Chapter 1

The day I was supposed to get married, my bride was switched.

Not for the woman I’d been dreaming of, not for Riley Lowell, but her little sister, Riley Sutton.

Last time, I lost it. I ran, desperate to find Riley Lowell, only to find her throwing a “fuck the wedding” party at some dive bar.

She barely glanced up at me, slurring, “You ditch your bride to chase after another woman? How pathetic can you get?”

This time, I walked right over, took Riley Sutton’s arm, and played the goddamn part.

Riley Lowell didn’t even get a look.

A few days before the wedding, this prick, Josh, added me to a group chat.

It was filled with Riley Lowell’s friends.

They kept sending messages, not mentioning my name, but every word was a jab.

“What’s Riley going to do? That loser is dead set on marrying her, even after he got caught in bed with that psycho Riley Sutton. He’s used goods! How dare he even ask Riley to forgive him?”

“Marriage? That’s a joke. Riley is rich and gorgeous, she has young boys lining up for her, and he’s old and dirty. What makes him think he even deserves to marry Riley?”

“He’s got to be delusional!”

The messages kept flooding in, and I just clenched my jaw.

Their words were brutal.

I held my breath, staring at the screen.

Riley was in the chat. Would she say something? Would she defend me against her friends’ insults?

Hours went by, my eyes burning.

I checked the clock. Riley had seen those messages ages ago, but she never stopped her friends from tearing me apart.

I let out a bitter laugh.

They were right, though.

I was the scumbag who slept with his fiancee’s sister right before the wedding.

Anyone would want to spit on me.

Then, Josh sent me a direct message.

He said, “See? No one wants you two together.

“You’ve already messed things up with Riley Sutton, so just leave Riley alone, okay?

“If you have any decency, get the hell out of her life.”

I slammed my fist against the wall, my eyes burning with rage.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Riley and I were practically married already.

But then it happened.

At our engagement party a month or so back, someone slipped something into my drink. I was barely conscious when someone hauled me into a room.

I’d made damn sure it was my room.

But the next morning, there was a stranger in my bed.

She had a familiar face, but it wasn’t my fiancee, Riley Lowell. It was her sister, Riley Sutton.

Riley Sutton was dark, edgy. The complete opposite of the bright and easygoing Riley Lowell.

I didn’t like her, but still, here we were.

I scrambled out of bed, panicked.

I was about to marry the woman I loved. I couldn’t accept that I’d betrayed her like this.

Riley Sutton was still asleep. I threw on some clothes and bolted.

But then, the door flew open.

Riley Lowell stood there, surrounded by people, staring at me, ice in her eyes.

The people behind her saw the scene, and their eyes were full of contempt.

I stumbled over my words, trying to explain.

“It’s not what it looks like! I didn’t do anything! I don’t know why this happened, I don’t know…

“Believe me, please! Just believe me!”

Riley’s look of disappointment was like a ton of bricks, crushing me.

Finally, she sighed.

“Let’s call off the wedding. I can’t deal with this.”

Her eyes were cast down, filled with the pain of betrayal by family and lover.

“You’re in love with my sister, right? That’s why you were willing to sleep with her at our engagement party… In that case, the wedding next month is yours.

“As Riley Sutton’s sister, I wish you happiness.”

I refused to lose my lover without a fight.

She didn’t want to see me, so I camped outside her house, her office, day and night, abandoning my work.

I begged on my knees in front of strangers.

“Just tell me what you want! Just don’t give up on me!”

I crawled to her, grabbing her hand.

I slapped myself, hard, again and again.

“Yell at me, hit me, whatever you want. It’s my fault. You can beat me to death, I don’t care. I just want you to believe me, just once. I never meant to betray you.”

Riley’s expression was complicated. She whispered, “You really love me that much, Cloud? You’d die without me?”

I nodded.

She had pulled me out of the darkest depths of my life, shared the simplest joys with me. She would snuggle in my arms, listening to my heartbeat, asking in her innocent voice, “Your heart is beating so fast. Is it because of me?”

Every memory of her was seared into my soul, making me ache with love just to hold her.

I loved her, without a doubt.

Riley smiled, sighing, “Okay, I forgive you this time. Who could resist such a pathetic display?”

She agreed to go ahead with the wedding as planned.

My phone buzzed nonstop. Josh kept sending me messages.

He sent videos, countless pictures.

One look and my blood turned to ice.

In the videos, the pictures, Riley Lowell and Josh were doing everything together.

The young boy and the beautiful woman, a perfect match.

They rode motorcycles and played video games, challenging themselves with extreme sports high above the city, their faces full of laughter and excitement.

One picture was from a Ferris wheel.

In the warm twilight, she had her arms around his neck, the atmosphere warm and romantic.

Josh said, “Sorry, Cloud, I’m just keeping your fiancee company. You’re not mad, are you?

“Riley felt bad that I never got to go to an amusement park as a kid, so she took me to have some fun.”

I shut off my phone, staring into space.

I knew that Riley loved parties and the glitz and glamour.

Most of the activities in those photos didn’t interest her at all.

But even though she didn’t care for them, she still went along with the boy’s games.

When it came to me, I liked fishing and gardening, but she would say:

“Fishing? Gardening? You’re getting old, those hobbies are so boring. I’m not doing that.”

She gave her patience to him, something I never got.

The doorbell rang.

Riley pushed the door open.

“Why are the lights off?”

She turned on the light, snuggling into my arms, her hot breath on my neck, making me gag.

Riley was annoyed. “What is wrong with you?”

She let her friends trash me in the group chat, went out with that boy, and now she was asking me “what’s wrong?”

I held up my phone, showing her the pictures and videos.

“Need an explanation?”

Riley glanced at them, not caring at all.

“That boy is like you used to be, all pathetic. I just spent some time with him, so why are you giving me that face?”

I clenched my fists, wanting to kill her boy toy!

She raised her eyebrows at me.

“Are you mad? What right do you have to be mad? You slept with my sister, and I didn’t yell at you or hit you, did I?”

She seemed a little impatient. “Be good, don’t make me upset.”

I let go, defeated.

Right, I had no right to blame her.

After all, I was the one who betrayed her first.

She just got close to another boy, but I was caught red-handed by her and her friends.

I brought out the food from the kitchen. While we ate, I casually asked her.

“When I met your friends, they didn’t seem to like me. I’m your boyfriend, and they hate me, so won’t you stick up for me?”

“You’re a grown man, what does it matter if they say a few things? It’s not going to kill you.

“Why do you get more sensitive as you get older?”

She brushed it off, playing with her phone.

I had good eyes, and I saw that she was listening to a voice message from an unknown contact.

She accidentally played it out loud.

“Riley, what’s so great about that old Cloud? Can he stay up all night with you? No way! I’m in good shape. I can. I’ll be waiting for you at eight tonight. Are you coming?”

It was Josh’s voice, cheerful and lively.

The air went still.

Riley turned off her phone, acting sweet to me.

“What did you just say? They’re talking about you? It’ll be okay after we get married. Once we’re married, if they dare say anything, I’ll cut them off.”

She rushed back into the bedroom.

Soon, she came out wearing a spaghetti strap dress. Before I could say anything, she said, “Work stuff tonight, I won’t be back. Don’t wait up for me.”

I watched her leave, whispering: less than an hour until eight.

I didn’t sleep all night. She didn’t come back.

Would everything be okay after we got married?

A few days later, at the wedding.

I walked down the aisle in my suit, waiting for my bride.

But the woman walking towards me in the white dress wasn’t Riley Lowell, it was her sister, Riley Sutton.

Whispers filled the room, countless eyes watching the drama unfold, like spiderwebs wrapping around me.

I was frozen with dread.

“Why are you here? Where’s your sister?”

The light in Riley Sutton’s eyes shattered. “Does it have to be her? Am I not good enough? I love you too!”

“Are you kidding me? Of course not!”

I looked around wildly, not seeing her anywhere.

The wedding was ruined.

I was acting crazy. People watched from a distance, laughing.

Only Riley Sutton came up to me, tears in her eyes.

“She doesn’t want you! She gave you to me! Do you even know that?!”

I shook my head, gritting my teeth. “That’s not possible. She promised me. I need to find her, ask her why.”

“Even if she’s messing with you, even if she dumps you, you still want to find her?”

I nodded.

Riley Sutton laughed, tears streaming down her face.

She said, “Then go. She’s not here.”

I left without looking back.

When I found Riley Lowell, she was throwing a “fuck the wedding” party with her friends.

I walked into the rowdy bar in my formal suit, drawing attention.

Someone dragged me into the bathroom as soon as I walked in.

It was Josh.

He grabbed my collar, shoving me against the mirror, sneering, “Look at yourself, you pathetic loser. How does it feel?”

I didn’t have time for him, I pushed him off and turned to leave.

But his words hit me like a hammer.

“Don’t you know that Riley doesn’t want to marry you? She carefully planned for you to sleep with Riley Sutton, and brought people to witness it, because she thinks you’re old and boring, and she wants to get rid of you!

“You should’ve just called off the wedding! But no, you had to be so stubborn. Since she can’t get rid of you, she switched with her sister at the wedding.

“Why don’t you just be a man and live with Riley Sutton, and leave us alone.”

My hands were shaking, I shook my head in disbelief.

That’s impossible. She wouldn’t do that to me, she wouldn’t.

“Don’t believe me?”

Josh whispered like a devil, “Then go ask her yourself. She’s right here, you pathetic worm.”

I walked out of the bathroom, towards the party.

“Hey, Riley, your hubby’s here!”

“What hubby? He’s our sister’s husband. Riley ran away, so we don’t accept this brother-in-law!”

Riley’s friends laughed, I didn’t hear a thing, my eyes locked on Riley.

My voice was dry and hoarse.

“Riley, tell me, what the hell is going on?”

She swirled her drink, looking casual.

“It’s just what you see. I don’t want to marry you.

“You’re so boring. I’m over it.

“My sister is a little interested in you, so I think you two would be perfect together.”

Riley glanced at the wilted rose on my suit, and sneered.

“I didn’t expect you to ditch your bride to come find me. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

The music in the bar was deafening. For a moment, I couldn’t hear anything.

When I came to, my nails had pierced my skin.

I had never felt like such a joke.

Not long after that, I died.

In a shipwreck.

When I opened my eyes again, I heard the wedding music.

A woman in a white veil walked towards me.

It wasn’t my fiancee, Riley Lowell, but her sister, Riley Sutton.

I was back at the wedding.

This time.

I took a step, reached out, and took her hand.

“Sorry for the wait, let’s continue.”

Ignoring the reactions from the crowd, I went through the ceremony with Riley Sutton as if nothing was wrong.

There was no shouting, no questions about where Riley Lowell was, just a quiet acceptance. It was as if the only person I wanted to marry was the younger Riley sister.

The wedding went smoothly.

Until the toast.

Riley Sutton and I toasted Riley’s father. He looked surprised, but still smiled and patted my shoulder. “Now that you’re married, take good care of each other.”

The bride looked at me, and I made a promise.

“I won’t let her down.”

“Who are you not going to let down?”

I looked up, startled. Riley Lowell pushed through the crowd, walking towards us, face like thunder.

She saw us standing side by side, and her eyes turned red.

“You actually got married.”

Riley Sutton and I walked over to her, holding up our glasses.

“Sister, this drink is from my wife and me.”

There was a crash.

Riley Lowell snatched the glass and threw it on the ground.

“Today is your sister’s wedding day, don’t act out.”

Riley’s father grabbed another glass, forcing it into her hand, and growled, “Don’t drop this one. Just hold it right!”

I took a sip of my drink. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Riley Lowell’s dark expression as she drained her glass.