembered the Pet Group even existed. I figured no one would pay any attention to me here. But out of nowhere, someone stepped in front of me to block my path. It was the wife of Lukas Group's CEO. We'd crossed paths a few times five years ago, but we were far from close. "Selene! It's been ages, hasn't it? Must be five years now. I can't believe we ran into each other here. What a coincidence! I heard you got married. Where's your husband? Didn't he come with you?" she exclaimed. I smiled. "He's got a little thing to wrap up right now. He'll be here any minute." That one question was all it took to open the floodgates. Probably because we were talking a little too loud, the guests milling around started drifting over to our little group one by one. Curiosity was clearly piqued, and one woman leaned in with a bright smile. "Oh, right! We haven't heard a peep about your husband in ages! How's he doing these days? Fill us in, won't you?" Looking at the crowd that had gathered around me, I knew there was no way I could brush this off and slip away. I smiled again, casual as could be. "He just got lucky, caught the right trend at the right time. He's been working on some government partnership project lately, the details are all over my head, honestly." Gasps and murmurs of awe rippled through the crowd immediately. "Wow, that's so impressive for someone his age! You really hit the jackpot." I was just about to throw out a polite, noncommittal reply, but what they said next stopped me short. "I mean, you really are lucky, you know? Even though the Pet Group went under a while back, you ended up with such a capable husband." "Right! And sure, Mr. Reynolds did some pretty messy stuff a few years ago, but that other woman's gone now. You've finally gotten through the hard part. Settle down and live well from here on out, you've got nothing but good days ahead!" Oh. They thought I'd married Ray. The absurdity of it hit me out of nowhere. "No, I—" I'd barely opened my mouth to set the record straight when a familiar voice cut me off. "Selene… after five years, I've finally found you." It was Ray Reynolds.