Chapter 2

The hotel manager was stunned.

"What? Change... change the groom?"

"Yes! Please take down the welcome sign at the entrance first. Don't change the digital screen until I tell you to."

"Don't you need to check with Mr. Sullivan?"

"No. I signed the contract for the banquet hall, and I paid the deposit. It has nothing to do with him."

After I hung up, my parents, who had been silent the whole time, looked at me with grim faces.

"Hailey, won't you think it over? Switching grooms at the last minute, how are we supposed to explain that to our relatives?"

"Just tell them the truth."

"The truth?"

"Yes. That Ethan abandoned the wedding just to rush off and help the widow next door. Mom, your daughter didn't do anything wrong, so there's nothing to hide."

Mom's eyes reddened, and she took my hand.

"Are you sure Zachary will come?"

I nodded firmly.

We had been at each other's throats in business for years, and Zachary had always kept his word.

Mason took a deep breath, then pinned the groom's boutonniere to his chest without hesitation, and strode over to pick me up.

"Sorry about this, Hailey!"

My parents hurried to pull him back, their voices shaking.

"Mason! Don't do anything stupid!"

But Mason shoved them away hard.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, Ethan told me himself to stand in for him. Please don't make this difficult for me."

Before anyone could say another word, Megan squeezed in from the side and pushed the wedding shoes into his hands.

"Hurry up, the photographer's waiting."

Mason took the shoes, crouched down, and reached for my foot.

But I immediately pulled my foot back. I wouldn't let him touch me.

Mason looked up with an awkward smile, as if I were making a fuss over nothing.

"Hailey, it's just a formality. Don't take it so seriously."

Megan leaned in too, her tone like she was coaxing a child.

"Yeah, the camera's still rolling. Just play along, Hailey. They can swap his face for Ethan's later."

The photographer nodded behind her. "Right, we can replace it seamlessly. I guarantee no one will be able to tell."

I stared at Megan, full of disappointment.

"Megan, you're my best friend and my maid of honor. You think I should play along too?"

She pressed her lips together and glanced at Mason.

After the two of them exchanged a look, she said, as if it were obvious, "It's because I'm your best friend, Hailey, and I don't want you to miss out on your own happiness. Everyone knows you've dreamed of marrying Ethan. Come on, you're only one step away. Stop being so dramatic."

Mason tried to reach for my ankle again, but I yanked my foot back. He grabbed at empty air, lost his balance, and fell forward onto the floor.

“Mason!” Megan shrieked.

She hurried to help her boyfriend up, then turned to me with a cold glare.

“Hailey, what’s your problem? Mason was only trying to help you out!”

Mom stepped in front of me, blocking her vicious glare.

"Megan, you and Mason are talking about getting married too. You should know that putting on the bride's shoes and carrying her to the wedding car have to be done by the groom!"

Dad stepped forward as well, his voice frighteningly low.

"Mason, you are not touching my daughter today!"

Mason's face turned ugly. He pulled out his phone and called Ethan, clearly losing patience.

"Ethan, your bride won't even let me touch her, let alone carry her out! Her parents are blocking me too. And guess what? She even called Zachary Sinclair to come marry her just now!"

Mason complained loudly, making sure everyone in the room could hear him.

There was a brief silence on the other end before Ethan let out two amused chuckles, as if he didn't believe I would actually do it.

“Give her the phone. Let me talk to her,” he said casually.

Mason handed me the phone.

"Hailey, stop it. How could Zachary possibly marry you? You'll be lucky if he doesn't show up just to laugh at you! Just think of Mason as me. It's only the bride pickup, isn't it?"

Before I could react, my phone suddenly buzzed. It was a message from Chloe.

[Hailey, I'm so sorry. The hospital is packed, and the twins keep crying and only want Ethan to hold them. He might not make it back for the wedding. Could you delay it by two hours and wait for him?]

I stared hard at the message, then told Ethan, "Ethan, are you sure Mason's only standing in for the pickup?"

His tone turned impatient in an instant.

"Yes, I can't get back anytime soon. Either delay the wedding for two hours or go through the ceremony with Mason. It's just for the guests anyway. As long as everyone knows I'm the groom, that's fine."

Before he could say anything else, a child started crying on the other end, cutting the call short.

Mason, who had heard every word, looked at me again.

"Hailey, the guests are all waiting. Just listen to Ethan and treat me as him for now, so we can get through the ceremony!"

Megan came over and tugged at my arm too.

"Hailey, stop being difficult. Mason and I don't mind him filling in for Ethan, so what are you being so dramatic about?"

I looked at Megan's face and suddenly she felt like a complete stranger.

"You seriously don't mind?"

She nodded.

"Yeah. It's just helping out. Why would I mind? You think everyone's as petty as you?"

So it turned out that in her eyes, every hurt I had swallowed was just pettiness.

A best friend like this—I was better off without her.