My Wedding Day, Their Marriage Certificate Chapter 03

My Wedding Day, Their Marriage Certificate Chapter 03

I could not forget the look of disgust on Ethan’s face.

It had seared itself deep into my mind.

Back when I finally worked up the courage to tell him about my family background, his eyes had turned red with pity.

He had held me in his arms and told me that my birth was never something I could choose, and that from then on, he would be the one to protect me from then on.

But that sincere boy from years ago had torn open my bloodiest wound in front of everyone on our wedding day, all to defend the woman he had chosen over me.

“Did you fall in love with Laurel?”

Ethan looked painfully calm.

“I wouldn’t call it love. But I do like her.”

“You know me. I don’t lie to you.”

For a moment, I thought back to the day I accepted his confession. He had promised me then that he would never lie to me in this life.

All these years, no matter when I checked on him or asked where he was, he had always told me everything without hiding a thing.

Even when his friends laughed at him, he admitted it openly.

“I just like Claire keeping me in check.”

“I’ll never lie to her, not even if I cheat.”

He really had lived up to the promise he made me back then.

But the vow he once gave me had now become the very blade turned against me..

Just then, the wedding coordinator’s voice came from outside the door.

“Are you ready in there? The ceremony is about to start.”

I ignored Ethan’s hand when he tried to help me up and staggered toward the door on my own.

The moment my hand touched the doorknob, he pressed his hand over mine.

“Claire, have you thought this through? Are you really going to stop the wedding?”

“Absolutely.”

A soft laugh escaped him.

“Claire, if you don’t want to do it, Laurel can step in. We’re the ones legally married anyway. If anything, it would be more proper.”

Laurel shyly wrapped her arm around his, but the eagerness in her eyes was impossible to hide.

“Sure. That works perfectly. When Claire tried on the wedding dress that day, I wore this dress the day I slept with you, and it fit me perfectly.”

“That’s why you insisted on choosing this dress, wasn’t it?”

After saying that, she covered her mouth in fake panic.

“Oh no, I shouldn’t have said that.”

The dress tightened around me until I felt like I could not breathe.

I clawed at the fabric, desperate to tear it off, but Ethan stopped me.

“Claire, stop making a scene. You might be able to handle the consequences of canceling the wedding, but are you sure your mother can handle it?”

His face was filled with the smug certainty of a man who knew he had already won.

He was waiting for me to give in, just like he had so many times before. Whenever we fought, he would say nothing and simply stare at me until I surrendered first.

When the door opened, the people gathered outside poured in at once.

Several of them noticed my reddened eyes and teased me.

“Look at her. She’s so happy she cried her eyes red.”

I forced my emotions down, desperate not to let my mother notice anything was wrong.

When we sat together for the family photos, Ethan leaned close to my ear and reminded me softly.

“Claire, smile.”

I tried my best to look happy.

Then a marriage certificate slipped from somewhere and landed in my lap.

My mother picked it up quickly, her face full of amused affection.

“You silly girl. I know you and Ethan are close, but you don’t have to carry your marriage certificate around during the wedding. Put it away.”

I nodded stiffly.

Just as I reached for it, Laurel took the certificate first.

With a shy smile, she said, “Mrs. Ashford, I’m sorry. This marriage certificate is mine.”

My mother handed it to her with a good-natured smile.

Laurel stroked the certificate in her hands and asked sweetly, “Mrs. Ashford, do you want to see…”

“Laurel Hayes, shut up.”

When she saw the cold look on my face, the smile in her eyes grew even brighter. Then she opened it and held the names up in front of my mother.

“Mrs. Ashford, did you know your daughter is the other woman, just like you?”