He Chose Another Bride During the Ritual—So I Chose a New Groom Instead Chapter 02

He Chose Another Bride During the Ritual—So I Chose a New Groom Instead Chapter 02

The entire barn fell silent.

Every eye turned toward me.

The air suddenly felt suffocating.

I started walking toward Old John.

After only a few steps, someone blocked my path.

Ethan.

His voice dropped into a warning.

“Ava, if you’re jealous, fine. But not now.”

His expression hardened.

“If you make a scene today, don’t expect me to marry you at City Hall.”

I lowered my eyes and laughed quietly.

“I’m not jealous.”

Stepping around him, I knelt beside Old John.

“Grandpa John.”

I gently took his weathered hand.

After my parents died in a wildfire when I was young, he had been one of the few people who looked after me.

When I left for college, he had gone door to door around town helping raise money for my tuition.

He’d even sold the century-old oak tree behind his house to help cover my living expenses.

The lumber company paid him eight hundred dollars.

Every cent ended up stuffed into my suitcase.

Looking at him now, frail and nearing the end of his life, my throat tightened.

“I do have a boyfriend, Grandpa John.”

His eyes lit up instantly.

“And we’re getting married soon.”

A smile spread across his face.

“Good. That’s wonderful.”

His grip tightened around mine.

“Besides Luna, you’re the one I’ve worried about most.”

His voice trembled.

“If you’re building a family of your own, then I can meet the Lord without regrets.”

Then he became serious.

“Have you gone through premarital counseling?”

“Did you look into his family background?”

“A Blackwood Valley girl shouldn’t marry carelessly.”

I nodded through the tears.

“We did.”

“The pastor said we’re a perfect match.”

The old man’s entire face relaxed.

For the first time all evening, he looked completely at peace.

Someone nearby suddenly called out,

“This calls for a family picture!”

Another person laughed.

“Absolutely! It’s a wedding day!”

Everyone enthusiastically agreed.

Then Luna pulled her phone from her dress and handed it to me.

Her smile was sweet and innocent.

“Ava, you’re the best photographer here. You should take it.”

The crowd immediately supported the idea.

Even Old John nodded happily.

I accepted the phone under the watchful eyes of the entire town.

Raising it, I framed the three smiling faces before me.

One.

Two.

Three.

I pressed the shutter.

At that exact second, Luna spun toward Ethan and cupped his face in both hands.

Then she kissed him.

The barn exploded.

Whistles.

Applause.

Cheers.

The roof practically shook.

Old John blinked in surprise before breaking into a delighted smile.

Ethan, however, froze.

His eyes widened.

And instead of pushing Luna away, his first instinct was to search for me.

Desperately.

But he didn’t find the reaction he’d expected.

No tears.

No screaming.

No breakdown.

Because Luna had handed me her phone before locking the screen.

And the last thing displayed on it had been her text conversation with Ethan from the night before.

[Luna: Tomorrow I’m kissing you in front of Grandpa. It’ll make him so happy! Think of it as a gift for him. You won’t be mad, right?]

[Ethan: Do whatever you want.]

I quietly placed the phone on a nearby table and walked away.

My own phone vibrated inside my pocket.

A new message appeared.

[I’m almost there. Ten minutes.]

Around me, the crowd continued chanting.

“Kiss her again!”

“Don’t be shy, bride!”

According to the original plan, I should have been the woman wearing the wedding dress today.

I should have been the bride.

Instead, all the joy and celebration belonged to someone else.

I lowered my gaze and locked my screen.

A second later, Ethan finally pushed through the crowd and caught up with me.

“Who’s texting you?”

I looked up calmly.

“My fiancé.”

For a moment, he stared.

Then he laughed.

A smug, confident smile crossed his face.

He reached toward my hair, intending to ruffle it the way he always had.

I stepped aside before he could touch me.

“Come on,” he said lightly.

“Stop being dramatic.”

“Nobody expected Old John to get confused.”

His tone remained infuriatingly casual.

“Honestly, you handled things pretty well today.”

Then he chuckled.

“But don’t use imaginary fiancés to make me jealous.”

“If the town elders hear that, it’ll be embarrassing.”

I ignored him.

A moment later, something occurred to him.

“Wait.”

His brow furrowed.

“What was all that stuff you told Old John about premarital counseling?”

“When did we ever go to church together?”

What Ethan didn’t know was that long before I ever met him, my parents had arranged a childhood betrothal for me under one of Blackwood Valley’s oldest family traditions.

The agreement had been recorded in the town’s historic family Bible.

Both families’ signatures still sat side by side on its opening page.

Back then, I had hated the idea.

I believed in choosing my own future.

After my parents died, everyone quietly assumed the arrangement had become irrelevant.

Then I left Blackwood Valley for college.

That’s when I met Ethan.

And for eight years, I loved him with everything I had.

Years later, Old John called me.

His granddaughter Luna had been accepted into a university in the same city.

He asked me to look after her.

Back then, Ethan thought Luna was spoiled, immature, and impossible.

Luna thought Ethan was boring, stubborn, and completely lacking in romance.

The two of them argued every time they met.

And I, like an idiot, spent years playing peacemaker between them.

Even yesterday, when wedding nerves kept me awake, Ethan had called late at night to reassure me.

Meanwhile, Luna sat in my living room organizing accessories for my wedding dress.

The entire time, she and Ethan had been teasing and bickering over speakerphone.

Looking back now, I felt ridiculous.

Pathetic.

I lifted my eyes and looked directly at him.

“Ethan.”

His smile faltered.

“We’re done.”

“Let’s break up.”