My Fiancé Married My Best Friend Chapter 01

My Fiancé Married My Best Friend Chapter 01

My best friend was abandoned ten minutes before her wedding.

Sobbing hysterically, she clutched my hands and begged my fiancé Liam to stand in as her groom temporarily.

Liam wrapped an arm around me, his voice that familiar magnetic rasp. “Don’t worry, Nina. Chloe and I have known each other so long I can’t even remember. We’re like family. Today’s just a formality, a show. We’re getting married next week anyway, right? Think of it as a rehearsal.”

I hesitated, but nodded. Weren’t friends supposed to help each other?

I stood there in my lilac bridesmaid dress and watched my fiancé transform into a groom.

He took Chloe’s hand, and his eyes—God, his eyes held a warmth I hadn’t seen in months. When the officiant asked if he’d take her, he blurted out “I do” with more certainty than he’d ever given me during our hasty penthouse proposal in that downtown penthouse.

It was just acting.

Don’t be the girl who overthinks, I chanted in my head. Smile.

So I clapped hard until my cheeks ached from forcing the grin.

Then the kiss happened. Just minutes earlier, Chloe had blushed and whispered to me, “Don’t worry, Nina! It’s totally acting. Just a cheek kiss, I promise.”

I believed her.

But now, Liam cupped her face, tilted her chin up, and kissed her deeply on the mouth.

The room erupted. Someone whistled. “Encore!”

I froze. The bouquet in my hands felt as heavy as lead.

“Whoa,” the bridesmaid beside me gasped, eyes wide. “That’s some commitment to the act. That was… intense.”

Chloe broke away, flustered, her gaze darting to me. She started to speak, but Liam pulled her back and kissed her again. Slower. Deeper. More possessive.

I stared down at my ridiculous dress and silly bouquet, fighting back tears.

When it finally ended, Chloe rushed over. “Nina, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think he’d—”

Liam stepped between us. “Nina, it was a performance. You agreed to it. Don’t take this out on Chloe.” He said it so reasonably, like I was the one being hysterical.

Chloe peeked out from behind his shoulder, eyes wide and innocent. “He loves you, Nina. You know you’re everything to him.”

Love me? He’d stuck his tongue down my best friend’s throat in front of two hundred people. He knew it would destroy me.

I couldn’t breathe. I lifted my skirt and ran, my satin train tearing on the rough stone steps as I burst out of the venue into the freezing New York night. The wind cut through the thin fabric like knives.

Then I slowed. I sat shivering on a cold stone bench and cried for twenty-seven minutes.

I kept expecting to hear his footsteps. To feel his suit jacket drape over my shoulders. To hear some cheap, sweet excuse that would somehow make everything okay, even if it defied all logic.

He never came.

With shaking hands, I wiped my face and went back inside. The reception was in full swing. Passing the hallway to the bridal suite, I saw the door slightly ajar. Soft, muffled sounds drifted through the gap.

I stopped.

Peering through the crack, I saw them on the plush velvet sofa. Liam’s tuxedo shirt hung open. Chloe’s delicate wedding dress was hiked up around her hips. The sounds—rhythmic creak of leather, soft gasps and moans—my brain couldn’t process it at first.

Chloe giggled and tapped his chest. “Liam, you’re insane! What if Nina comes looking for you?”

Liam just laughed, a low rough sound I’d never heard before. “Relax, baby. We’ve been doing this for two years. If she was gonna find out, she would’ve by now.” His hand tightened on her waist, pulling her down. “Besides, we’re legally married now. I can do whatever I want to my wife.”

Two years. Legally married.

The floor dropped out from under me. I couldn’t breathe.

Chloe didn’t push him away. She leaned into him. “What about next week? Your wedding to Nina?”

My nails bit into my palms. Baby?

Liam nuzzled her neck, his voice dripping with a tenderness that could break her. “We’ll get a fake marriage certificate. Nina trusts me. She won’t suspect a thing. Even if I marry her, I still belong to you…”

Chloe sucked in a breath. “Be careful… don’t hurt the baby…”

“I’ll be gentle…”

I stumbled backward, my shoulder slamming into the wall. The sounds inside stopped.

A moment later, the door flew open. Both of them froze.

Chloe moved first, frantically yanking her dress down, fresh hickeys still marking her collarbone. “Nina! Oh my God, it’s not what you think! Liam got carried away, I told him to—”

She glared at him. “Apologize to her. Right now.”

Liam stepped forward, his face instantly shifting to concern and remorse. He reached up to wipe tears from my cheek. Tears I hadn’t even noticed. “Nina, baby, I’m sorry. I got caught up. I wasn’t thinking.”

I stared into those sincere hazel eyes. The same eyes that had just stared at Chloe with raw, hungry desire. I remembered the kiss. Hotter than any kiss he’d ever given me.

White-hot rage surged through my chest. My hand flew up, aiming straight for Chloe’s perfectly made-up face.

Liam caught my wrist mid-air. His grip was iron. He didn’t just stop me. He shoved me. Hard. My back slammed into the opposite wall, the impact knocking the wind out of me.

“Are you insane?!” he roared.

Gasping, the world spinning around me, I choked out the question tearing me apart. “Liam… what exactly are you and Chloe?”