The Wedding Bet: You Changed The Venue I Changed The Groom Chapter 08
Too Late
Just as Julian’s hand is about to grab me, Ethan steps between us and blocks him.
“Sir, please stay away from my wife!”
Julian freezes. He stares at Ethan in disbelief.
“Your wife? Are you kidding me?”
“Aria and I have been in love for ten years, and you’re telling me she’s your wife?!”
“She’s just throwing a tantrum and using you to get back at me. Back off now, or you’ll regret it.”
Ethan doesn’t react.
But I can no longer tolerate Julian’s arrogance.
I step in front of Ethan and look at Julian in disgust.
“Julian, are you really such a sore loser?”
He freezes. “What do you mean?”
I sneer.
“The day you told me the wedding venue had been changed, I decided to make a bet of my own. I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice the groom had been changed.”
“You lost the bet. Now get out of my sight.”
Julian’s breath hitches. He stares at me.
“You’re taking revenge on me? How could you do this?”
“I… I was just joking about those things! I—”
His voice trails off.
Since he can’t say it, I say it for him.
“Joking?”
“You gave your family’s heirloom sapphire necklace to Serena. Was that a joke?”
“You replaced my wedding dress with Serena’s favorite vintage style. Was that a joke?”
“You changed the wedding in Ireland that I’d been planning for four years to Iceland. Was that a joke too?”
“Julian, ask yourself. Were those things really jokes, or did you just never care how they made me feel?”
His lips tremble, and it takes him several tries before he can get the words out.
“But Serena suggested all of it! I just thought it didn’t matter.”
“I thought you two were best friends. I thought you wouldn’t care.”
“I swear, it was just a joke! I never meant to hurt you!”
Julian stares at me, his voice hoarse and tears filling his eyes. He genuinely looks heartbroken.
If this were before, I would have forgiven him. I would have foolishly continued to endure it.
But now? I just find him pathetic.
He says all that, yet he’s still blaming another woman for his own choices.
“Oh, so did Serena hold a gun to your head and force you to do all of it?”
“Julian, you are a grown man. It’s time you learned to take responsibility for your own choices.”
With that, I take Ethan’s hand and turn to leave.
Panic flashes across Julian’s face, and he rushes after us, reaching for me again.
This time, Ethan doesn’t hold back. He smacks Julian’s hand away.
“Mr. Sinclair, right? You claim you loved Aria for ten years. Is this how you treated her?”
“Every single thing Aria just listed was humiliating.”
“And you call that not hurting her?”
“How do you even have the nerve to ask for her forgiveness?”
“I honestly pity you.”
Julian stands frozen on the sidewalk.
He opens his mouth, trying to argue, but nothing comes out.
Ethan and I don’t give him a second glance as we get into our car and drive away.
As the car pulls away, Julian snaps out of it and runs after us.
“Aria! Aria, it’s not like that! Please, listen to me!”
The distance between us grows rapidly until he becomes a tiny black speck in the rearview mirror.
“Let’s go visit Mom tonight.” Ethan rests his hand over mine.
I turn to him and smile softly.
“Okay.”