I Canceled My Wedding and Married Someone Else Chapter 01

I Canceled My Wedding and Married Someone Else Chapter 01

My best friend said she wanted to use my wedding to find herself a boyfriend, and I agreed.

But I never imagined her method of “finding love” would be turning my black-tie wedding into a low-rent bachelorette auction.

The crowd went wild. Within seconds, the bidding shot up to sixty-six thousand. But the highest bidder was a man whose gaze felt like a physical slime, greasy and far too eager.

“No one’s bidding higher? Great! I’m taking this beauty home tonight!” he crowed.

I frowned and stepped forward to stop this circus, but Josh suddenly spoke first. “Sixty-six thousand seven hundred.”

I whipped around, staring at him in disbelief. Josh Lopez wasn’t even looking at me. His glare was locked on the man who placed the bid, his voice icy.

“I don’t care how high you go. I’ll always add another thousand.”

The entire hall went silent at that.

Then, from a corner, someone shouted, “The groom’s placing the final bid on the maid of honor? Don’t tell me the two of them have been sneaking around behind the bride’s back!”

I canceled the marriage immediately after. Josh, of course, lost his temper.

“She was in trouble, Sierra! I was protecting her! You could really stand there and watch her walk into a fire pit? If it were you saving my friend, I’d thank you, instead of accusing you of cheating!”

But when I did help Josh’s friend escape an arranged-marriage mess and later accepted Josh’s proposal, why was he the one crumbling under the weight of a betrayal he had orchestrated?

…

Tiffany Larson’s eyes shimmered with emotion as she looked at Josh. When she sensed my gaze, she shrank back nervously.

“Sierra… I didn’t know Josh would join the bidding. Are you mad at me?”

I let out a cold laugh. The guests around us held their breath, waiting for my reaction. Tiffany was my best friend, and the only maid of honor in this wedding.

“Should I be happy? Happy that after being single for thirty years, you finally auctioned yourself off at my wedding, and my husband placed the final bid?”

Gasps filled the room. People began whispering and pointing at Tiffany.

“Seriously, is she even the bride’s friend? She’s been stirring chaos all night just to steal the spotlight!”

“And the Lopez heir ditching his new wife to bid on the maid of honor? Did that siren suck the brain right out of him?”

Tiffany bit her lip, casting me a wounded look before spinning toward the crowd.

“You don’t understand! Everything I did, Sierra agreed to! A real friend doesn’t care about losing the spotlight. She only wants me to find happiness!”

At the word “friend,” my expression went cold. “Tiffany, I agreed to you finding a boyfriend, not turning my wedding into a twisted auction. Now get out. Right now.”

Josh frowned, clearly displeased, but the room was full of relatives and business partners. His parents had already shot him a warning look; he couldn’t afford to make things worse.

Tiffany’s eyes brimmed with tears. After a moment of quiet sobbing, she lifted her head, disappointment clouding her gaze.

“Sierra… I’m sorry. I thought you really cared about me. I misunderstood. But today, I have to marry someone.”

My hand froze. A strange pang hit my chest. Did Tiffany really have no choice? Was something going on I didn’t know about?

She stepped toward the highest bidder, humiliation twisting her face.

“You really have the money?” she whispered.

The man grinned, showing teeth with wilted lettuce stuck between them. “Of course. As long as you spend the night with me.”

Tiffany’s eyes widened. She choked on a breath, face reddening with shame and panic. Tears streamed down as she shook her head. “N-no… we aren’t married yet…”

The man snapped, grabbing her arm with a vicious look. “I paid! You think you can refuse? Even whores know you pay and deliver!”

He yanked her into his arms and lowered his head to force a kiss. Josh finally lost control. He stormed forward and smashed his fist into the man’s face.

“Let her go!” he roared, beating the man like he’d gone feral. “I paid the goddamn final bid! Are you deaf? Who the hell do you think you are touching my girl?”

I froze, horrified by the madness in his eyes. That was when Mrs. Lopez pinched my arm sharply. “Sierra, go stop him! If he kills someone here, what will people say about this wedding?”

My nails dug into my palm. I relaxed my fingers only after a long moment. Fine. One last chance. If Josh and Tiffany really were hiding something from me, then tonight would expose it.

I stepped forward. “Josh—”

“Get lost!” He didn’t even turn around. He shoved me aside hard enough that I fell to the ground. The impact knocked the breath from me. My mind went blank as memories crashed over me.

One New Year’s Eve, a drunk man had groped me in the crowd.

Josh beat him half to death. Even at the police station, bruised and bleeding, he surrendered the moment he saw my tear-streaked face.

He wiped my cheeks over and over, whispering apologies, promising that no matter what he was doing, he’d calm down and take my hand the second I called his name.

Mrs. Lopez shot me a glare. “Useless girl.”

Unable to confront her furious son, she nudged Tiffany forward instead. Tiffany hesitated, then crept toward Josh, tears trembling in her voice.

“Josh… please. Stop.”

Josh froze. When he turned and saw Tiffany shaking, a flash of pain softened his eyes.

“It’s not worth it, Josh. Please don’t ruin your future for me.”

I watched him pull Tiffany into his arms, shielding her trembling body. He covered her eyes with one hand while crushing, with one brutal stomp, the wrist the man had used to touch her.

A sharp, twisting pain ripped through my chest. My vision blurred. For a moment, I honestly thought I was hallucinating.

Josh swept a cold glare across the hall. “Anyone else want to place a bid?”

My breath hitched. My voice cracked. “Josh… our wedding is canceled.”