He Pushed Me to Marry an Old Man, Then Cried When I Said Yes Chapter 01

He Pushed Me to Marry an Old Man, Then Cried When I Said Yes Chapter 01

After eight years of dating Ethan Shaw, the boy I had grown up with, I was finally about to marry him.

But the night before the wedding, I accidentally overheard Ethan giving instructions to one of his groomsmen.

“After we pick her up tomorrow, have the limo take her straight to the Lancaster estate.”

“The Lancaster estate?”

Ethan explained in a low voice, “Vivian’s family went bankrupt and owes the Lancasters tens of millions. Her parents want to marry her off to that old Lancaster patriarch to settle the debt. How am I supposed to stand by and watch her life get ruined? Harper will just have to take her place.”

His friend sounded shocked. “So you can’t bear to ruin Vivian’s life, but you’re fine ruining Harper’s?”

“That old man is already ninety and barely hanging on. His family just wants a young bride to turn their luck around. Once he dies in a couple of years, I won’t hold it against Harper for having been married before. I’ll still marry her.”

“But do you really think Harper will calmly go through with a wedding ceremony with that old man?”

Ethan was quiet for a moment before he said, “Tomorrow, I’ll have my mom drug Harper’s cinnamon roll. By the time she wakes up, she’ll probably already be in the old man’s bed.”

“What’s done is done. She won’t have a choice.”

I listened to the whole thing in silence. I did not yell. I did not make a scene.

I simply went back to my room and waited for the wedding the next day.

By the time Ethan came looking for me again, wanting to get back together, I was already five months pregnant.

“Just like you said, what’s done is done. You don’t have a choice anymore.”

…

The next morning, Ethan arrived with his groomsmen for the wedding-morning pickup.

Vivian Pierce came with him.

The moment Vivian stepped inside and saw me in my wedding dress, she burst into tears.

“Harper, I’m so jealous that you get to marry the man you love. You’re so lucky.”

“Not like me. My parents are trying to marry me off to a ninety-year-old man just to pay off their debts.”

“But thank God,” she said, wiping her tears as she looked meaningfully at Ethan, “someone secretly married me at the courthouse today. Now that old man can’t marry me even if he wants to.”

The smugness in her voice froze me in place.

I had thought being forced to take her place was already the final blow.

I never expected Ethan to have already married her at the courthouse.

My best friend, Claire, did not know the truth. She leaned close and complained under her breath, “Today is supposed to be your wedding day with Ethan. What is she doing here?”

“And why is she making such a show of crying here? Is she trying to ruin your day on purpose?”

“It’s fine.” I patted Claire’s hand.

Today had never really been my wedding to Ethan.

He was only pretending to come pick up the bride so he could coax me into the limo and pull off a bridal bait-and-switch.

Claire kept insisting on doing the bridesmaids’ pre-ceremony games.

Ethan frowned. “We’re running late. The limo’s waiting. Just find the bride’s heels.”

A few of his groomsmen searched the room and quickly found my bridal shoes.

But Ethan took them and walked straight over to Vivian.

“Harper, Vivian twisted her ankle on the way here, and her shoe broke.”

He crouched in front of Vivian and replaced her broken shoe with practiced ease.

“Vivian has delicate feet. She can’t handle cheap, rough shoes like those. Let her wear your bridal heels.”

As he spoke, he pulled a pair of plain canvas flats from the entryway closet and set them in front of me.

“They’re just shoes.” He looked steadily at me, his smile still gentle. “You’re not going to be petty about this, are you?”

“Ethan, those are her bridal shoes!” Claire could not stand it anymore.

“So what if they are?” Ethan frowned slightly. “They’re just shoes. Does it really matter what she wears?”

“They’re not just shoes—”

“Forget it, Claire,” I said, stopping her. “Let her have them.”

Vivian was Ethan’s boss’s daughter.

For the past two years, Ethan had always told me we couldn’t afford to get on his boss’s daughter’s bad side, so I had to let Vivian have her way in everything.

I had handed over my work projects, my pet, and even the clothes and jewelry I loved.

And now, I was supposed to hand over even the man who was supposed to be my husband.

I had spent eight years with Ethan, and all I got in return was a carefully planned betrayal.