The Day Another Woman Became the Bride Chapter 01

The Day Another Woman Became the Bride Chapter 01

On my wedding day, I arrived at the venue in a taxi.

When the elaborate wedding motorcade arrived, my fiancé stopped me in front of the bridal car.

“Paige Donovan is taking this car. I’ll call you another taxi.”

I froze on the spot.

Mason continued, “Paige doesn’t believe in marriage. She just wants to experience what getting married feels like.”

“I already promised she could take part in the wedding entrance as a guest.”

I turned around. Paige, his childhood friend, was already wearing a wedding dress and climbing into the lead car.

Seeing that I was on the verge of tears, Mason sighed.

“The wedding is just a formality. We’ll sign the marriage papers and be done.”

“Besides, once Paige has had her experience, you can still walk down the aisle afterward.”

With that, he turned and left without looking back, leading the entire motorcade of luxury cars away in a roar.

I closed my eyes.

Things had been like this ever since we started planning the wedding.

Because Paige didn’t believe in marriage and said she’d never marry, she got to try on the wedding dress first and choose the venue without asking.

Now she was going to experience the wedding before me too.

The light turned red. The wedding motorcade sped up and left the taxi far behind.

The driver gripped the wheel and called back, “Ma’am, which way next?”

I stared at the disappearing line of luxury cars and gave him a faint smile.

“We’re not going. Turn around.”

Whether it was a wedding or a man, I no longer wanted something another woman had already claimed first.

…

My words landed in the brief silence between songs on the radio.

The taxi fell silent for a few seconds.

The driver leaned back in surprise. “Ma’am, what did you say? Turn around?”

I stroked the fabric of my wedding dress.

I woke my phone. Our engagement photo filled the lock screen, and both of us looked so happy.

Fragments of conversation from passersby drifted through the cracked window.

“Did you see that wedding motorcade? It was insane. Maseratis, Porsches… dozens of luxury cars!”

“People say the more expensive the wedding cars, the happier the bride will be. The groom must really cherish her.”

My fingers twitched involuntarily.

Another person sighed. “Two completely different lives on the same day. I just came from the Harborview Grand Hotel and saw a bride taking a taxi to her wedding.”

“No way…”

The screen went dark. My fingers crushed the hem of my dress.

I swallowed the ache in my throat and repeated myself.

“Yes, sir.”

“Head back to the hotel. I’m not getting married.”

The countdown ended. The light turned green.

Horns blared impatiently behind us.

The driver swallowed his words, spun the wheel, and made a U-turn.

Once the car steadied, Mason messaged me.

“I told the motorcade to lose you on purpose. Don’t try to catch up.”

“Have the driver slow down so you don’t run into Paige at the hotel. She doesn’t like anyone stealing her spotlight.”

“Use the staff entrance too. Paige cares what people think. If they see you enter the same hall, she can’t explain it.”

Mason rarely sent me messages that long.

Every word protected Paige’s reputation, feelings, and interests.

Yet only a short while earlier, Mason had dragged me away from the bridal car in front of everyone without once considering how people would talk about me or how humiliated I’d feel.

I opened the chat and typed slowly, one word at a time.

“I’m not going through with this wedding. Do whatever you want.”

Just as I was about to send it, messages started flooding in at the top of the screen.