Betrayed Before the Vows, I Married His Powerful Brother

Start Reading

Three days before the wedding, my fianc showed up at my door with four groomsmen in tow.

He watched them put their hands all over mewatched them slide their fingers up under my skirtand didn't say a word.

Messing with the bride is tradition around here. You wouldn't want to go and break the rules now, would you, sister-in-law?

They all burst out laughing, eyes on me like I was a lamb lined up for slaughter.

I fought with everything I had, but I was no match for the strength of four grown men.

My fianc's childhood sweetheart was right there the whole time, smoothing things over with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Sister-in-law, this is everyone's way of giving you their blessing."

"Resisting like thisdo you not want your marriage to go smoothly?"

In the chaos, I grabbed the bedside lamp and smashed it on the floor. The crash froze everyone in place.

"Then the blessing's all yours."

"Want it?"

The sudden violence startled them to their feet, and for a moment no one moved.

One of the men backed up Claire's little speech.

"Whoa, sister-in-law, what are you doing? Claire's got it rightwe're just here to wish you and Phil well."

"Pull a stunt like that and you're making Phil look bad in front of all of us."

The others nodded along eagerly, but I didn't miss the mocking amusement in their eyes.

I pulled my clothes tighter around myself, trying to cover what had been exposed.

The gesture only made them restless again.

"Don't bother covering upit'll just be more trouble to take off later."

"You don't get it, sister-in-law. The rougher we go, the more sincere the blessing."

The one who'd been leading them said this as he reached his hand straight toward my chest.

I didn't say a word. I slapped him across the face as hard as I could.

The room went dead silent.

Phil, who hadn't said a single word this whole time, finally opened his mouthface twisted with anger.

"Irene Gilbert! What the hell are you doing?"

"I grew up with these guysran around bare-assed together since we were kids. How could you lay a hand on him?"

Claire stepped forward then.

"It's these idiots' fault for taking it too far. They never know when to shut up. Don't take it to heart, sister-in-law."

"You and Phil are getting married in three days. We're all family herenobody meant any harm."

"Look, both sides got a little out of line. Just drink one as an apology, and we'll put the whole thing behind us."

At some point she'd gone to the living room and come back with a glass of wine. She held it out toward me as she spoke, not bothering to hide the triumph in her eyes.

I gave Claire one cold look, then shifted my gaze to Phil, standing right behind her.

Gone was the irritation he'd just shown me.

Now Phil was smiling, watching Claire's back with an easy, indulgent looklike nothing else in the room even registered.

As if she were the only person in the world who existed for him.

When I said nothing, Claire turned to Phil.

"Sister-in-law's still upset with us. I guess we really did take the joke too far."

"How about thisI'll drink one myself. Don't be mad, sister-in-law. Nobody meant anything by it..."

Before she could finish, Phil had already snatched the glass out of her hand.

"Come on, put that down. Drinking's no good for you."

"Hanging around with us all the timewhat, you actually think you're one of the boys now?"

Claire laughed and punched his arm playfully.

"See, only you know how to look after someone."

Phil grinned, tipped the glass back, and drained it in one go.

The two of them carried on like no one else was in the room. I watched them, and all I could think was how laughable it was.

"She's a girl, and I'm not?"

The moment the words left my mouth, the smile on Phil's face froze.

"Irene, don't overthink it, I was just"

What cut Phil off was the slap I cracked across his face.

Claire grabbed him and pulled him behind her instantly.

"Seriously, Irene? You're going to throw a fit over this? He already said sorrywhat more do you want?"

"Phil and I grew up together. He had a drink for me. What's the big deal?"

The groomsmen chimed in one after another.

"Relax, sister-in-law, don't be like that. Claire might as well be a dude to us. We've all been this way since we were kids."

"You and Phil are getting married in three days. After that we're all family. It's nothing. Really, it's nothing."

I couldn't be bothered to waste another second on any of them. I turned and headed for the door.

Phil stepped in front of me.

"I went out of my way to invite every one of them. And you're going to embarrass me in front of"

He hadn't finished the sentence before I walked straight past him and out of the house.

At the front gate, I pulled out my phone and called my father.

"Dad. Call off the wedding. I'm done with Phil."

"I'm marrying his brother. Merlin."

Early the next morning, I went back to the bridal suite Phil had arranged.

With only three days until the wedding, there were plenty of my things in that apartment.

Since I wasn't marrying him anymore, I was going to take back what was mine.

I opened the front door and the filthy sounds hit me before I'd taken a single step inside.

Claire's voice had gone syrupy and cloying, every syllable dripping with a kittenish heat that was nothing like last night's one-of-the-boys act.

"She was already furious last night. How do you still dare?"

"What if she catches on? She'll drop you like that."

Phil's voice was hoarse, thick with lust.

"Relax. She's liked me for years. She finally gets to marry meyou think she'd ever walk away from that?"

"Come on, you know the deal. If I didn't need a kid, why the hell would I marry her?"

"Don't worry. Once we're married and she's pregnant and delivers the baby, I'll divorce her. Then you and I can be together out in the open."

Their pillow talk drifted out in fragments.

So that was it. Phil was marrying me for one reason onlyhe needed someone to bear his child.

The longer I listened, the harder the tears fell, dropping heavy and fast.

The truth was, Claire and Phil weren't the only childhood sweethearts.

Phil and I had grown up together too.

The first time I saw him, I was six years old. His parents brought him and his older brother to our house for a visit.

But I'd just been scolded by my mother and was hiding in the little garden, crying where no one could see.

Little Phil stood in front of me, helpless at the sight of my tears, hands fidgeting at his sides.

He scrunched up his face and stared for a long moment, as though working out some impossible problem.

Finally, he held out his hand. Two butterscotch candies sat in his palm, small and bright.

"Hey, don't cry. Herecandy. Pretty girls stop being pretty when they cry, you know?"

I took the two candies, and the little boy broke into a grin.

"You ate my candy, so now you have to be my bride."

Through the blur of my tears I couldn't even make out his face.

But even so, I was certain that the little prince from my storybooks looked exactly like the boy standing in front of me.

The bride thing was a joke. I was the only one who took it seriously.

From that day on, I became Phil's little shadow.

Elementary school, middle school, high schoolwe were never apart.

Until a year ago, when Phil showed up out of nowhere.

"Irene, let's be together."

Back then, I thought all those years of devotion had finally won him over. I threw myself into being his girlfriend, heart wide open.

Now I knew the truth: Phil Cox was with me for one reason. He needed a child.

To spare Claire the pain of carrying one, I became the perfect baby machine.

How absurd.

I sat on the living room sofa in silence, torturing myself with every sound that came from the bedroom.

I don't know how long it went on before the two of them finally walked out.

The instant Phil saw me, a flicker of panic crossed his face.

"IrIrene? When did youhow long have you been back? Why didn't you say something? I would've come and picked you up!"

I didn't answer. My gaze stayed fixed on Claire's face.

Phil rushed to explain.

"I drank too much last night, and you weren't home."

"She was just worried about me, okay? Didn't even come over till this morningdon't get the wrong idea."

After that, he watched me carefully, trying to read something in my expression.

When he found nothing unusual, he let out a breath.

"I was just about to come get you."

"The wedding's the day after tomorrow. Let's not fight anymore, okay?"

I nodded and said nothing more.

Phil was right about one thing. The wedding was the day after tomorrow.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, I had no intention of telling him the groom had been changed.

I couldn't be bothered to waste another second on either of them. I walked straight into the bedroom and started packing my things.

"I'm going to stay at my parents' place for the next couple of days. My mom says the bride and groom shouldn't see each other before the wedding."

Phil and Claire exchanged a glance, and the same spark of delight flashed through both their eyes.

I lowered my gaze, pretending not to notice how pleased they both looked.

I packed and mocked myself at the same time.

Either their acting was flawless or I was stupider than I'd ever imaginedI had never once seen what was right in front of me.

That night, back at home, I began sorting through the memories Phil and I had shared over the years.

I was deleting photos from my computer when I noticed it: Phil's WhatsApp account was still logged in on my machine.

Almost without thinking, I clicked in.

The moment I came online, messages were streaming through a small group chat, updating nonstop.

The latest one had been sent by Phil himself.

"Where are we meeting tonight? Last night wasn't enoughlet's drink till we drop!"

Messages kept popping up one after another.

"No way am I drinking with you again. Did you see Irene's face yesterday? I thought she was going to eat us alive. My heart can't take it."

"For real though, PhilClaire's so much better. That fiance of yours doesn't even come close."

"I can't stand Irene. That whole pampered-princess act. It honestly makes me sick."

The messages kept coming, all variations of the same filththat I couldn't compare to Claire, that I never could.

These friends of Phil's, every single one of them angling to ride his coattails into a connection with Gilbert Group.

To my face, it was always "sister-in-law" this, "sister-in-law" that. Behind my back, last night, this was who they really were.

Disgusting.

I was about to log out when Claire's account suddenly posted a message in the group.

A short video, maybe thirty seconds.

In it, she and Phil were locked in a deep kiss.

And the background was our bridal suite. Our enormous wedding portrait was hanging right behind them on the wall.

Claire's text followed the video almost instantly.

"Relax, boysdon't waste your breath on that bitch. If she ever found out her man and her precious wedding suite have both been mine more times than I can count, she'd lose her fucking mind."

"Alright, alright, see you at the usual spot later!"

After saving every chat log and video, I backed out of the account with trembling hands.

I'd always assumed that whatever was going on between Claire and Phil was a secret only the two of them shared.

Turns out, the only person kept in the dark was me.

Phil never contacted me once before the wedding.

The morning of, the Cox family's wedding motorcade pulled up bright and early.

But the man who stepped out of the lead car wasn't Phil. It was the family butler.

Butler Harris started talking before his feet hit the ground.

"The family has a full house today, Miss Gilbert. Young Mr. Cox is tied up with guests, so he sent me to bring you over myself."

"Rest assured, the Cox family will make sure everything is grand and proper today..."

Before he could finish, I raised a hand to cut him off.

"It's fine. Let's just go to the hotel."

The man I was marrying today wasn't Phil anyway. Him not showing up was a bonus.

When I arrived at the hotel lounge, I found people inside who had no business being there.

Phil and Claire.

Claire was seated at the vanity mirror, and Phil stood behind her, both hands resting gently on her shoulders.

Standing there like that, the two of them looked more like today's bride and groom than I ever could.

When she saw me walk in, Claire stood up.

"Oh, you're here! It's your big day with Philyou don't mind me coming in to keep things warm for you, do you?"

"Oh my God, that dress is gorgeous. Hahaha, Phil really spent a fortune on you this time. You're definitely going to be the prettiest one there..."

I was done listening to Claire's fake sweetness.

"Since when are we on familiar terms? I don't recall us being close."

"And this is my lounge. Who let you in?"

Claire's face went blank with shock, as if she'd never expected me to shut her down without a shred of courtesy.

A beat later, she turned to Phil with a wounded lookbut every word that came out was for me.

"What's wrong with you? You're not still worked up over that little thing with the guys the other day, are you?"

"That was days ago. Why are you still holding a grudge?"

"You know what, forget it. Today's your special day with Phil. If me being here really bothers you that much, I'll go."

She made to leave, and Phil grabbed her arm, pulling her behind him.

"Irene, Claire just came to congratulate us. Why are you being so aggressive?"

"She's been my best friend since we were kidsyou know that. You disrespect her, you disrespect me!"

I was done holding back.

I slapped Phil across the face. Hard.

"What are you? A good-for-nothing who's never lifted a finger in his lifeyou think you get to talk about respect with me?"

"If I, Irene Gilbert, hadn't wasted all these years caring about you, you'd be less than nothing in the Cox family. You don't have half your brother's ability, and you think you can stand here demanding face?"

"Oh, and Philthe word you're looking for now is sister-in-law."

Maybe they didn't hear that last part. Or maybe everyone had watched me love Phil for so long that anything else was simply unthinkable.

Neither Claire nor Phil reacted to it.

Seeing me hit Phil, Claire hurried forward to play peacemaker.

"Now, now, sister-in-law, the ceremony's about to start! What's all this?"

She reached for my hand as she spoke. I pulled away before she could touch me.

But the next second, Claire went downright as I raised my hand, crumpling to the floor with both hands clutching her lower back and a shriek ripping out of her.

"My back! Oh God, my back hurts so bad. What if it's broken?"

"Phil, Phil, come look, please, I'm dying over here!"

I laughed coldly to myself. My hand hadn't even touched her.

Phil's face was all panic. He dropped to a crouch beside Claire, checked her over, then lifted his head and shouted at me.

"Irene! That's way too far! What, you figure since we're getting married today, you can finally drop the act?"

"So all those years of sweetness and kindnessthat was fake the whole time!"

"They were right about you. Spoiled little rich girl through and through. It's disgusting!"

The ceremony was getting closer by the minute. I had no interest in wasting more time on them, so I called my security team.

They walked in just as Phil was helping a pain-stricken Claire up off the floor.

The moment the bodyguards came through the door, Phil's face went ugly.

"Irene, what is this? You think there's nothing I can do to you anymore?"

"If you really push me, you will never set foot in the Cox family again. I will never forgive you!"

I didn't bother answering. I just waved the guards forward.

They closed in around Phil and Claire in a tight circle.

"Mr. Cox. Take your companion and leave."

My complete indifference to his threats turned Phil's humiliation into rage.

"Irene! The ceremony's about to start! What are you trying to pull?"

"If anything happens to Claire today, I swear I will make you pay!"

A scoff left my lips and I was just about to respond.

But a low, magnetic voice cut through the room first.

"Phil Cox. You've really outdone yourself."

"Go on, then. How exactly are you planning to not let your sister-in-law off?"