The Day Another Woman Became the Bride Chapter 06

The Day Another Woman Became the Bride Chapter 06

“I want to come too! I want to carry your rings onto the stage myself!”

Mason hesitated.

“Well…”

“Come on~ The substitute bridesmaids have left. No one can bring the rings, and Claire will be upset.”

Paige shook his arm and kept pouting.

“She’s misunderstood us. Taking up the rings myself will prove there’s nothing between us.”

She patted her chest with feigned nonchalance.

“My views changed long ago after I returned from Paris. I still don’t believe in marriage, and everything between us ended years ago!”

Light flashed off the crystals on Paige’s wedding dress and caught Mason’s eye.

Only then did he notice.

Paige’s dress was far more luxurious than Claire’s.

Paige had secretly tried on the original ceremony gown and accidentally damaged it. The replacement was only an altered backup reception dress.

If the two women stood onstage together, Claire, the real bride, would be painfully embarrassed.

Mason wavered.

But when he met Paige’s pleading eyes, he finally nodded.

It would be fine. Claire had always been generous and forgiving. She’d never make a fuss over something so small.

Around nine that night, the remaining guests were ushered into the private ceremony room.

A guest asked, confused.

“Didn’t we already finish the ceremony? Why are we exchanging vows again in such a tiny room?”

Another voice dropped low.

“I heard the earlier woman wasn’t the real bride, just the groom’s childhood friend trying out a wedding.”

“This one is the actual ceremony.”

The guests reacted with shock.

“This is ridiculous!”

At the head table, Mr. Whitfield lowered his voice, his face darkening.

“Wouldn’t the original banquet hall have been fine? Using two different ceremony rooms in a single day will only make this even more embarrassing.”

Mrs. Whitfield didn’t look happy either.

“I thought you’d finally decided to marry Paige. Turns out it was just an experience. You turned the whole wedding into a mess. What are the guests supposed to think?”

Mrs. Whitfield took Paige’s hand and looked at Mason.

“Since the ceremony has already gone this far, why not let Paige continue? The marriage paperwork hasn’t been signed yet anyway. Paige seems to like you a lot.”

Paige gave a shy smile and didn’t mention not believing in marriage anymore.

Mason kept checking the time on his phone, his anxiety mounting.

He rejected the idea without hesitation.

“No way. I only see Paige as a friend. The only woman I love is Claire.”

“I’m definitely marrying her.”

Paige’s face went pale for a moment.

The clock struck nine. A server pushed open the ceremony room doors.

The lights swung toward the entrance.

Yet the place where the bride should have stood was empty.

The small private room fell silent.

After a long wait, someone finally spoke.

“What’s going on? Wasn’t there supposed to be a real bride?”

“What on earth is the Whitfield family doing?”

The Whitfields exchanged glances, then turned to the stunned Mason.

“Mason, what’s happening? Where’s Claire?”

Something was wrong.

Claire was always punctual. How could she be late for something this important?

An unprecedented panic rose in Mason’s chest.

His phone chimed. He opened the message like a lifeline.

It wasn’t Claire. It was the makeup artist.

“Mr. Whitfield, you asked me to wait in the bridal suite for the other bride. It is already nine, and no one has arrived.”

“Our contracted service ends at ten. Any later and we won’t have enough time. Should you contact her?”

Mason’s hand shook as he typed.

“No one came all day?”

“That’s right. I finished Ms. Donovan’s makeup and have been waiting here ever since.”

Right then, an unknown number called.

“Hello, sir. This is the Harborview Grand Hotel.”

“Our housekeepers found a ring in room 1306, which you checked out of this afternoon. Did you leave it behind by mistake?”

Room 1306 was where Claire had been staying at the Harborview Grand Hotel since moving out.

The room had been booked under Mason’s hotel membership for convenience.

Mason asked them to send a photo.

When he saw the familiar ring, his hand dropped limply.

Only then did he finally understand.