My Wedding Ended at My Mother's Funeral

Start Reading

On my wedding day, my fiance, Chloe, made an excuse and sent me to the front desk to pick up our wedding rings.

When I got back, all I saw was my mother, covered in blood, being rushed into an ambulance.

The doctor declared her dead at the scene. They couldn't save her.

I thought it was just a tragic accident.

It wasn't until after the funeral, when I went to find Chloe, that I overheard a conversation outside her private lounge.

"Tyler, did you really prank Ethans mom to death? What happened?"

"I was just messing with her! I told her Ethan got into a horrific car crash. Who knew the old lady would be so gullible? She panicked, ran out, fell down the stairs, and broke her neck."

"Dude, thats a sick prank, even for you!"

"Chloe knew about it too. To help me pull it off, she purposely sent Ethan away to fetch the rings."

Chloe sighed inside the room. "Nobody talk about this ever again! Let it die."

Standing outside the door, my blood ran cold. My eyes widened in disbelief.

My mother's death wasnt an accident. She was pranked to death by Tyler Harrison.

And the woman who swore she loved me had actively participated in it, helping him cover up his dirty secret.

If that was the case, I didn't want this wedding anymore.

Not a single person who played a part in my mothers death would get away with it.

...

"Look, I know I messed up, okay? I won't play that kind of joke again."

Tyler said the words, but the smug grin on his face couldnt be hidden.

I thought his friends would call him out for being a psychopath, but instead, they laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Man, you're crazy! A literal prank god."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Its not entirely your fault."

"Yeah, who knew the old lady had no common sense? It was just a joke, and she rushed out without even thinking."

"Exactly! Maybe it was just her time to go. She was destined to die on her son's wedding day anyway."

Tyler clapped his hands, looking thrilled that they appreciated his "genius."

"Chloe, listen to them! It really wasnt my fault," Tyler said. "The old lady just didn't use her brain. I prank you guys all the time, right? Has anyone ever died from my jokes? No!"

The others laughed and nodded, mocking my mother's death as if it were just bad luck.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. A burning rage consumed me.

What disgusted me more was that Chloe didn't yell at Tyler. Instead, she just shook her head with a fond, indulgent smile.

Suddenly, someone yelled, "Holy shit! Is that a hickey on your neck, Chloe?"

"Hahaha! Spill! Who did you spend last night with?" Chloes best friend teased, leaning in to inspect the mark.

Tyler smirked, looking incredibly proud of himself. "Who do you think?"

Everyone looked at each other. Realizing what Tyler's smug face meant, the room erupted.

"No way! You slept with her?"

"Is that even a question? Ethans been busy running around throwing a funeral for his mom. When would he have the time or mood to sleep with Chloe?"

"So Chloe got lonely and went to Tyler to get her fix. Damn."

Tyler gave the guy a thumbs-up.

My heart didn't just burn with rage; it sank into a bottomless pit of despair.

What a sick joke.

After my mother passed, I was so worried about Chloe feeling neglected. The moment the funeral ended, I rushed over to find her.

Yet, she didnt care about me at all. My mother died because of them, and while I was grieving, she was sleeping with the murderer, throwing salt on my bleeding wounds.

"Man, Ethan is seriously pathetic."

"If he finds out Tyler's prank killed his mom, and that you're sleeping with Chloe, do you think he'll sue?"

Tyler laughed scornfully. "With what evidence? He has nothing. What can he do to me?"

Hearing Tylers arrogant voice, I couldn't hold back anymore. I kicked the door open and stormed in.

My sudden entrance wiped the smiles off their faces. Everyone froze.

The entire VIP lounge went dead silent. The atmosphere became suffocatingly heavy.

Only Tyler remained unfazed. He gave me a mocking smirk and leaned back, hiding behind Chloe.

Chloe froze with her wine glass halfway to her mouth. She glanced at Tyler, then turned to look at me.

Her voice was calm, almost indifferent, as if none of this had anything to do with her.

"Is your mom's funeral over?"

I didn't speak. I just glared at them with pure, unadulterated hatred.

Chloe sighed, and the others began exchanging nervous glances. They were trying to figure out how much I had heard.

"Ethan, did you hear what we were just talking about?"

"Yes," I said, my voice trembling with rage. "My mother didn't die from an accident. She died because Tyler pranked her..."

Before I could finish, Tyler jumped up and pointed a finger at me, shouting, "Hold on! What do you mean I pranked her to death? She was just stupid. She couldn't tell a joke from reality! Have you never joked with anyone? It was her own fault she fell. Stop blaming me for her death!"

"Who the hell plays with someone's life on their wedding day?!" I roared. "And who made sure I was out of reach? Who took my phone so no one could call me?! My mother had a heart condition! She couldn't take that kind of shock!"

In the face of my fury, everyone shut their mouths, too scared to speak.

Except Tyler. He grabbed a glass from the coffee table and hurled it at my head. I dodged it, lunged forward, and tackled him to the couch.

I threw punch after punch. He was no match for me and was quickly pinned down.

But his friends quickly jumped in to help him. Under the pretense of "breaking us up," they grabbed my arms and pinned me down, giving Tyler a free shot to punch me in the ribs.

Chloe, blind to the unfairness, stood up and screamed at me, "Enough!"

"How long are you going to keep making a scene, Ethan?!"

*I* was making a scene? I was trying to get justice for my dead mother, and my fiance was protecting the killer.

Oh, right. I almost forgot. She cheated on me. She slept with Tyler while I was organizing my mothers funeral.

Of course she would take his side.

"Chloe, even now, you won't apologize. You're just helping him escape the consequences." I ripped my arms away from the guys holding me, scanning the room of disgusting hypocrites.

Maybe Chloe felt a tiny speck of guilt from my broken expression, because she turned to Tyler and said, "Tyler, just apologize to him."

Tyler scoffed, but not wanting to upset Chloe, he gave me a lazy, insincere glance.

"Fine. My bad, okay? Now stop acting like a psycho."

Chloe's smile returned as she looked at him. "And don't play those kinds of jokes anymore, got it?"

Then, she turned to me. "Tyler is young and a bit arrogant. Just let it go, Ethan. He apologized."

Every word she spoke was dripping with favoritism. It was a knife wrapped in velvet. She excused a fatal action as "being young" and expected the victim to just move on.

My fingernails cut deep into my palms. It was painful, but I felt completely numb.

"I don't accept that pathetic excuse for an apology," I said, adjusting my collar. "If a simple 'sorry' can solve a murder, then I guess I won't mind ending him myself."

I walked to the door and stopped.

"The wedding is off. We are done."

I slammed the door behind me, ignoring Chloe's angry screams calling my name.

"Chloe, it looks like Ethan is actually serious this time."

"Is your wedding really cancelled?"

Chloe shrugged, her voice filled with absolute confidence. "He's just throwing a tantrum right now. Once he cools down, he'll regret speaking to me like that. Cancel the wedding? Never. He loves me too much to ever walk away."

She then glared at Tyler. "Don't play those jokes again. I mean it."

Tyler saw she was genuinely annoyed and quickly nodded like a good boy.

Standing just outside the door, I heard every single word.

It was so ironic. Tyler had once been trapped in a burning car crash, and I was the one who risked my life to pull him out.

I never expected him to be such a heartless beast. He killed his saviors mother for a laugh and slept with his saviors fiance. How evil did someone have to be to do that?

If I hadn't saved him back then, none of this would have happened. But there are no "what ifs" in life. Only consequences.

I left the bar and immediately went to retrieve the security footage from the wedding venue.

But the footage of that day was gone. Chloe had already destroyed it.

No wonder Tyler was so cocky.

I walked down the dark, empty street. It was past midnight. A bitter pain swallowed me whole.

Right then, my phone rang. It was Chloes mother.

"I heard you told Chloe the wedding is off. Is that true?"

The Davis family had always looked down on me. Even though I worked tirelessly to help Chloe build the Davis Tech Group from a second-rate startup into one of the top tech companies in the city, they still treated me like trash. They thought Chloe deserved a billionaire, not me.

When I didn't answer immediately, Mrs. Davis grew irritated. "Are you mute?"

"Mrs. Davis, watch your tone," I said coldly. "And yes, we are over. Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

"Hmph! Since youre the one who called it off, don't you dare regret it. Don't go crawling back to her. My daughter deserves a much richer man."

I hung up. There was nothing more to say.

When I finally got back to my apartment, it was 3:00 AM. To my surprise, Chloe was waiting inside.

The moment she saw me, she stood up.

"Where have you been? Why are you back so late? I already chewed Tyler out for you. It was an accident. To make it up to you, and because of all the hard work youve done for the company, Ive decided to announce your promotion to Vice President tomorrow morning."

I looked at her, my expression dead and cold. She had no idea I had already agreed to the breakup with her mother.

"Chloe, get out of my house. I need peace."

My coldness caught her off guard.

I am a man with boundaries. I could never accept her cheating, and I could definitely never forgive her for helping the man who caused my mothers death.

"I didn't just come to see you," she said, her eyes turning red. She walked over to my mothers memorial photo, placed a bouquet of flowers down, and bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. Our stupid joke went too far. I really didn't mean for this to happen."

She began to sob, making it hard for me to kick her out right then.

Before she left, she looked at me with tearful eyes. "Ethan, that night... I was just so consumed by guilt. I drank too much and mistook Tyler for you."

The next morning, I went to the office.

Chloe had texted me multiple times, insisting I wear a formal suit.

When I entered the building, my coworkers were whispering and pointing at me.

"Mr. Miller is back!"

"I heard he's getting promoted to VP today. Thats why he had to come."

"He deserves it. No one has worked harder than him... But do you know why Chloe is suddenly promoting him?"

"Oh, I know. Chloe and Tyler pranked his mom to death on his wedding day. And get thisChloe slept with Tyler right after. She cheated on Ethan."

"Oh my god. So shes giving him the VP title to buy his silence?"

Everyone stared at me with a mix of pity and disgust, thinking I was selling my mother's soul for a corporate title.

I ignored them, carrying a heavy weight in my chest as I walked to my office.

I began packing up my personal belongings. Halfway through, a colleague came to tell me the board meeting was starting.

Everyone was already there. Chloe looked at me and smiled, then stood up to speak.

"Everyone, thank you for coming. Today, I have a major announcement. The position of Vice President has been vacant for too long. Its time we give it to someone with talent, dedication, and leadership."

Everyone in the room turned to look at me. In their eyes, I was the only one who fit that description.

Chloe smiled warmly at me, gesturing for me to stand up.

I paused, then stood.

But in the next second, Chloes voice rang out: "Let's welcome our new Vice PresidentTyler Harrison!"

"Please give him a round of applause!"

The room erupted into quiet snickers and mocking whispers directed at me.

"Oh my god, its not Ethan? Why did he stand up then?"

"Hahaha, this is so embarrassing. I would literally die."

I had bled and sweat for this company for years, only for Chloe to hand my hard work to Tyler on a silver platter. She had publicly humiliated me.

Tyler stood up, strutting past me. As he did, he intentionally stepped hard on my dress shoe.

He leaned in, whispering so only I could hear, "You pathetic loser. Your mom was easy to fool, and youre even easier. Chloe lost a bet to me, so she had to help me prank you guys. You have nothing."

I watched him walk to the podium. The rage in my heart crystallized into cold determination.

I turned around and walked out of the conference room.

Chloe tried to look after me while talking to Tyler, but Tyler held her back.

I had already known her promise of a promotion was too good to be true.

I walked into my office, placed my resignation letter on the desk, and pulled out my phone. I made a few quick calls to our top clients and partners, informing them that I was leaving Davis Tech Group and that none of their future projects had anything to do with me anymore.

Then, I blocked Chloe on Snapchat, Instagram, and cell.

I grabbed my box of belongings and walked out of the building without looking back.