The Replacement Groom

Claire's POV: With 2 days left before my wedding, I saw my fiancé making out with another woman at a bar. I glanced over and calmly sent him a message. Claire: What are you doing? Diagonally across from me, Ethan Morgan kept one hand on the back of the girl's head as he kissed her. With his other hand, he pulled out his phone and slowly typed a reply. Ethan: I'm in bed. You should get some sleep too. Claire: I'm in the booth behind you. Come have a drink with me. ***** As Ethan walked toward me, my chest tightened painfully with every step he took. I drew a deep breath and forced my voice to stay steady. "Your kissing has really improved. You weren't nearly this good when you kissed me 5 years ago." I thought I could hold it together, but tears still burned in my eyes. I've loved Ethan for 5 years, yet all it took was one other woman to make those years mean nothing to him. How can the man who brought me flowers yesterday be kissing someone else so passionately today? Ethan frowned and rubbed the space between his eyebrows. His voice was cold. "Claire, stop making a scene. We're still getting married soon." I laughed in disbelief. "You think I'm making a scene?" Ethan raised his eyes and stared at me coldly. I lifted my glass and poured every drop of wine over his face. "I am getting married, but not to you, Mr. Ex-Fiancé." I knew the girl he was cheating with. She worked in the same department as I did. Our relationship had started to sour after I brought Ethan to a company outing and introduced the two of them. Lily Foster would send Ethan cute memes asking whether he was awake, and Ethan would send cute memes back. On Lily's birthday, she sent him photos of two cakes and asked him to choose. Ethan patiently told her which one looked better. He had saved Lily in his contacts as Babe. He used to call me that. But when I confronted him with his phone in my hand, all he gave me was a cold, "Claire, stop making a scene." I hadn't understood then. I thought that as long as he didn't break up with me, he must still love me. I kept telling myself Ethan would never cross the line. Then I saw them kissing in that booth, and a dull pain spread through my chest. I finally understood that I couldn't lie to myself anymore. I don't want this wedding anymore. Ethan froze for a moment, then his face darkened. "Claire! What the hell do you mean? Are you threatening me?" Lily walked over when she heard the commotion. "Claire, my lipstick was smudged. I only asked Ethan to help wipe it off. You're not actually mad over something that small, are you?" I laughed outright and stared straight at her. "Lily, are you coming to my wedding? I'd think you'd be too ashamed to show your face there, considering you're the other woman." Ethan grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him. "That's enough, Claire! This is between us. Leave her out of it!" I suddenly found it almost funny. Once, when someone had followed me down an alley, he had shielded me exactly the same way. "Claire, since when have you been so petty?" His self-righteous tone gave me a headache. I didn't want to waste another breath on him. I walked back to the booth, picked up my coat, and went home. The moment I opened the door, I felt dazed. My wedding dress and Ethan's suit were still hanging from the closet door. I stood there for a moment, then called someone. "I'm getting married and I'm short a groom. Want the job?"