The night before my wedding, I overheard Rafael talking to his best friend at the end of the hall.
“After you pick up Helena tomorrow, tell the driver to take her straight to the Hawthorne estate in Greenwich.”
“To the Hawthornes’ place?”
Rafael lowered his voice.
“The Bennetts are bankrupt. They owe the Hawthornes millions. Her parents are planning to send Margot to the Hawthornes to pay off the debt. I can’t just stand by and watch her life get ruined. The only way is to have Helena go in her place.”
His friend was silent for a few seconds.
“So, because you can’t stand to see Margot suffer, you’re sending Helena instead?”
“Old Mr. Hawthorne is ninety and bedridden. All he wants is a wedding in the family before he dies. Helena just has to go through the motions. In a year or two, once the old man is gone, I won’t care that she was married. I’ll still marry her.”
“You think Helena will agree to that?”
Rafael paused.
“I’ll have my mother put something in her orange juice tomorrow. By the time she wakes up, she’ll already be at the Hawthorne estate.”
“Once it’s a done deal, she won’t have a choice.”
I stood on the other side of the door and heard every word.
I didn’t push the door open.
I didn’t make a sound.
I just went back to my room and quietly waited for morning.
Later, when Rafael came looking for me, begging me to come back, I was already five months pregnant.
I looked at him and said, “Like you said. Once something is a done deal, there are no other options. Now you’re the one with no choice.”
My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 26 When I opened the box, the wedding shoes were inside. A film of dust coated the uppers, and a few threads had come loose at the seams. I stared at them for a long time before I reached out and took the
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 25 The Bennett family company went bankrupt. Its assets were liquidated, and every cent went toward paying their debts. It still wasn’t enough. Margot’s parents, once a united front, turned on each other. In their efforts to shift the blame, they dragged every
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 24 Conrad wanted to call the lawyers. I stopped him. “Wait.” I pulled up the iMessage Margot had sent me on my wedding day. In the photo, she was wearing my mother’s emerald bracelet. Her own text said she had just been to
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 23 The next day, the Hawthorne family lawyers laid out every one of the Bennetts’ matured debts. Millions of dollars. Every loan was dated, signed, and recorded. For years, Margot’s father had been stalling with his story about “sending his daughter,” but he
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 22 A murmur went through the crowd. Her father’s face finally contorted with rage, and he lunged at her, his hand raised. Before he could touch her, Hawthorne security seized his wrist. At the same time, the police arrived. Margot’s father kept trying
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 21 Margot’s father stormed in with several men behind him. When he saw the room full of guests, his face tightened. The next second, he turned on me. “Helena Ferraro, have you been hiding my daughter?” “Isn’t it enough that you married into
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 20 Conrad looked at her, his gaze like ice. “The Bennett family’s debt is covered by a formal contract. The Hawthorne family has never, and will never, accept a human being as payment.” “We are collecting what your parents owe from the assets
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 19 On our daughter’s first birthday, the Hawthorne house was filled with guests. Our daughter, dressed in a little red dress, sat on Old Mr. Hawthorne’s lap, reaching for the decorations on the table. She touched a silver rattle, then suddenly grabbed the
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 18 Conrad thought it was ridiculous. Who arranged marriages in this day and age? He immediately decided to put a stop to it. On the wedding day, he went looking for the limousine that was picking up the bride, intending to call the
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My Fiancé Sent Me To Another Man On Our Wedding Day Chapter 17 After that, I never saw Rafael again. I heard from friends that he had started drinking heavily. His health deteriorated, and his remaining kidney failed. This time, it was worse. There wasn’t much the doctors could do. Six months later, Rafael’s mother
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