They Switched My Groom—So I Kept Him Chapter 10
After that, Ethan stopped bothering me.
Sophie, however, sent me an apology the day she was discharged from the hospital.
I’m sorry my selfish wish ruined your wedding.
But Ethan really was innocent. I was the one who kept begging until he finally agreed.
Please forgive him and give him another chance.
I didn’t reply.
Instead, I remembered all the times the three of us had been together.
I had always been the one they teased, forgot, or left behind.
Maybe I should have understood much earlier.
I had never been Ethan’s first priority.
I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
Once someone had hurt me like that, I wasn’t going to hand him another chance to do it again.
And I didn’t believe Ethan was innocent.
Sophie could have begged until she lost her voice. If he hadn’t agreed, none of this could have happened.
Maybe she was ashamed. Not long after that, Sophie deleted me from her contacts.
A month later, my father twisted his ankle badly enough to end up in the hospital.
After I blocked her number, my mother tried calling from several relatives’ phones before one finally got through.
“He’s in the hospital? I can arrange a private caregiver for him.”
She hesitated.
“Your father was hoping to see his daughter. He misses you.”
My expression cooled.
“I’m working. I don’t have time. And your daughter is Sophie.”
My mother went quiet before mumbling, “Sophie’s mother is doing well for herself now. She came back recently and took Sophie overseas with her.”
I understood immediately.
“So your daughter’s real mother came back, and now you don’t have her anymore.”
My mother’s voice sharpened.
“Why do you hold grudges like this?”
I answered without hesitation.
“I wouldn’t have a grudge if you hadn’t given me a reason to hold one.”
She had nothing to say to that and hung up in a fluster.
Only when I turned around did I realize Ryan’s mother was standing behind me with a plate of fruit.
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Do you think I’m cold for treating them like that?”
She smiled.
“You were still willing to arrange professional care for them, weren’t you?”
Then she sat beside me.
“Relationships go both ways. When people treat you well, of course you want to treat them well in return. But when they don’t, protecting yourself is the right thing to do.”
I smiled and finally relaxed.
She took my hand.
“I also know you and Ryan got married on impulse.”
I looked at her.
“But I never tried to stop you two. Do you know why?”
I shook my head.
“Because he loves you. And I’ve always believed that when someone’s feelings are real, eventually they show.”
Just then, we heard the front door open.
Ryan came home carrying several bags.
He spread everything out across the coffee table—iced coffee, grilled wings, little desserts.
“Look. Everything you said you wanted last night.”
I burst out laughing.
“I was talking in my sleep!”
His mother covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Ryan looked down, suddenly a little helpless.
I decided to stop teasing him and held out my hand.
“But I actually do want some now.”
Sometimes losing one thing only makes room for a different kind of luck.
After everything that happened, I no longer wanted to chase some vague promise of forever.
For now, it was enough to live in the present and cherish the person beside me.