They Switched My Groom—So I Kept Him Chapter 07
Ethan’s eyes went bloodshot as he stared at the marriage documents in Ryan’s hand.
“Those have to be fake.”
Ryan opened them with exaggerated patience.
“Forging marriage documents is illegal. I’m not that reckless.”
Ethan completely lost his temper.
My parents joined in immediately.
“Claire, we understand you’re angry. But did you really have to marry a stranger just to get back at us? Do you even know who he is? Do you know what his parents do? You know nothing about him, and you still married him?”
I laughed coldly.
“Weren’t you the ones who came up with the idea of replacing my groom in the first place? So why are you upset now that I actually went through with it?”
I ignored them and took Ryan’s hand.
My father suddenly shouted behind me.
“If you walk out now, don’t ever come back.”
My steps paused for half a second.
Then I heard Sophie whisper, “Did I really do something wrong? If I hadn’t been so selfish, Claire wouldn’t be fighting with you.”
My mother wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“It’s fine. She won’t actually leave.”
I walked out without looking back.
I almost wanted to laugh at myself for having been stupid enough, even now, to hope they might stop choosing her over me.
Ethan started after me.
Behind him, Sophie suddenly collapsed.
He hesitated for three seconds.
Then he turned without another thought, rushed back, and lifted her into his arms.
The entire farce ended with Sophie being taken to the hospital.
I didn’t go with them.
Instead, I returned to the apartment Ethan and I had planned to live in after the wedding.
I needed to change out of my dress, and all my luggage had already been delivered there a few days earlier.
Since nothing had been unpacked yet, moving it again was easy.
It wasn’t until I was sitting in the car with my suitcases loaded behind us that my mind finally cleared.
I turned to Ryan.
“Neither of us was thinking clearly when we got married. If you regret it, we can get a lawyer and start the divorce process right away.”
His eyes went wide.
He clutched the documents in his pocket even tighter.
“So you were planning to use me and dump me?”
After a moment, he reluctantly took the documents out.
But the second I actually reached for them, he yelped and pulled them back.
“Give me one year. If you still don’t like me after a year, then we’ll get divorced. Okay?”
I didn’t answer.
He kept going.
“Think about it. If Ethan finds out you’re single again, he’ll come bother you. I’ll sign an agreement saying I won’t fight you if you ever want a divorce. You can walk away whenever you want.”
I considered it, then agreed.
Everything had happened too quickly for me to find somewhere else to live, so Ryan suggested I stay at his place.
He had plenty of reasons.
“It’s only a year. How are we supposed to see if this can work if we don’t even live together? And rent is expensive. Besides, if my mom finds out we got married and then immediately started living separately, she’ll assume I lied to her.”
On the drive back, he stopped at a shopping center.
I looked at him in confusion.
“I told you I’d get you a ring that actually fits.”
I blinked.
“You don’t have to. This one is fine.”
“It’s not the same. My mom picked this one.”
Ryan was stubborn about it.
In the end, he bought me a diamond ring that fit properly.
As we were leaving, I accidentally mistook a stranger for Ryan.
He looked at me and suddenly said, “Do you think I should dye my hair?”