Wedding Night Frame

On the day of my sisters wedding, I personally handed Grant, my new brother-in-law, the gift Id spent weeks picking out.

But when it came time to open the gifts, a hush fell over the entire room.

The exquisitely wrapped Herms box didn't contain a luxury handbag. Instead, a crude, anatomically correct sex toy lay exposed on the stage.

The note attached"Curious to see which one you like better~"sealed my fate, cementing the "fact" that I was trying to seduce my sister's new husband.

My sister, Brooke, flew into a rage, accusing me of treachery and attacking me right there at the reception.

Even my own parents, convinced I had deliberately sabotaged the wedding, filmed my "disgrace" and posted it online for the world to condemn.

In an instant, hashtags like #SisterInLawGivesSexToy and #MaidOfHonorHitsOnGroom went viral in our city.

My life, my career, and my future were annihilated by the storm of rumors.

Later, unable to bear the relentless cyberbullying, I was on my way to the police station when I got into a car accident.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my sister's wedding.

And the gift I had personally handed over was sitting center stage, gleaming under the lights

"And now, let's see the wonderful blessing the bride's sister has for the happy couple!"

The MC's voice, identical to the one in my past life, sent a jolt through my entire body.

The moment her hand was about to touch the gift box, I shot up from my seat and rushed onto the stage.

Under the stunned gaze of every guest, I slammed my hand down on the lid.

In my last life, this was the exact moment my carefully chosen gift was revealed to have been swapped for a sex toy.

In front of everyone, I was branded a homewrecker trying to steal my sister's husband.

Brooke cut me out of her life, my parents threw me out of the house, and every good thing I had ever known came to a screeching halt on that day.

Even my life itself ended in a torrential downpour three months after her wedding.

"Ava?"

Brooke stared at me, her face a mask of confusion.

"What are you doing up here?"

I couldn't let her open it. The tragedy of my past life could not be allowed to repeat.

Taking a deep breath, my mind raced.

"Brooke! Just opening a gift is so boring! Don't you want to see the thought I put into getting it for you?"

Before Brooke could respond, Grant cut in, his voice laced with irritation.

"Don't make a scene, Ava. This is a big day for your sister and me. We have a schedule to keep, so let's not waste time. Just open the gift. We can talk about your 'thoughtfulness' later, in private."

I gave him a smile that didn't reach my eyes.

I remembered how, in my last life, after he learned of my supposed 'unrequited love,' he acted like a concerned elder trying to guide me away from a dark path, all while subtly hinting to everyone that I'd been obsessed with him for years. The memory made my stomach churn with nausea.

Keeping my hand pressed firmly on the box, I played along with his words.

"It's because it's your big day that we can't be so casual!"

Without giving him a chance to argue, I gestured to the tech booth.

The large screen behind the stage flickered to life, playing the vlog I had prepared.

The video showed me walking into an Herms boutique, carefully browsing the collection, and finally, signing the receipt for a custom piece with a staggering six-figure price tag.

In my past life, Brooke loved luxury goods, but Grant was broke and always bought her fakes. To avoid any suspicion about the gift's authenticity, I had specifically filmed the vlog, planning to play it after she opened the gift.

But because of that damn sex toy, the wedding descended into chaos. Even when I later showed the video to prove my innocence, no one believed me.

This time, I was making a preemptive strike. This had to change the outcome.

And it worked. The moment the bill appeared on screen, Brooke's eyes lit up.

The suspicion on her face vanished, replaced by a greedy excitement. She grabbed my hand, her voice eager.

"Ava! You really shouldn't have this is too much!"

Despite her words, her other hand shot out to grab the gift box without a moment's hesitation.

"Not so fast, sis!"

I pressed down on the box again, cleverly positioning my body between her and the gift.

"It's crowded in here, and people are moving around. What if someone bumps into it or takes it by mistake? That would be a tragedy. It's better if I hold onto it and give it to you personally after the ceremony."

I kept my hand firmly on the box, my knuckles turning white with tension.

I knew the contents had already been swapped. If Brooke insisted on opening it now, the nightmare would just start all over again.

Thankfully, though she was reluctant, the thought of keeping her expensive gift safe won out.

"You're right, you always think of everything. You better guard it with your life! Don't let it out of your sight!"

I nodded with a smile, letting out a small sigh of relief as I picked up the box to head off the stage.

But as I turned, the floor beneath my feet suddenly vanished.

The portable steps I had used to get on stage were gone.

I fell hard, and the gift box flew from my hands, tumbling through the air.

Its contents spilled onto the floor, and under the brilliant stage lights, the items gleamed with the tell-tale, fleshy sheen of silicone.

In that instant, the entire hall fell dead silent.

Brooke's shriek was so piercing it nearly shattered my eardrums.

"Ava! Is this your wedding gift to me?!"

My heart plummeted, and an icy dread flooded my veins.

Could it be that even with a second chance, I was doomed to repeat the same fate?

In that split second, as chaos erupted, I swiftly snatched the flirtatious handwritten card that had landed near my hand and tucked it up my sleeve.

By then, Brooke was dragging Grant down from the stage, her face a storm of fury.

"Ava!" she screamed, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You handed this box to Grant yourself! I saw you! I thought it was something special, but you used this disgusting trash to humiliate me!"

She clung to Grant's arm, her eyes red, playing the part of the deeply betrayed sister.

"And you even filmed that video as a cover? Tell me, was this whole elaborate scheme just an excuse to seduce your own brother-in-law?"

The moment the words left her mouth, the contemptuous stares of the guests pinned me down, just like before.

Grant stepped forward then, wrapping a protective arm around Brooke.

"Brooke, calm down! Let me explain!"

He shot me a look of feigned helplessness.

"Ava she's young, she doesn't know any better. Of course, I have no improper feelings for her. Even if she feels something for me my heart only has room for you."

He paused, his voice thick with performative pain.

"I just can't believe she would resort to this to ruin our wedding. Brooke, this is my fault. I'm so sorry you have to go through this."

His words acted as a cue, and the whispers around us grew into a wave of condemnation.

"So shameless, pulling a stunt like this at her own sister's wedding!"

"She always seemed so innocent, but she's got a filthy mind."

"Giving a gift like that? It's a blatant provocation, isn't it?"

My parents, shaking with rage, stormed over to me. My fathers slap cracked across one cheek, my mothers across the other, leaving my ears ringing.

They grabbed my shoulders and forced me down onto the carpet.

"You disgraceful thing! On your sister's happiest day, you just had to make a scene! Are you that desperate for a man you'd go after your own sister's husband? Apologize to your sister right now!"

With that, they shoved their phones in my face, ready to film my humiliation.

Everything was happening exactly as it had before.

A surge of fury shot through me.

I snatched the phone from my mothers hand and smashed it on the ground.

"Are you done?!"

I looked up, my face already swelling, my voice colder and calmer than I had ever heard it.

"You all keep saying I gave them this, that I'm trying to seduce Grant. Where's your proof?"

Brooke lunged, trying to grab my hair, but I sidestepped her. She stumbled into my mother's arms. "It's right here in plain sight! You little tramp, and you still won't admit it!"

I let out a cold laugh.

"Are you blind? Did you not see the video? I spent three hundred thousand dollars on your wedding gift. Why on earth would I swap it for this cheap piece of junk?"

Brooke froze.

She knew a toy like that was nowhere near the price of a custom Herms. I had already spent the money. The bag was a one-of-a-kind piece, custom-made for the wedding, with their names and wedding date engraved on the hardware. It made no sense for me to switch it out at the last minute for something so worthless.

Just then, Grant, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"Maybe you changed your mind! Maybe you bought the bag and then regretted it, so you decided not to give it! Ava, I know you can be a bit of a spender, but I never thought you'd do something like this. If you didn't want to give it, you shouldn't have! Did you think we would force you? Why use this to drive a wedge between me and your sister and deliberately ruin our wedding?"

His twisted logic instantly shifted everyone's focus back to me.

Before the guests could even react, my father shoved me from behind.

"Is what your brother-in-law said true?" he bellowed. "Ava, did you really get selfish and swap out your sister's wedding gift?"

My mother clutched her chest, acting as if I'd given her a heart attack.

"Is this how I raised you? I told you sisters to support each other! You're living the high life in the city now, with your own apartment and car, and you can't even spare a decent gift for your sister? You ungrateful brat! It was only three hundred thousand dollars, not your life savings!"

Their baseless accusations sent a familiar chill through me.

Growing up, my parents had always favored my sister.

They kept Brooke with them, giving her everything she ever wanted, while I was dumped with my grandparents in the countryside, without a cent of support from them.

When Brooke dropped out of high school, they pulled strings and borrowed money to get her a cushy office job.

Meanwhile, I fought my way through college on student loans and part-time jobs, finally establishing a life for myself in the city.

But every time I came home, it was always the same story.

"Look how hard your sister has it. You need to help her more."

"You got lucky and made some money, but don't you forget who gave birth to you!"

"What's wrong with buying your sister something nice? She's your family!"

No matter what I achieved, all I ever got was a dismissive wave.

"What's the point of being so successful if you're never around? Not like your sister, she stays here to take care of us in our old age."

So, I bought the bag. A three-hundred-thousand-dollar bag, without blinking an eye, all to make my sister happy, to earn their approval, to get just one single look of pride from them.

And what did I get in return?

A public slap in the face, a violent shove, vicious curses, and baseless slander.

I sneered, pulling out my phone and taking several sharp photos of the obscene objects on the floor.

"We live in a digital age. Every purchase leaves a trail. Since you're so convinced I bought this to ruin the wedding, let's just contact the online seller and have them look up who the real recipient is."

In my last life, when I was drowning in online hate, some internet sleuths had actually managed to track down the custom online shop based on a serial number on the bottom of the toy. So for me, finding the seller now was easy.

Sure enough, a quick reverse image search led me straight to them.

The moment I did, Grant, who had been standing by looking distraught, went pale.

He rushed forward, his tone doing a complete one-eighty.

"Ava, that's an invasion of privacy! Stop this nonsense! It's my fault, okay? It's all my fault. I didn't handle things right, and you got hurt."

He then tried to guilt-trip me.

"Whatever it is, we're family. Let's deal with it behind closed doors! Don't air our dirty laundry for everyone to see. Please, Ava, I'm begging you. For your sister's sake, let's give her some dignity."

I coldly shook off his hand as he tried to grab my arm and projected my phone screen onto the main display.

"My dear brother-in-law, suddenly we're 'family'? A minute ago, when you were implying I was trying to seduce you, you didn't seem so concerned about keeping things private."

I flashed a brittle smile.

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to ruin my reputation today, but I have nothing to hide. Since some people refuse to believe me, let's find out the truth right here, right now, in front of everyone!"

"You!"

"What's the matter, Grant? Are you... nervous?"

Before he could react, I hit the call button.

A moment later, a professional customer service voice echoed through the banquet hall.

"Hello, thank you for calling. How can I help you today?"

I explained the situation, and the representative on the other end quickly pulled up the order information.

Unfortunately it had nothing to do with Grant.

"Are you sure the recipient's last name is Reed, and the phone number ends in 8977?"

"Yes, ma'am. That's all the information I'm authorized to provide."

After I hung up, Grant visibly relaxed.

"See, Ava? Stop making a big deal out of nothing. Your gift must have been swapped by this Ms. Reed person. Your sister and I will check the guest list later. Now, can you please drop it? We have a wedding to finish."

I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound.

"A three-hundred-thousand-dollar gift just vanishes, and you call that 'making a big deal'? It seems my reputation is worth about as much as that bag in your eyesabsolutely nothing."

"Will you ever let it go?"

My mother grabbed my arm, yanking me off balance.

"So we misunderstood you for a minute, what's the big deal? We get it, you're rich, you bought your sister a lavish gift! Someone else proved the nasty thing wasn't from you, so that should be the end of it! Are you really going to hold up your sister's entire wedding over this?"

"Mom! That was three hundred thousand dollars"

Even Brooke was getting antsy.

Just then, the MC on stage, Lorna, spoke up.

"Bride and groom, we still have a long schedule ahead, and we're running on a very tight timeline."

"If we continue to be delayed by this matter, it could seriously affect the rest of the ceremony. We might have to cut some parts of the program if we run out of time. What would you like to do?"

Brooke had hired Lorna specifically because she was a woman known for running elegant, modern weddings without any awkward, old-fashioned rituals, focusing entirely on the couple's experience.

Just as expected, Lorna's words made Brooke hesitate.

Lorna was a top-tier MC, and her schedule had to be booked a year and a half in advance. She was incredibly hard to get.

After a moment of deliberation, Brooke's desire for a perfect wedding won out. She gritted her teeth and told Lorna to continue with the ceremony.

With my parents watching me like hawks, I was unable to investigate any further.

Sitting back at my table, my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. Something wasn't right.

Based on Grant's reaction, he was definitely involved in the gift swap.

But the name and address from the seller didn't match him at all.

So who bought the sex toy? Who was trying to frame me?

Soon, the wedding ceremony drew to a close.

The MC and the rest of the wedding planning team were packing up to head to their next event, and my parents sent me to see them off.

After a few polite goodbyes, I was about to head back into the hall when the hotel receptionist called out to me.

"Ma'am, your party left something in storage here!"

I was about to explain that I wasn't with the wedding team when she started reading off the information.

"The item was left under the name Ms. Reed, phone number ending in 8977. Is that correct?"

A jolt went through me. I whipped my head around.

"What did you just say?!"