“Aria, the wedding’s about to start. Haven’t you had enough fun?”
Caleb’s eyes were a turbulent sea of ink, hiding a surging crimson in their depths.
“If you’re done playing around, go tell everyone you won’t marry my brother, okay?”
“I’ll definitely give you an even better, grander wedding than this.”
Ethan calmly unbuttoned his cuffs, methodically rolling up his sleeves before landing a punch squarely on Caleb’s face.
Caleb tried to retaliate, but their parents arrived just in time to pull the brothers apart.
Ethan was unharmed, save for a few scratches on the back of his hand.
Tiny beads of blood seeped out, but he paid them no mind.
My heart ached seeing him hurt. I quickly asked a staff member to bring a medical kit to treat his wounds.
Blood trickled from the corner of Caleb’s mouth, reopening the wound near his eye. But he seemed to feel no pain, just staring at me with a distant gaze.
“Caleb, have you lost your mind? It’s your brother’s wedding day. What are you trying to do, showing up all bruised like this?” their mother
11:42 PM
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scolded, pulling her younger son aside.
But he was still her child after all. Mrs. Johnson’s heart softened despite herself.
“Stop these inappropriate thoughts. Aria is about to become your brother’s wife. If word gets out about the younger brother trying to steal the bride, what will become of our family’s reputation?”
T
Caleb’s face turned deathly pale. He tugged at the corner of his mouth unconsciously.
“Aria was supposed to be my wife. It’s my brother who stole my woman.”
He yanked his sleeve from his mother’s grasp and walked up to me.
Ethan, fearing Caleb might do something rash, shielded me behind him.
“Aria, can you just tell me the truth?”
“Do you still love me? If you say you do, I’ll take you away right now.”
My palms were sweating as I clutched Ethan’s clothes. I answered frankly:
“Your brother and I are truly in love.”
“How can you be truly in love when you’ve barely known each other? Aria, I don’t believe you.”
Ethan blocked Caleb with one arm, widening the distance between us.
“The truth is, I love her and she loves me.”
“Satisfied? If so, stop blocking our way. I don’t want to see you at my wedding.”
“If you insist on causing trouble, I won’t go easy on you for our parents‘ sake. You know what I’m capable of.”
Caleb’s face was rigid as he watched Ethan escort me out.
I touched up my makeup and slowly entered the hall at the auspicious time.
All eyes were on me, including my husband Ethan’s.
And in a corner, silently weeping like a lost dog, was Caleb.
After the wedding, I heard from Ethan’s parents that Caleb didn’t even stay for the whole ceremony before hurriedly leaving.
He bought a ticket on the next flight out of the country, leaving everything behind. He didn’t return for many years.
Among those he abandoned was Lily, the Wilsons‘ adopted daughter.
Lily used the excuse of poor health to make repeated trips abroad. Ostensibly for medical treatment, she was actually trying to find Caleb.
But judging by her reactions each time she returned, it was clear she kept hitting dead ends with Caleb.
She finally gave up and accepted her parents‘ arrangement to marry someone else.
On our wedding night, I waited in the bridal chamber.
Ethan’s friends had plied him with drinks. By the time he returned, it was late into the night.
He collapsed on the bed. I couldn’t tell if he was drunk.
! was about to go make him some sobering soup when he grabbed my wrist.
He rested his fuzzy head on my lap.
“I’m not drunk, just a bit tired. I’ll be fine after resting a while.”
you’re tired, I’ll run you a bath. You can wash up and we’ll go to sleep early. We’re both too exhausted for anything else.”
boked down and met his smiling eyes.
What are you smiling about?”
chan closed his eyes:
‘m smiling because I married the woman I love. Can’t I be happy?”
le wasn’t lying. I was curious: “Ethan, when did you start liking me?”
He tilted his head, thinking.
The year you turned 16, the first time you chased after Caleb all the way to our house.”
‘For me, it was love at first sight.”
So in my past life, the reason he never married was because of me.
My eyes suddenly stung with emotion. A warmth spread through my heart.
“Thank you for loving me.”
Ethan sat up and scooped me into his arms.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
He walked straight to the bathroom, not stopping:
“Didn’t you just thank me? So I’m claiming a little reward. That’s not too much, is it…”
Three months later, I had terrible morning sickness and couldn’t keep anything down.
Ethan personally cooked for me, trying different recipes every day.
“It’s all your fault. Now I can’t eat anything and I’ve lost another two pounds.”
Ethan hugged me from behind:
“It’s all my fault. Please be magnanimous, my lady, and try to eat a bit more.”