Chapter 1

On the eve of my wedding, I suddenly heard my fiancé’s thoughts: “If she tries to hijack the wedding tomorrow, running away in dress shoes might not be the best idea.” I kept quiet and decisively boarded a flight out of the country the next day. Later, that wedding became the talk of the town - both the bride and groom had run away.

I’ve always possessed a special mind-reading ability: I can hear the thoughts of people who don’t love me.

This ability allows me to easily judge whether someone’s love for me is genuine or fake. I can quickly distance myself from fake friendships and remain unmoved by confessions from long-time crushes. Even when buying durian, I can use the vendor’s thoughts to pick the one with the most flesh and sweetest taste.

Because I can hear every single thought clearly.

To avoid too much mental noise, I usually avoid eye contact with strangers in daily life.

But when I first met Derek, the world became so quiet that I could only hear our clear dialogue:

“Hello, may I get to know you?”

No thoughts.

When our eyes met, I couldn’t read Derek’s thoughts.

“Hello.”

During the time Derek pursued me, the sounds in my ears were simple and pure.

I believed he truly loved me.

So we fell in love, dated, and then talked about marriage.

For two whole years, I never heard his thoughts.

But on the eve of our wedding, I suddenly could hear Derek’s thoughts.

Due to the wedding, Derek had been especially busy lately.

He came from a wealthy family and had successfully taken over his father’s position, independently managing the family’s financial company.

Because of the wedding itinerary, we had many things to handle in advance, especially in the last two months.

I’ve always been an independent woman and respected Derek’s career as well.

So we hadn’t seen each other much lately. But today, as we were finalizing the outfits, I couldn’t help feeling sweet at the thought of our rare time together.

When I arrived at the studio on time, he was already there trying on shoes.

After saying something to the staff, he walked out while talking on the phone, his tone very reassuring.

I could understand his busyness; managing a company wasn’t easy, especially since the White family had more than one heir.

We exchanged a knowing glance.

But suddenly I heard Derek’s voice in my head:

“Yvonne says she’s going to hijack the wedding tomorrow. I should wear sneakers to run more easily.”

Yvonne? Hijack the wedding?

I froze on the spot, staring at his mouth, confirming this was indeed his inner thoughts. I didn’t know how to react.

Even though it was a hot summer day outside, a chill spread through my body, paralyzing me.

I could hear his thoughts now, and the implications were obvious.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the staff following his instructions, placing a pair of comfortable sneakers with the wedding attire. Derek nodded at me and prepared to walk out.

This was our tacit understanding; he probably had some important matter to handle.

But the words I just heard in my mind were undeniable, and I never mishear thoughts.

My body almost moved on its own, following him. I called out, somewhat in disbelief:

“Derek?”

I was eager to read more of his thoughts, to understand what this man who bore the title of my fiancé was really thinking.

Why did he suddenly have a change of heart right before the wedding?

My call made Derek pause just as he was about to get into the backseat, but it was only a brief pause. He turned back, hastily explaining to me before instructing the driver to speed away:

“Sorry, a client suddenly has an urgent matter. I need to rush over there.”

He was lying.

At that moment, what he was really thinking was:

“I can tell from her voice that Yvonne is angry. If I don’t go comfort her now, she probably won’t let me come home tonight.”

I’ve never been one to just wallow in self-pity. Rather than overthinking things myself, it’s better to take action.

I directly found an excuse to meet Derek’s secretary privately, using my mind-reading ability to gather more information.

Her name was Yvonne.

She was Derek’s first love.

Yvonne was the illegitimate daughter of the You family. Mrs. You never acknowledged her, so her position had always been awkwardly ambiguous.

Unfortunately, Derek’s family opposed their relationship. Yvonne had too much pride and left Derek, disappearing without a trace after being humiliated.

Derek’s love at first sight for me was simply because I somewhat resembled Yvonne in appearance.

Now that the real deal was back, he naturally didn’t need me as a substitute anymore.

The timing of Yvonne’s return happened to coincide with Derek being exceptionally busy two months ago.

The logic was clear and fit perfectly.

This kind of story made me shake my head and laugh helplessly.

I never expected such a cliché “substitute” plot could apply to me.

Yvonne wanted to use hijacking the wedding as a way to declare her ownership of Derek, while also getting revenge on me for occupying the “Mrs. White” position for so long. And Derek needed this occasion to prove his unwavering love for Yvonne, placate his angry little wife, and force his family to accept Yvonne.

As for me and this carefully prepared wedding, we were just props in their play.

This world is just one big cliché romance novel.

Honestly, it was so ridiculous I couldn’t help but curse.

That night, the lights in my apartment were still on.

Even though the wedding was the next day, I was busy packing my luggage without a moment’s rest.

Two hours ago, I had booked a first-class flight abroad.

If they want to play games, I can play too.

If Derek can let Yvonne hijack the wedding, I can naturally return the favor by pulling a “vanishing act” and running away from the wedding.

Fortunately, my family had already settled abroad, and we hadn’t made a big fuss inviting relatives and friends from there to this wedding. We only invited some close friends in the country.

Originally, we thought since both sets of parents had met during the engagement, we could have another ceremony abroad later, saving relatives and friends the trouble of traveling back and forth with language barriers.

This plan actually made it convenient for me to run away from the wedding now.

I briefly told my best friend Tessa about my thoughts. She silently took the packing box from my hands, looking serious.

Unable to read her thoughts, I saw her reaction was off and had to ask:

“Tessa, are you going to stop me?”

Tessa rolled her eyes and retorted:

“Hell no. I brought you a sturdy bag for packing stuff.”

Oh right, I forgot Tessa’s family was in the agricultural business.

On the wedding day, dressed in a greeting gown, I stood with Derek welcoming guests from afar.

This time, Derek’s thoughts were so loud they gave me a headache:

“Has Yvonne arrived yet?”

“I can finally be with Yvonne. It’s been three years, I’ve waited for Yvonne for three years. She’s finally going to become Mrs. White.”

“With this wedding hijacking, Yvonne will believe my heart has never changed, right?”

…

I couldn’t help but shudder and frown at Derek several times. But he didn’t show it on his face, still caring for me in his usual gentle manner:

“Aria, you don’t look well. Why don’t you go rest in the lounge for a bit? I can greet the guests outside, and you can make your entrance when the ceremony starts.”

That works.

Actually, I should find an excuse to slip away soon anyway.

I agreed, and just as I was about to change out of my little reception dress into casual clothes, I happened to run into Yvonne at the door.

Thanks to our similar looks and my mind-reading ability, I recognized her at a glance. I held back Tessa’s arm as she was about to lunge at the mistress in her bridesmaid dress, pretending to be oblivious:

“You must be Derek’s friend, right? Hurry inside, our wedding ceremony starts in a few hours.”

Yvonne’s smile froze, seemingly displeased by my intimate way of addressing Derek. Her words had a sarcastic tone:

“Miss Wood, I’m so sorry, but we seem to be wearing similar dresses today. If people who don’t know better see us, won’t they think I’m the bride?”

Yvonne’s arrogant thoughts rang out in sync:

“Go ahead and smile. In three hours, your groom will run away with me. Let’s see if you can still smile then.”

I maintained my smile, shaking my head indifferently. I instructed a nearby waiter to show her to her seat:

“Idiot, I’ve made it this obvious and she still doesn’t realize I’m here to cause trouble?”

As we passed each other, Tessa couldn’t help but complain to me:

“Did you see how arrogant she looked? I can’t stand it.”

I nodded noncommittally:

“She sees me as a joke now, after all Derek is prepared to let her hijack the wedding. Not only can the lovers finally be together, but she can also force the White family to acknowledge her status in front of me. “

The wedding venue wasn’t far from the airport. I sat in the waiting lounge, staring at the time on my phone, waiting for the farce to begin.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

My phone vibrated continuously as Tessa excitedly spammed me with live updates:

“Aria, it’s really happening! It’s really happening!”

“Damn, they’re making their affair look like some epic love story. So shameless.”

The official ceremony had only started five minutes ago when Tessa sent me a video of the wedding scene.

According to the program, after Derek went on stage and the host gave a sappy, emotional speech about their love story, the bride was supposed to make her entrance. And Yvonne planned to hijack the wedding at this crucial moment.

Yvonne deliberately wore the same greeting dress as the bride, quickly went up on stage and snatched the microphone from the host.

Despite the murmurs from the audience below, she poured out her love in an endless stream. Her bold and blatant words brought tears to Derek’s eyes.

“Derek, will you come with me?”

The guest seats erupted in an uproar. Taking away the groom on his wedding day - wasn’t this blatant wedding hijacking?

The worst part was that Derek nodded in agreement with a moved expression, walking to Yvonne’s side and interlocking their fingers:

“I will.”

Yvonne’s vanity was fully satisfied at this moment.

She even had the mood to give an “acceptance speech” to the bride separated by a large door, basically saying she knew I really liked Derek, but Derek loved her the most, and she hoped I would give them my blessing.

In the video, Derek was wearing a pair of sneakers that clashed horribly with his formal suit. Yvonne could barely contain the smugness in her expression as she held the microphone.

Yvonne was probably eager to see my devastated reaction. She had even prepared comforting words in her mind:

“I hope Miss Wood can give her blessing to this beautiful love story between me and Derek.”

“Miss Wood?”

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely awkward at this point.

After all, the person being humiliated wasn’t there, so this triumphant scene just became a clownish farce.

“Miss Wood?”

…

Yvonne called out several times with no response, until the etiquette officer opened the large doors. Behind them was an empty space, with only the carelessly discarded white veil symbolizing the bride’s unknown whereabouts.

The crowd suddenly became noisy, and someone shouted:

“Holy crap, did the bride run away from the wedding too?”