Wedding Day She Chose My Brother; I Wed Her Nemesis

Start Reading

The night before the wedding, Linda Harding and her best friend sat in a private room plotting how to keep me from reaching the ceremony, so my own brother could marry her in my place.

Her friend was stunned. Linda, don't tell me the man you actually want to marry is Hubert Delgado? If that's it, you could just tell Stan Gilbert!

Linda smiled bitterly. "The man I love is Stan. Hubert is my regret. I don't want to live with regrets, so I came up with this."

"All you have to do is drive the wedding car somewhere else and keep him away for a while. I'll pretend to be angry and marry Hubert on purpose, and Stan won't have a word to say."

"Besides, I'll only play around for a few days. Once the regret is gone, the game's over."

Her eyes were set. She meant to have it, and she wouldn't let anyone stop her.

Her friend only laughed harder, and in the same breath crowned me the cuckold.

Outside the door, whatever I'd felt for her finally went cold. I turned and walked away to call the man I hated most.

"You hate me because I love Linda, don't you? Well, you don't have to anymore."

"Get ready. Tomorrow I'll drive the wedding car and come marry you!"

"Linda, be careful you don't take this too far!"

"If Stan finds out, you'll be the one begging him back through hell."

Linda idly picked up the glass from the coffee table and swirled it. "As long as you two don't talk, and I don't talk, how would he ever know?"

"Fine! We'll help you."

"Tsk, you really know how to play. And how to eat, too."

"Stan or Hubert, both of them are gorgeous."

"I bet on the wedding day you'll be dragging Hubert into the bridal suite the first chance you get, ready to go a few hundred rounds!"

The words had barely landed when that grating, filthy laughter filled the whole room.

Hubert walked in from the balcony, tucking his phone away. He'd probably been outside taking a call.

"What were you all just saying?"

I clenched my fists, hoping against everything that he didn't know about Linda's plan.

The next second, he sat down beside Linda and slid his arm straight around her waist.

Everyone gasped. My heart had already gone hollow. At this point, what was there left that I didn't understand?

My phone buzzed. I hurried toward the door.

When I picked up, my mother's voice came through, threaded with a cough.

"Stan, Mom finally lived to see you get married!"

Her health was poor. Dad said she'd been forcing herself to hang on, refusing to let go.

The reason was that she hadn't seen her son take a wife. Her wish unfulfilled, she clung to that one breath to keep living.

I didn't want the illness to drag her down, so I proposed to Linda seven times. She only said yes on the eighth.

Only now did I learn she'd never wanted to marry me. She'd refused all that time because Hubert wasn't back yet.

Now that he was home, Linda had agreed.

But behind that yes was another plan entirely.

In that moment all I felt was the ache in my chest, and a bottomless disappointment in Linda.

After a few short words with my mother, I hung up.

I didn't expect Linda to call me right after.

"Hey! Stan."

"Where are you?"

I was right next door. A pity she'd never know it.

"At home!"

"Aw, my Stannie is such a good boy. Not like the other rich kids who run off to party."

"Hey! Linda, what's that supposed to mean? You're dragging the rest of us in with that!"

The line was loud with noise. Linda only told me to come find her right away, then hung up.

I didn't rush. I pulled out a cigarette and smoked it slowly, buying time.

If she wanted me over there right now, some disgusting little show had to be waiting for me.

Sure enough, when I got there, I heard them egging her on again.

"Linda, remember to lose to Hubert on purpose later, so he can kiss you right in front of Stan. That'll be a total thrill."

"You two are so bad!!"

The moment I pushed the door open, the laughing and horsing around inside the private room fell dead silent.

Hubert and Linda were still pressed close together. I pretended not to see.

Someone spoke too fast and let it slip: "The cuckno, Stan's here!"

Realizing he'd almost said the wrong thing, he hurried to correct himself.

Of course I knew every single person in that room was laughing at me on the inside. But I'd be marrying someone else soon, and that pair of horns would come off soon too.

Linda shot her best friend a cold glare, then stood and came toward me.

"Stannie, you made it."

As she leaned close, that scent of Hubert's cologne, the one that was so distinctly his, drifted into my nose.

Just how tangled up did two people have to get for one to carry the other's smell soaked into her own body.

Inside I only gave a cold laugh. My face stayed blank.

"We're getting married tomorrow. Why call me out this late to play around? You should be home resting too."

My routine never went off track. When it was time to rest, I rested.

Linda stuck her tongue out at me and put on a pouty, coaxing act.

"I'm too nervous to sleep, aren't I? I just wanted to get out before the wedding, walk it off, shake the nerves."

"That's right, Stan. What you should be doing right now is understanding Linda, keeping her company, talking with her a while."

"After all, once you're married, you'll be husband and wife. She won't get to come out at midnight anymore."

The point being that I was the small-minded one, that I wouldn't grant Linda even a shred of warmth.

I stayed calm through all of it, my voice flat. "Then go ahead and play. I won't hold it against you."

"Perfect!"

Linda threw her arms around me, laughing, delighted.

"I knew my Stannie loves me best."

The others traded glances, passing looks in secret, and when they looked at me it was with contempt.

I no longer cared about the strange stares from everyone around me. What was there to think highly of, in a person who could stand behind someone like Linda.

"All right then, tonight let's play one really exciting game."

"Whoever loses at rock-paper-scissors has to, by the rules, give the winner a French kiss."

"Whoa, that's not really okay, is it!"

"Anyone who won't play is a coward. Haven't you ever been abroad? Just treat it as foreign etiquette and it's fine!"

Linda looked at me like she wanted to say something and held it back. I pretended to be big about it and backed her going along.

The game started, and having never played this kind of game before, I was, without a doubt, among the first to lose.

They'd set it all up in advance to help Linda make her wish come true.

Sure enough, Linda lost to Hubert.

Hubert looked at me a little awkwardly. "Man, this, this"

"This what? Kiss her!"

"We agreed beforehand. No changing at the last minute."

"Right!"

The others whooped, egging Hubert on to kiss Linda.

The two of them were plainly thrilled inside already, and yet they still had to account for my presence and act reluctant.

I was the first to raise my hand and clap. "It's fine. It's just a game rule, isn't it?"

"Kiss her!"

Linda's eyes went wide all at once, staring at me in disbelief.

She didn't understand why I could be so generous, because after I'd overheard her secret, I'd given up on her completely.

"See, even Stan's on board."

"So quit dragging it out. Kiss already!"

The mood turned suggestive in an instant, and the music had been cued up beforehand too.

The moment it started, Linda looked like she was eighteen again, running into Hubert's arms and kissing him deep.

The others cheered. My fingertips went white bit by bit.

I picked up my glass and poured drink after drink down my throat. Some of them thought I was faking indifference, hiding to grieve in private.

Only I knew that these few drinks were nothing more than a toast to the fact that whatever love had pulled between Linda and me was dead.

I heard someone laugh that I was a spineless wretch, and Linda too was certain I couldn't leave her.

I set down my glass, didn't spare her another look, and was getting ready to leave.

"Stan, don't go!"

"We've still got a second game we haven't played yet!"

"We won't play anything wild this round, since everyone here's got a boyfriend or girlfriend, right?"

"So what do we play?"

"Isn't Linda nervous about the wedding tomorrow? Let's give her a little preview tonight."

"That way she gets over her nerves, and we all have fun."

"Same rules as always. Whoever loses gets married to the final winner, right here."

"And the wedding night?"

"That one's pay-per-view."

"Hahaha, you're wicked. You said nothing wild, but this is wilder than a French kiss."

I really wanted to leave, but they blocked my way and flat-out refused to let me go.

They dragged me down into a seat and made me play.

I lost, same as always, and Linda, just as it had all been arranged, lost the last round to Hubert.

The crowd laughed and shoved Linda straight into Hubert's arms. "Marry him! Marry him! Marry him!"

Linda laughed, all shy and coy, then walked over to me with her face flushed.

"Stannie, take the ring off and give it to me."

I fixed my eyes on her, searching her face for some sign she'd stop before it went too far.

She didn't.

She had designed that ring herself. It meant one life, one love, two people who would never leave each other.

The night we got engaged, she'd slipped it onto my ring finger, and the vow she made was still fresh in my ears.

Now all of it was smoke.

I reached to pull the ring off, but going on was easy and coming off was hard.

The bone of my finger ached until my brow drew tight, and Linda, who had always cared so much about me, had no interest in my face now. She only wanted me to hurry up and get it off.

"Linda, you designed this ring yourself. You should know it goes on easy and comes off hard."

"But nobody else here has a wedding ring. Without one we can't play the marriage game."

Her words made it click all at once.

This whole so-called game was aimed at the ring on my hand.

Linda wanted Hubert to wear it and hold a wedding with her.

She'd worked hard for this, laying so much groundwork.

She'd run out of patience. She grabbed my hand and yanked hard, until even the skin went red with pain.

For a flicker Linda seemed reluctant, until her friend chimed in.

"You only get one wedding in your life. You can't leave anything to regret over!"

That line filled her with grim determination, and she went at my ring finger like nothing else mattered.

At last, Hubert stood up.

"Don't be so hard on my buddy. Can't you see how much it's hurting him?"

"If you really want it off, I've got a way."

With that, he pulled a tube of lubricant out of his pants pocket.

Every single person in the room knew exactly what that was for.

Someone was more than happy to stir the pot.

"Whoa, Hubert, you're a single guy and you keep this stuff in your pocket?"

"Please, maybe Hubert's already got someone special. He just won't say so."

Hubert laughed, delighted, shooting little glances at Linda every so often.

"I have a girlfriend."

"We were just being sweet on each other a minute ago."

"Hahaha, what kind of sweet exactly?"

"Quit being a brat. You know full well what I mean."

The room roared with laughter, and the mocking in their eyes as they looked at me was almost impossible to hide.

Hubert said nothing more. He even lifted the lubricant and gave it a sniff, which set Linda beside me squirming.

When Hubert came at me with that tube of lubricant, the smell that lifted off it was exactly the same as the smell that had lingered on Linda's body.

For a moment my mind went blank, and I couldn't react.

In my head, the Linda who had once had eyes and a heart only for me went reeling backward through my memories, until there was nothing left to remember at all.

Everyone in the room wore that same strange look. Some were holding back laughter, some pitied me.

The second the lubricant touched my finger, Linda wrenched the ring off with all her strength.

It scraped my knuckle raw, but I didn't make a sound.

The wave of nausea that hit me was the only thing that reached my nerves. I left every jeer behind and rushed into the bathroom.

I scrubbed my hands until they went red, then ran the water and washed them again.

Only then did I go still enough to look at the man in the mirror, his eyes red.

"It's fine. After tomorrow, she and I will be complete strangers."

"Stannie, are you okay?"

By the time Linda walked in, I had my face back in order.

"I'm fine."

"But something's come up. I have to go."

With that, not caring what she said to me, I had only one goal. Get out of this sickening place, fast.

Back home, I got a call from a friend.

"Stan, there's something I have to tell you."

"Your fiance just went and booked a hotel room with your buddy."

My hand tightened around the phone. Everyone we knew probably already knew Linda had cuckolded me before the wedding.

I reached up, took down our wedding photo, and dropped it in the trash.

Everywhere I looked, this house held too many memories of her and me.

I'd thought I could grow old with her. Turns out we didn't even make it into the third year before it was over.

"Hey, Stan, you still there?"

The line was still open. I let out a breath.

"You don't have to ask me anything. Just come drive the wedding car for me tomorrow."

"What? You still want to marry her?"

"I'm the one getting married. But who the bride is, you'll find out when the time comes."

Linda wanted to play games, didn't she?

Have the driver take the wedding car far away on purpose, so I couldn't make it to the ceremony on time to marry her?

Fine. I'd give her exactly what she wanted. I'd stay far, far away from her.

I put the phone down and went to shower. When I came out, a video call from Linda was waiting.

On the screen her hair was a mess, her face nothing but exhaustion.

She'd clearly been doing something before this.

"Stannie, when you left tonight, you seemed unhappy."

Impressive that she could still spare a thought for my mood, when her own hunger ran so much stronger than anything she felt for me.

However much she cared about my feelings, she still had to get Hubert into bed first.

All that supposed devotion. Every bit of it fake.

"I'm not unhappy. I'm just thinking about tomorrow's schedule and the details, because something suddenly changed."

"Changed?"

"Mm. I want to give the woman I love most a grander wedding."

Linda's face broke into a smug little smile. Then a big hand suddenly stretched into frame, right where I couldn't miss it.

Linda noticed the danger too. She quickly told me to get some rest and hung up in a hurry.

This time, I actually felt light. Not the smallest ripple in me.

The next morning, the wedding began.

My family had all rushed off to the venue to help set things up. Linda video-called me while she was busy with her makeup.

She poured out a whole stream of sweet nothings. I didn't take in a single word.

When it was time to set out to fetch the bride, I got to the wedding car and only then realized.

Apart from the driver, who was my friend, every other person there was Linda's.

"Come on, let's go, brother-in-law!"

"Linda couldn't wait to see you, so she sent us to pick you up!"

Poor thing, working so hard. Afraid I'd reach the venue on time, she'd sent her dear girlfriends.

I gave a small smile, got into the car, and kept my eyes shut the whole way.

Every one of them watched me with a curled lip and contempt. Only one shook her head, pity on her face.

Once the wedding car set off, we ran into heavy traffic on the road.

We had no choice but to keep changing our route, heading the whole way in the opposite direction from the venue.

Jasper Fox, behind the wheel, looked thoroughly annoyed. Until the car pulled up outside a luxury hotel so lavish and dreamlike that everyone envied it.

"Stop!"

No one understood.

I pushed the door open and stepped out. "Anyone who's interested, come in and have a couple of drinks. No cash gift needed."

"If you don't feel like drinking, go back and tell Linda that today I'm marrying Eleanor Simmons."

The words had barely left my mouth when Eleanor Simmons walked out in a wedding gown worth a small fortune.

"Stan, you're here!"

Linda's girlfriends panicked. "Holy crap! Call Linda, quick, her man's been stolen, hurry!!!!"