My Fiancé Swapped Places With His Twin At The Altar Chapter 01
On my wedding day, I saw a small mole behind the groom’s ear.
My fiancé, Matteo Moretti, didn’t have one there.
The one with the mole was his twin brother, Alessio.
I pulled away and turned to leave the chapel.
As I passed the lounge next door, I heard my sister Ashley’s voice.
“Matteo, what if Bianca finds out?”
Matteo laughed.
“So what? My brother already agreed to stand in for me at the altar.”
“Today, I’m staying with you.”
I stopped outside the door, my nails digging into my palms.
Matteo was in his tuxedo, and beside him stood Ashley, wearing a wedding dress.
My mother smiled. “This works out for the best. Ashley’s waited all these years. Now she can finally marry Matteo.”
“The problem was always Bianca,” my father said. “If it weren’t for her, none of this would be so complicated.”
Then my brother—the one who always swore he loved me most—spoke up.
“I’ll keep an eye on her. She’ll definitely make a scene if she finds out.”
I stood frozen outside the door.
So they had planned this all along.
The man I was supposed to marry was already holding Ashley’s hand, ready to pass me off to someone else.
If Matteo was so determined for me to marry Alessio, then I would do exactly what he wanted.
…
After the ceremony, the reception began.
The two newlywed couples were receiving their congratulations.
Across the room, past the champagne tower, applause kept erupting for Ashley and Matteo.
When it was time for the family toast, the Moretti matriarch, Isabella Moretti, raised her glass.
She looked to Ashley first.
“Ashley, welcome. I’ve always thought of you as a daughter.”
When she turned to me, her smile lost its warmth.
“Now that you’re a Moretti, you’d best learn the rules of this family.”
She said, “Go to the wine cellar and bring me the 1982 Petrus. Pour it for me yourself.”
She was testing me, making it clear to everyone who was in charge.
I went to the cellar and returned with the wine.
I held the glass out to her, but she didn’t take it.
“Lift your hand a little higher.”
I did.
“Straighten your back. A new bride in this family shouldn’t slouch. People will think you have second thoughts about the marriage.”
My throat tightened, but I straightened my spine.
Matteo always used to say that as long as he was around, no one would ever hurt me.
My eyes instinctively found him, but he was standing just a few feet away, his hand on Ashley’s waist, refusing to even glance in my direction.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
He frowned, his voice icy.
His words were a slap in the face.
Ashley’s eyes immediately welled with tears.
She looked at me, her voice trembling.
“Bianca, why are you staring at my husband like that? People will think you’re in love with your own brother-in-law.”
Before I could say anything, Isabella knocked the glass from my hand.
Dark red wine splashed over my fingers and down the front of my white wedding dress.
“The ceremony is barely over, and you’re already making eyes at your brother-in-law.” Her gaze was sharp. “You have a filthy mind.”
My mother’s brow furrowed.
“Bianca, apologize to Mrs. Moretti right now.”
My father’s face was grim, but he said nothing in my defense.
My brother lowered his voice. “You waited so long for this day. Don’t make trouble. Don’t ruin it.”
I looked at him.
He knew perfectly well that the man who had married me wasn’t Matteo.
Matteo turned, guiding Ashley away.
He slowed for a moment as he passed me.
I thought, just for a second, he might at least look at my wine-stained hand.
But all he said was, “Don’t look at me. It’s disgusting.”
Then he led Ashley away to continue receiving their guests’ congratulations.
The applause around them never stopped.
I stood there, an outsider at my own wedding.
The spilled wine on the floor was growing sticky.
The soaked hem of my dress clung coldly to my legs.
I bent to wipe at the stain with a napkin.
But I’d been standing for too long. My legs gave out, and I stumbled.
A hand reached out to steady me.
I looked up and saw Alessio.
He had the same face as Matteo, but everything about him felt completely different.
His gaze dropped to the wine on my hand. After a moment, he said, “I don’t carry much weight in this family. Your life with me might not be any better.”
I said nothing.
He asked again, “Do you still want to go through with this?”
I looked at that face, so much like Matteo’s.
In my head, one sentence echoed over and over.
*It’s disgusting.*
After a moment, I smiled.
“Why not?”