My Boyfriend & BFF Pranked Me At Our Wedding, I Dumped Both Of Them Chapter 02

My Boyfriend & BFF Pranked Me At Our Wedding, I Dumped Both Of Them Chapter 02

They came home at 2 a.m. Ethan reeked of alcohol. Vanessa skillfully helped him sit down. “Ethan, slow down. Don’t fall.” She set the bouquet of tulips down casually on the shoe cabinet. I sat on the sofa watching them, saying nothing. Vanessa glanced at me, then went into the kitchen. When Ethan noticed me, his words came out slurred. “Nora, why… why didn’t you come tonight?” I said nothing. He pushed himself upright and frowned. “Where did you go on such an important day? We could’ve held the wedding after the fan banquet. The venue’s already set up. Everything’s ready, so why are you throwing a tantrum?” “Everything’s ready?” I looked at him. “What exactly did you prepare?” He froze for a moment. “The venue, the dress, the schedule… I prepared every single one of them myself.” I pointed at the flowers on the shoe cabinet. “That bouquet, was it prepared for her?” Vanessa looked over, her smile faltering for a beat. Ethan rubbed his forehead. “She likes them. What’s the big deal if she takes one? We’ll just buy another bouquet.” “Ethan, what gives you the right to make my wedding wait until after your celebration?” “A million followers only happens once. What difference does it make what day we get married?” Vanessa brought over some sobering tea to smooth things over. “Nora, don’t get angry with him. You know how he is. He’s truly sincere about you.” Ethan took a sip from her hand, and she added, “And you, Nora, Ethan’s drunk like this and you don’t take care of him, just sitting there doing nothing.” I tugged at the corner of my mouth. “You like taking care of him so much, you can take care of him from now on.” Then I got up and went into the bedroom. Ethan’s voice came through the crack of the door, “Look at her. Can’t say a single word to her.” After dawn, I pushed the door open and came out. Ethan was in the kitchen frying eggs. He used to make breakfast every day. Later, he got busier and busier, and never cooked again. He saw me and smiled, pulling out a chair for me. He picked off the burnt edges of the fried egg for me, his movements still familiar. I picked up my fork, and my nose suddenly stung sharply. I had waited all night, even just for him to say, “You’ve been wronged.” But when he saw me eating breakfast, he only let out a breath of relief, “There, isn’t that better?” “There’s an awards ceremony tomorrow,” he said. “The three of us are invited.” I said nothing. “Come with us,” he said, his tone much softer. “I promised you before, I’d take you to meet people.” I didn’t agree. “My portfolio is still at your studio. I’ll go get it tomorrow.” When we were shooting the wedding behind-the-scenes footage, he had borrowed my portfolio and never returned it. Ethan quickly said, “The studio’s empty tomorrow. I’ll bring it to the ceremony for you. You can just take it and leave.” I put the folder with my documents into my bag. He thought this counted as making up, and poured me another glass of milk. The next day, Vanessa naturally got into the front passenger seat. Ethan glanced at me. “Let Vanessa sit in front. She gets a bit carsick.” But he forgot — I was the one who got carsick worse. I got into the back seat and rolled down the window. The mint candies that used to be kept in the car for me had been replaced with Vanessa’s snacks. The two of them chatted the whole way about their next video. Ethan looked at me in the rearview mirror, “Nora, when the time comes, you—” “I’m not filming.” He frowned. Vanessa smiled and changed the subject. No one asked me again. The entrance to the ceremony was crowded with fans and media. As soon as the cameras pressed in, Ethan let go of my hand and shielded Vanessa. “Ethan, Vanessa, look over here!” The two of them accepted interviews with perfect chemistry. Standing beside them, I looked utterly superfluous. After the interview, I asked him for my things, but he said he’d given the car keys to his assistant and we’d get them after the awards. I suppressed my anger and sat in the last row. When it was time to go up for the award, the host read out the names. “Influencer Creator of the Year — Mr. Ethan Cole and Ms. Vanessa Reed!” The two went onstage and accepted the trophy. Then the host smiled again, “And there’s one more special award! Let’s welcome the winner of the Best Clown Award — Ms. Nora Carter!” The big screen lit up. It was me in the prop room. I was huddled by the door, pounding on it and shouting, “Ethan, let me out!” That line was repeated three times, paired with exaggerated laughter. Someone in the audience imitated it, laughing so hard they slapped the back of their chair. The spotlight landed on my face. So taking away my wedding wasn’t enough. Today, they had prepared an award for me too. Ethan waved me up, smiling. I stayed seated. Vanessa came down to me and held out a red plastic nose. “Put it on. Just play along. It’s only for the show.” Everyone around was holding back laughter. Ethan raised his phone too, aiming it at me. I looked past Vanessa at him. “Turn it off.” The corners of his mouth were still curved. “This is the last reaction we need. Once we’re done filming, we’ll go.” Vanessa pressed the red nose into my hand. “Everyone’s waiting. Don’t be a spoiler.” The red nose rolled from my hand to Ethan’s feet. He finally put down his phone. “Why are you taking it out on her? Vanessa just wanted you to be happy.” The light stung my eyes. He saw the embarrassment on Vanessa’s face. But the me on the screen, crying and begging him — he could watch that and smile. I pushed away his hand as he reached toward me and looked at him. “Ethan, we’re done.”