His Ex Wore My Ring, So I Married His Rival Instead Chapter 03

Everyone turned to Vanessa, including me.

Katie reached toward Vanessa’s stomach, beaming. “You didn’t know? When we went camping last month, I thought Vanessa was going to be my future sister-in-law and accidentally led my brother to her tent.”

Before she could finish, Brandon clapped a hand over her mouth. His voice shook. “What the hell are you talking about?”

My mind went blank.

That day, I’d called Brandon because I had a terrible stomachache, but he’d sounded rushed on the phone.

“Olivia, I went down the mountain to get the luggage and ran into a young guy who’d gotten separated from his hiking group. I’m going to help him. If your stomach hurts, drink some water and get some rest, okay?”

He’d hung up immediately. When I called again, his phone was off.

Katie had seen what happened and sneered. “If you’re that delicate, you shouldn’t have come camping. You’re just putting on an act so my brother will spend the whole trip taking care of you. He has something important to do right now. Go lie down.”

I hadn’t dwelled on her taunts. All I could think about was Brandon.

The campsite was so remote. Would he make it back safely? With his phone off, what if something had happened to him?

Despite the pain in my stomach, I’d spent hours on the mountaintop, waiting for him out in the wind. Eventually, the pain became unbearable, and I fell asleep slumped against a rock.

When I woke, Brandon had returned with Vanessa.

“Vanessa happened to be there too,” he’d explained. “She helped me get the guy back to his group.”

But Vanessa, who’d supposedly spent five hours helping a lost hiker, looked flushed and wasn’t even out of breath.

At the time, I’d envied her stamina.

Now I understood why.

Finally, one of the guests spoke up. “Calling the wrong woman your future sister-in-law and giving her the ring was bad enough. But you actually sent Brandon into another woman’s tent? And now there might be a baby involved? That’s going too far.”

“Exactly. No wonder Olivia’s angry enough to call off the wedding.”

Even Brandon’s father, Robert Miller, who’d been silent until then, stood up.

“Brandon, be a man and give us a straight answer. Who are you choosing today?”

Linda pinched his arm. “Are you crazy? Whose side are you on?”

She shot me a sideways look. “Olivia, you’re really something. Every man here is taking your side! If Brandon married a slut like you, you’d probably bring a different man home every day. Vanessa’s carrying a Miller baby now. Of course we’re choosing her!”

I let out a humorless laugh and didn’t bother answering. Instead, I glanced gratefully at Robert. He was a teacher and had always treated me decently.

But Brandon suddenly took a deep breath. “Mom, today is supposed to be my wedding to Olivia.”

There was actually hesitation in his voice.

At his hesitation, Vanessa looked up with tears in her eyes. “Katie wasn’t lying. You spent five hours in my tent that day. But it’s okay, Brandon. I know Olivia’s the one you love.”

She choked back a sob, her voice growing weaker. “If I really am pregnant, I’ll have an abortion.”

“You’d have an abortion?” Brandon immediately shook his head. “I never asked you to do that.”

Then he turned to me.

His eyes held panic and guilt, but he spoke as though his demands were perfectly reasonable.

“Olivia, I won’t let you down. The wedding can go ahead, but you have to accept Vanessa’s baby. You know how frail she is. She can’t handle a procedure like that.”

He paused, then reached for me. “Olivia, you can be my wife, but you don’t get any say in her pregnancy.”

Just then, engines rumbled outside the hotel.

I glanced toward the entrance with a smile and stepped out of his reach.

“Brandon, you’re having a baby with Vanessa, and you still expect me to marry you? Are you out of your mind?”

I gathered my skirt and headed for the exit.

“The man I’m going to marry is here, and it isn’t you!”