My Sister Stole My Wedding, and I Never Looked Back

Before my wedding, my parents and my best friend shoved me into the storage room. “Stay hidden and keep quiet. Wait for the Godfather to come find you. That’s the only way you’ll find happiness!” I curled up in the corner, waiting from dawn until nightfall, but no one ever came. Just as I was about to push the door open, I realized the storage room had been locked from the outside. I pounded on the door with all my strength, smashing at the lock until my hands were covered in blood. But when I finally made it to the wedding venue, I saw my twin sister wearing my wedding dress, her arm linked through my fiancé’s as they prepared to walk onto the stage and exchange their vows. “Are you sure this is okay? I’m afraid my sister will be angry.” Beth shyly leaned into Edward’s arms and whispered. My best friend, Alice, laughed. “What are you afraid of?” “You were the one who fell for Edward first. You’re just taking back what was always yours.” “Besides, she’s locked in the storage room right now. She’ll never find out!” Edward nodded and tightened his arm around Beth’s waist. “Let’s just think of it as fulfilling the marriage we never got to have. She deserves it.” My parents watched from the side and let out a wistful sigh. “If it weren’t for Monica, this wedding would have been Beth’s in the first place.” “I wish more than anything that Beth and Edward could be together.” I stood frozen in place, cold spreading through my entire body. So everyone had been in on this deception, while I was the only one kept in the dark. If that was the case, then I wanted nothing to do with this fake marriage or this fake love ever again. Chapter 1 I turned around and walked out of the banquet hall. Behind me, Edward’s voice rang out as he recited his wedding vows, his words filled with tenderness. “I, Edward, take you as my wife. I promise that, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, I will stand by your side, love you, honor you, and protect you, until forever.” Beth’s voice trembled. “I do.” I didn’t look back. It was raining outside, and I was still wearing my formal wedding dress. I was a complete mess, freezing cold. I hailed a cab. The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror and froze. “Miss… are you getting married today?” “What happened to you?” I lowered my head and looked at myself. My hands were covered in blood, and two of my fingernails were split. I had hurt myself pounding on the door. “Yeah. But the wedding’s off.” My voice was hoarse, thick with pain I couldn’t put into words. The driver handed me a tissue and said solemnly, “If he isn’t the man you love, you don’t have to hurt yourself like this.” “Your parents would be heartbroken if they saw you like this.” My hand stopped as I reached for the tissue. Too bad, in my parents’ eyes, they had never seen anyone but Beth. When I got home, I turned on the light in the entryway. The entire house was filled with reminders of Edward and me. The framed photo hanging on the wall had been taken when Edward and I seized control of the docks together. Edward had looked so proud and confident back then, telling me that our future would only get better and better. And that we would always be together. Now, the person who would be by his side was going to be my sister instead. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. It was Alice calling. “Monica! Where are you?” “It’s all Edward’s fault. He was being so stupid and couldn’t find you after looking everywhere.” “We just went to the storage room to look for you, but you weren’t there. So Beth went ahead and stood in for you during the wedding vows.” “Come back quickly! All the guests are waiting for you!” Her voice was full of urgency. She sounded just like the best friend who had always stood firmly by my side. But the scene I had just witnessed kept replaying in my mind. She had already chosen their side, turning me into the fool everyone was laughing at. I was silent for a few seconds. Then I said, each word slow and deliberate, “Weren’t you the ones who deliberately locked me in the storage room?” “So Beth could take my place at my own wedding.” The other end of the phone instantly fell silent. After a long moment, Alice’s voice dropped. “You know?” I said nothing. She hurriedly added, “Monica, please, just let me explain—” “Don’t.” My mother’s voice suddenly came through the phone. “Leave her alone. Let her do whatever she wants!” “It’s actually better if she doesn’t come back. That way, she won’t ruin Beth and Edward’s wedding.” I stood perfectly still, my fingernails digging deep into my palms. The wounds split open again, and drops of blood fell one by one onto my wedding dress. “Mom, today is my wedding. I’m the bride.” “So what if you’re the bride? Beth has been giving in to you since you were little. Can’t you give in to her for once?” My mother didn’t notice the disappointment and pain in my voice at all. Every word she spoke was filled with pressure. Or maybe she knew exactly how hurt I was and simply didn’t care. “He’s just a man. Do you really have to make the whole family miserable over him?” “You’ve been this selfish since you were a child!” With that, she hung up without a shred of hesitation. A new post from Alice popped up on the family’s private network. “These two are absolutely perfect together!” Attached was a photo of Beth with her arm linked through Edward’s as they received the priest’s blessing. They really did look perfect together. My parents were the first to comment below. “Wishing you both a lifetime of love and happiness together.” Other members of the family quickly flooded the comments as well. “Is this our Godmother? She’s absolutely gorgeous!” “Congratulations, Godfather! When are you bringing the Godmother to the family council?” Edward didn’t explain anything. He simply replied with two words. “Thank you.” Yet that was enough to let everyone draw their own conclusions. I curled my lips into a bitter smile, took down the photo of Edward and me, and smashed it against the floor. The smiling faces of Edward and me in the photograph were shattered beyond recognition. When the sky began to lighten with the first pale glow of dawn, I picked up my phone and booked a flight to New York. If everyone hated having me around, then I would leave. I would disappear completely into the vast sea of humanity. Chapter 2 That night, I slept fitfully. My mind kept replaying the past twenty years of my life, over and over again. Whatever my sister wanted, my parents would personally place it in her hands. But whenever I finally worked up the courage to ask for something, all I ever got were the things my sister didn’t want. And even then, my mother would scold me for being spoiled and unreasonable. It wasn’t even dawn when a sudden commotion downstairs woke me up. I pushed open my door and walked out, only to freeze. Edward, Alice, Beth, my mother, and my father were all there. They were looking through the photos the photographer had taken yesterday, laughing and chatting as they picked out their favorites. Beth leaned against my mother’s shoulder and pointed at a photo on the screen. “This one is beautiful. Edward and I look so perfect together.” My mother smiled from ear to ear. “Exactly. You two look like you were made for each other.” Alice chimed in from the side. Edward lowered his eyes to the photo of Beth with her arm linked through his, the corners of his lips curling into a smile. None of them noticed me standing at the end of the hallway. It wasn’t until I walked up to them that the laughter suddenly stopped. The air fell silent for a moment. My mother looked up and saw me, her brows furrowing as her voice dripped with sarcasm. “Well, well. You actually have the nerve to show your face here?” “If your sister hadn’t stepped in and helped you entertain the guests yesterday, you would have completely humiliated the Buffey family.” I let out a cold laugh and exposed their lie right then and there. “Wasn’t this what you planned from the very beginning?” “Sacrifice me so my sister could have everything.” My parents visibly stiffened. I clenched my fists, anger and grievance surging inside me. “If you had already decided that she was going to take my place at the wedding, then why didn’t you tell me from the start?” “I could have stepped aside willingly instead of being forced to uncover the truth in such a cruel way!” To uncover the truth that I was the one person nobody loved. The moment the words left my mouth, Beth suddenly rushed toward me. She grabbed my wrist, tears streaming down her face. “Sis, this is all my fault…” “Mom and Dad have nothing to do with it. It was all me. I acted on my own…” As she spoke, she suddenly dropped to her knees, her knees hitting the floor with a loud thud. “Sis, I’m kneeling before you. Please, will you forgive me?” “Beth!” Edward rushed over in two strides and pulled her to her feet before turning around and yelling at me. “Monica, enough!” “She’s your own sister! How can you make your own sister kneel before you? Are you even human?” My mother pointed a finger straight at my face, her cheeks flushed with anger. “And whose fault is all this?” “Ever since you were little, you couldn’t stand seeing Beth have a better life than you.” “If you had known that the man she loved was Edward, who knows what you would have done?” “You would have maliciously told everyone that she was trying to steal your fiancé and called her a homewrecker!” I stood there, rooted to the spot. Watching everyone gather around Beth. Edward held her in his arms, soothing her. Alice gently patted her back, while my mother clutched her hand and kept saying, “Don’t be afraid. Mom’s here.” Every single person looked at me as if I were their enemy. Tears welled in my eyes, but I gritted my teeth and forced the words out one by one. “Isn’t she a homewrecker?” “Ever since we were kids, whenever I liked something, she had to take it from me.” “Why? Why am I always the one who has to give in?” “She’s your daughter. Doesn’t that make me your daughter too—” A sharp slap cracked through the room. My mother raised her hand and slapped me across the face. My head snapped to the side, my cheek burning with pain. “Shut up!” She pointed at my face and screamed. “Are you trying to drive your sister to her death?” “Look at how badly she’s crying! How can you still stand here and attack her?” I let out a bitter laugh. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth and ran down my chin. Of course. No matter what happened, it had always been my fault. How could I have ever expected them to change just because I finally told them how much they had hurt me? “Fine. It’s all my fault.” “In that case, I’ll leave!” Chapter 3 I ran out of the house, tears streaming down my face. I had just roughly wiped away my tears with my sleeve when I suddenly heard footsteps behind me. Edward had chased after me. He crouched down in front of me, then reached out and gently wiped the tears from the corner of my eye with his thumb. Just like he used to whenever I was bullied. Back then, after my parents had misunderstood me yet again, I had hidden alone in the garden and cried. He had found me there and crouched down just like this, wiping away my tears with his thumb. “If they’re all going to favor Beth, then from now on, I’ll favor only you!” “I’ll make up for all the love you never received and give you twice as much!” My thoughts returned to the present, and his voice was still as gentle as it had been back then. “Monica, don’t cry.” I looked at him. I couldn’t understand when exactly he had changed. “Why?” My voice was choked with tears, filled with an obsession I couldn’t let go of. “Why did you abandon me to love someone else…” The same person who had taken away all the love that should have been mine. He froze for a moment, then lowered his head and remained silent for a long while before finally speaking. “Because she’s different from you.” As he spoke, he lifted his head. “You’re quiet and reserved. You don’t like to talk. But she’s like a little ray of sunshine, always chattering beside me.” A smile appeared on his face when he mentioned my sister. “At first, I found her pretty annoying. Whenever I thought about all the pain you’d suffered because of her, I would instinctively shut her out.” “But after spending more time with her, I somehow found myself infected by her passion.” “It felt… wonderful.” When he finished, he let out a sigh. He looked just like a man who had already given his heart to someone else, yet was still swallowing his grievances for the sake of responsibility. “Monica, don’t worry.” “You gave me the best years of your youth. I’ll take responsibility for you.” “As for the wedding, just consider it fulfilling one of her dreams.” “From now on, I’ll keep my distance from her and be a good husband to you.” When I heard that, I couldn’t help but laugh. But the more I laughed, the more tears welled up in my eyes. “Be a good husband ?” “Edward, when all of you were blaming me just now, did you ever think about what it meant to be husband and wife?” “You watched my mother slap me. You watched them tear me apart with their words. Did you say even one word in my defense?” Edward fell silent. He was just about to speak when his phone suddenly rang. He answered it, and his expression changed instantly. “What?” My mother’s voice exploded from the other end of the phone, loud enough for even me to hear. “Beth says she ruined your relationship and wants to make up for it now!” “Edward, come quickly! She says she’s going to jump off the building and kill herself!” Edward’s hand began to tremble. He looked up at me, panic filling his eyes. “Monica, Beth…” “Go.” He froze for a second, as if he couldn’t believe I would say that. I looked at him. Then, word by word, I exposed her lie. “Edward, do you think she really wants to die, or does she simply know that you’ll come back whenever she threatens to?” His lips moved, but he couldn’t say a word. “When you betrayed me and secretly fell in love with her, did she ever think about making amends?” “When she wore my wedding dress yesterday and linked her arm through yours to exchange vows, did she ever think about making amends?” “And now that I’ve left, she suddenly wants to make amends.” Edward stood there clutching his phone, sweat beading across his forehead. Then Alice’s voice came from the other end of the call, growing more frantic with every word. “Edward, what are you doing? Beth’s really going to jump!” “You stopped loving Monica a long time ago. Why do you even care about her anymore?” He closed his eyes for a moment, finally making up his mind. “Monica, I’m going over there first. She is your sister, after all…” “She’s not my sister.” I cut him off. “From the day you betrayed me, she stopped being my sister.” “And you’re no longer the man I want to marry.” Edward looked at me, his eyes reddening. “Monica, don’t say that.” “When I come back, we’ll talk this through.” I didn’t answer. I watched his retreating figure as he ran away, the morning breeze blowing my skirt against my legs. I slowly sat down on the bench and raised a hand to touch the corner of my eye. There was still a trace of warmth where he had wiped my tears. But my heart had already turned completely cold. Chapter 4 It wasn’t until nightfall that I finally returned home. I had planned to pack my things and get everything ready for my departure. But the moment I pushed open the door, someone kicked me hard, sending me crashing to my knees. My father pulled out a whip and brought it down viciously across my back. “Look at what you’ve driven your sister to!” “Do you have any idea that she almost died today because of you?” I looked up and saw Beth curled up in Edward’s arms, tear stains covering her face. Edward kept patting her back, his voice so gentle it was almost dripping with tenderness. “It’s not your fault. You don’t need to make amends.” My mother walked over and viciously jabbed a finger against my forehead. “You ungrateful bitch! Beth has always given in to you. All she did was stand in for you during the vows, and you drove her to this!” “Apologize. Now!” “And there’s something else. I’ve already transferred your Family business to Beth.” My mother pulled a document from her bag and flung it onto the floor. It was an authorization transferring control of the family’s arms-trafficking route. “Your sister has just taken over the family business. Consider this her compensation.” I froze. The contract required my handwritten signature. Ignoring the torn flesh on my back, I gritted my teeth through the pain and asked in disbelief, “When did you get my signature?” Edward looked up at me, his voice quiet. So quiet that he sounded as though he were talking about something completely insignificant. “When I had you sign the prenuptial agreement, I slipped the signature page for this contract inside it.” I stood there frozen, feeling as if all the blood had drained from my body. I couldn’t believe that the man who had once willingly transferred all his assets to me before our marriage, just to make me feel secure, had been secretly paving the way for my sister behind my back, even if it meant destroying my future. “Edward, you set me up?” “Monica, you’re still the women I’m supposed to marry, I can support you.” Edward stepped forward, reaching for my hand, but I pulled away. “Why do you have to fight Beth for this opportunity? You know she doesn’t have your abilities. She could never build another arms-trafficking route on her own.” I laughed, but tears welled up in my eyes. “Edward, I poured my heart and soul into this job for three years!” “All the results of everything I worked so hard for were handed to someone else just like that…” My mother pointed a finger at my face, her voice righteous and indignant. “You’re the older sister. Isn’t taking care of your little sister what you’re supposed to do?” “Haven’t I given in enough my whole life? Why do you even have to take my career away from me?” I practically screamed the words. Beth began to cry and grabbed my mother’s hand. “Forget it, Mom. If my sister doesn’t want me to have it, I’ll give the arms-trafficking route back to her.” “I don’t want you all fighting because of me…” After saying that, she buried herself in Edward’s arms and sobbed, her shoulders trembling. Seeing this, my father became furious and lashed my back with the whip again. The wounds that had just begun to scab tore open once more, old injuries overlapping with new ones. Blood kept streaming down my back, the sight horrifying. “Monica, she’s your own sister! How can you be so heartless?” “Get out of our house right now! We don’t have a daughter like you!” I was in so much pain that I could barely stand, so I braced myself against the wall and forced myself upright. “Fine. It’s not like I’ve ever felt like I had anyone to rely on anyway.” “For all these years as your daughter, I’ve always felt like I was alone.” I went back to my room and packed my luggage. As I passed Edward, he reached out and grabbed my hand. “Monica—” “Let her go!” My mother grabbed him before he could take another step toward me. “I want to see how far she can get.” “She’ll come back in tears within three days.” I said nothing. I picked up my suitcase and walked out the door. When I got into a taxi, the driver asked me where I was going. I took one last look at the manor through the rearview mirror and said softly, “To the airport.” If this family had no place for me, then I would go somewhere else.