They Switched My Groom—So I Kept Him Chapter 02
Even though I’d already cried myself empty the night before, my eyes still stung.
I’d always known my parents adored Sophie.
She was sweet-talking and affectionate. She’d wave at them from across a parking lot, rush over smiling, and shower them with compliments until they were beaming.
I was nothing like that.
Because of my face blindness, there were times my own parents would walk right up to me and I’d pass them like strangers.
They’d gotten angry with me more than once over it, demanding to know how I could live with them for so many years and still fail to recognize their faces.
But I never imagined that on something as important as my wedding, they would agree to replace my groom for Sophie’s sake and let a complete stranger stand beside me in Ethan’s place.
A tear fell onto the fake groom’s neck.
His back stiffened. Then, still trying to imitate Ethan’s voice, he asked softly, “Why are you crying? Is my back too bony? Am I hurting you? I can put you down and hold your hand instead, if you want.”
I shook my head and tightened my arms around his neck.
“It’s a happy day. I’m just happy.”
Finding out what kind of man Ethan really was before marrying him, and learning that my own parents didn’t love me as much as I’d believed—maybe that really was something worth celebrating.
He carefully helped me into the car.
Probably afraid I’d realize he wasn’t Ethan, he barely spoke for most of the drive.
But when he noticed me hugging my arms around myself, he quietly turned up the heat.
Halfway to the hotel, our car suddenly slammed to a stop.
I’d just lowered the passenger-side visor mirror to touch up my makeup. The sudden braking pitched me forward.
His hand shot out instantly, catching my forehead before it could hit the dashboard.
“You okay?”
I nodded.
He glanced ahead. “There’s another wedding party coming from the other direction. Their cars are blocking the road.”
Temporary construction had reduced the street to one lane, and the two groups of cars had met at the narrowest part of the road. Neither could get through.
I lifted my eyes—and froze when I saw the familiar license plate on the lead car opposite us.
Two weeks before the wedding, Ethan had bought a new car and said it was the one we’d take to the venue.
He’d even ordered a vanity plate: LOVE-SL.
At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it. I’d laughed at him for choosing something so cheesy.
Only now did I realize that the last two letters matched Sophie’s initials: Sophie Lane.
LOVE-SL wasn’t a romantic gesture to me at all.
It was Ethan declaring his love for her right in front of my face.
Which meant Sophie and Ethan were sitting in the car across from us.
Yet Ethan had told me the plate hadn’t arrived in time, so we couldn’t use the car for our wedding.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Sophie appeared on the screen.
Claire, looks like we’re stuck. Can you ask Ethan to back up a little? If we wait much longer, we’ll miss our ceremony time.
Meanwhile, the “Ethan” sitting beside me was frowning at the road.
“I’ll get out and see if there’s enough room to squeeze past.”
He reached for his seat belt.
I stopped him and pointed toward a side road.
“Turn in there.”
He frowned. “That road’s rough, and it’ll take longer. We might miss the ceremony.”
“Miss the ceremony?”
My smile disappeared.
“What could possibly be worse than having your groom replaced on your wedding day?”