The Wedding Where The Bride Was Swapped While I Was Underwater Chapter 02

They had not always treated me this way.

For nearly ten years, Adrian had adored me.

Once, after I casually mentioned wanting to see the northern lights, he abandoned a multibillion-dollar acquisition and flew me to Iceland on his private jet.

He told everyone who would listen that I was the only woman he would ever love.

Ethan had spoiled me even more.

When I wanted to learn horseback riding at twelve, he bought an entire equestrian estate and spent the afternoon leading my horse around the arena himself.

If I coughed once, he called a full medical team to the house.

If anyone in our social circle said a cruel word about me, Ethan made sure they regretted it.

They had once placed me above everyone else.

Then Vivian appeared.

She was a penniless intern trying to build a life in the city with no family or connections.

Adrian became her direct supervisor, while Ethan represented the partner company on her project.

At first, they merely offered her occasional help.

Then protecting her became second nature.

“Vivian has had to fight for everything on her own. You’ve had every advantage since birth, Nina. Stop making things difficult for her.”

So I gave in.

When Vivian made mistakes at work, Adrian brushed them aside and accused me of being too hard on his employees.

When Ethan returned from Europe with a limited-edition designer bag, he gave it to Vivian, saying she needed it more than I did if she wanted clients to take her seriously.

I endured all of it.

But this was the wedding I had waited ten years for.

Minutes before the ceremony, Vivian stormed into the bridal suite and snatched the ring Adrian had designed for me himself.

She ran toward the water.

I chased her, frantic to get it back.

At the edge of the rocks, she turned and smiled at me.

“Who do you think they’ll believe today?”

The instant my hand touched her, she threw herself backward into the sea.

I froze in horror and opened my mouth to scream for help, but Adrian was already running toward her.

After Vivian was pulled from the water, she clutched her chest and cried out in pain.

The doctor immediately declared that she was suffering a life-threatening cardiac episode.

Adrian turned on me, his stare vicious.

“Nina Bennett, I have never been more disappointed in you. You were so jealous that you nearly killed someone.”

He refused to hear a word I said.

I sobbed and pleaded with him, insisting that I had not pushed her.

Instead, Adrian simply summoned his security team and ordered them to force me into the dive cage.

“You like pushing people into the ocean? Then cool off down there and see how Vivian felt.”

Now I floated above them and listened to their laughter.

Adrian grinned at Vivian.

“You made it look so real that even I almost believed you were having a heart attack.”

Vivian answered sweetly, “Only because you played along so well, Mr. Prescott.”

He put an arm around her and laughed.

“We had to make Nina believe you were dying, or she never would have accepted her punishment.

“I even had the guard report a leak in her tank. She’s probably so terrified that she’ll never act up again.”

Ethan nodded in agreement.

“Good. Someone needed to knock the entitlement out of her. Maybe now she’ll think twice before screaming at Vivian.

“We’ve indulged her for too long. It was time to set some boundaries.”

They exchanged amused smiles, as if they were discussing a harmless party game.

So even Vivian’s illness had been Adrian’s idea.

The entire punishment had been a trap designed by the people I trusted most.

All to avenge Vivian and break my pride.

They had locked me beneath the waves and forced me to relive the terror of drowning.

Then they put Vivian in my wedding dress and handed her the ceremony that should have been mine.

And I had died without ever being given the chance to defend myself.