They Fought Over Everything, but They Agreed on One Thing—Not Me Chapter 01

They Fought Over Everything, but They Agreed on One Thing—Not Me Chapter 01

To give me the perfect wedding, my fiancé and my best friend had fought more times than I could count.

My fiancé wanted a grand, formal ballroom wedding. My best friend wanted a romantic garden-style wedding that would photograph beautifully.

Over the course of a month, they cycled through dozens of plans. They argued over everything, from the size of the guest list to the wedding dress and even the dinner menu for the hotel reception.

I was always stuck in the middle, trying to keep the peace between them.

In the end, my fiancé never managed to win an argument, and we always went with my best friend’s preferred option.

They always said I was the lucky one who got to sit back and let them handle everything. But whenever I actually wanted a say, neither of them would let me get involved.

With red-rimmed eyes, Vivian Hart said, “As long as I’m here, I’ll make sure you’re the happiest bride in the world.”

Grant Mercer gave a helpless sigh. “It’s fine. Just a few more days. I can deal with it.”

Then, the night before the wedding, they got into yet another fight over the flowers.

“I just think violets are prettier. Those lilies are so tacky.”

Grant scoffed. “So because you say so, everyone has to scramble to replace all the flowers? Could you stop being so unreasonable?”

After he snapped at her, Vivian turned to me with a wounded look. “Natalie, what do you think?”

I thought changing the flowers this late would be a nightmare too. But when I saw the hurt on Vivian’s face, I sighed and was about to take her side.

Then I heard Grant’s thoughts.

[Fine. I owe Vivian. I’ll pay extra to have everything switched to violets.]

A second later, Vivian’s thoughts came through too.

[Violets symbolize a love kept secret. Even if I can never be with you, I’ll still be happy as long as you are.]

…

They were still glaring at each other, pretending they couldn’t stand each other.

My throat tightened, and I clenched my hands so hard they began to tingle.

Just the night before, Grant had been ranting about Vivian.

“Natalie, that idiot best friend of yours wants to change the wedding decor again. How can anyone be that difficult?”

Vivian had happened to be on FaceTime with me and heard every word. Furious, she drove over that same night to confront him.

“Natalie, Grant doesn’t have an ounce of patience. He doesn’t deserve you. Come with me!”

Afraid they would actually come to blows, I stepped between them. Instead, they knocked me down, and my lower back slammed into the sharp corner of a table.

They had both panicked. The fear on their faces had looked real.

But so was the love in their thoughts.

My best friend and my fiancé had really betrayed me.

When I stayed silent, they paused their staged fight and looked at me warily.

“Natalie, what’s wrong?”

Before today, I would already have been trying to keep the peace. But now I could hear both of their thoughts.

[Why isn’t she stepping in? Is she mad?]

I gave a humorless smile. Tears burned behind my eyes.

Mad?

I looked from one guilty face to the other.

Then I deliberately knocked over the kettle. Scalding water poured over my left hand.

“Natalie!” The color drained from Grant’s face.

I stared at the raw red flesh exposed beneath the peeling skin of my left hand, but I felt no pain.

“I’ll take you to the ER!”

Vivian looked terrified, her eyes filling with tears.

She apologized the entire way. “Natalie, I’m sorry. This happened because Grant and I were fighting.”

“You’re supposed to get married tomorrow. What are you going to do now?”

I struggled to speak, ready to demand answers. But Grant’s thoughts reached me first.

[We’ll have to postpone the wedding. At least this gives me more time with Vivian.]

I went rigid as a chill spread through my chest.

I had done it on purpose, never imagining it would give him exactly what he wanted.

They were such good actors. All this time, I had never suspected a thing.

I forced down my fury and said, “Let’s call off tomorrow’s wedding for now.”

Grant stiffened, barely suppressed joy flashing in his eyes.

“Okay, Natalie. Just focus on getting better. Don’t worry about work either.”

His thoughts said otherwise.

[Perfect. Now I can plan the trip I owe Vivian.]

Vivian still looked guilty and worried.

“Natalie, why don’t I come take care of you? You can’t use that hand right now.”

Her thoughts were very different.

[If only this could last a little longer.]

I looked at them. My heart felt frozen solid, and nausea rolled through me.

Three months earlier, I had found a pair of women’s underwear in Grant’s car.

They were not mine.

To find the woman he was cheating with, I combed through every photo on his phone. But he had been careful to keep her hidden. I found only one photo of her.

After that, I completely lost it and demanded we break up. Vivian called in every favor she had and pushed Grant to the brink of bankruptcy.

The next day, she brought him to me. His eyes were red as he begged, “Natalie, it was just a mistake. Please believe me.”

He proposed to me on the spot.

I chose to believe him.

I thought he loved me more than anything.

But now, the lies they spoke and the truth in their thoughts jolted me awake all over again.