I Gave Away My Wedding to Someone Else

On my wedding day, my groom walked out on me.

He had to accompany his ex-girlfriend to fulfill the final clause of their so-called Breakup Agreement.

A spontaneous, drop-everything getaway.

I gripped his cuff, my knuckles turning white. Can't you just wait until the ceremony is over? It's only half an hour away.

He pried my fingers off his sleeve one by one. His tone was condescending, like he was coaxing an unreasonable child.

"Aubrey, this is the last time I have to fulfill a clause. I can't break my promise."

"Once this trip is over, I will never owe her anything again."

"Wait for me to get back. I promise I will make it up to you with an even grander wedding."

With that, he pulled open his car door and sped away from the luxury hotel venue without a single backward glance.

Watching the taillights disappear at the end of the road, a bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Over the past five years, Carter had bailed on me no less than a hundred times. And every single time, it was to honor that ridiculous Breakup Agreement.

But luckily, I had left myself an out this time.

The new groom had already entered the venue.

...

"Why are your hands so cold?"

A deep, gentle voice murmured beside my ear, carrying a faint but unmistakable trace of comfort.

I snapped back to reality, pulling my gaze away from the tightly shut doors of the banquet hall.

Harrison Cole stood beside me. He was dressed in an immaculately tailored, high-end black tuxedo, looking down at me with dark, steady eyes. His warm palm covered my icy fingers, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

I shook my head, forcing down the last bit of residual bitterness I held for Carter.

"I am fine, Harrison."

"We can start."

Following the officiant's enthusiastic opening announcement, the heavy double doors of the grand hall slowly pushed open.

The spotlight hit my white gown.

With my hand resting in the crook of Harrison's arm, I walked step by step toward the stage overflowing with fresh white roses.

A ripple of shock swept through the seated guests.

Especially at the head table, where Carter's parents sat. The color drained from their faces entirely, and they practically shot up from their chairs. Carter's mother widened her eyes, her lips trembling violently, but the sheer number of high-profile guests in the room forced her to swallow her outrage.

Of course they knew the groom had been swapped.

But there was absolutely nothing they could do. They could only sit there and watch me finish this play.

The ceremony was heavily simplified from my original plan.

There were no tearful strolls down memory lane, no dramatic vows of eternal love. There was only the officiant's crisp, efficient script.

Then came the ring exchange.

Harrison pulled a simple, elegant platinum band from a velvet box. It was not the massive, multimillion-dollar diamond Carter had custom-ordered for me.

He gently took my left hand and slid the ring onto my ring finger.

The cool metal resting against my skin made me feel unexpectedly grounded.

"Happy wedding day, Aubrey," he murmured in a voice meant only for the two of us.

I looked up, meeting his deep, tranquil gaze, and replied softly.

"Happy wedding day to you too, Harrison."

I completely canceled the traditional champagne toast rounds. Using a quick excuse, I retreated to the bridal suite alone.

The moment I pushed the door open, the phone in my purse started buzzing frantically.

The name "Carter" flashed on the screen.

The phone rang four or five times. Just as it was about to go to voicemail, I lazily tapped the answer button.

The chaotic announcements of an airport terminal immediately flooded through the speaker.

"Aubrey, why did it take you so long to pick up?"

Carter's voice carried its usual smooth cadence, utterly devoid of any guilt for abandoning his own bride on their wedding day. It sounded as casual as if he had just stepped out for groceries.

I sat down at the vanity, quietly staring at my reflection in the mirror, taking in the intricate details of my gown.

"I was on stage," I replied flatly.

"On stage?"

He paused for a second before letting out a soft chuckle. His tone was dripping with helpless indulgence.

"I know you are mad. Did you have the officiant run through the motions so you could put on a one-woman show to protest?"

"Aubrey, you are usually much more mature than this."

"Stella had a sudden panic attack in the VIP lounge. She insisted that she needed those gluten-free macarons from that artisan bakery downtown to calm down. I had to drive halfway across the city to get them."

"You know she has moderate clinical depression. She can't handle emotional distress."

"Besides, this is the very last clause of our Breakup Agreement. A farewell trip."

"I promised her. As soon as I walk her through this trip to Iceland, we will go our separate ways forever, and I will be entirely yours."

"Can't you just be the bigger person and wait for me a little longer?"

The words flowed out of his mouth effortlessly, full of self-righteous justification.

Over the past five years, I had heard variations of this speech countless times.

I had asked him more than once why he had to religiously follow that absurd agreement. He would always look at me with pitiful eyes and say that Stella was just too fragile. If he didn't help her, she wouldn't survive.

As if Stella was a delicate porcelain doll. And I, Aubrey, was made of reinforced steel, completely indestructible.

"Carter." A weak, breathy female voice suddenly echoed through his end of the line.

"The macarons are a bit dry. I want some room-temperature lemon water..."

It was Stella.

"Okay, sit right here and don't move. I will go buy some," Carter replied immediately, his voice melting into pure tenderness.

When he spoke into the phone again, his tone shifted right back to a cold, businesslike brush-off.

"Aubrey, Stella is calling for me. Just explain the wedding situation to my parents, tell them a corporate emergency came up."

"When I get back, I will rent out the entire Amalfi Coast and throw you the most spectacular wedding."

"Be a good girl. Don't cause trouble."

I stared at my pale, stiff reflection in the mirror. A mocking smirk curled the corners of my lips.

"Carter, you don't need to throw another wedding."

A muffled thud came from his side, like someone had bumped into him.

"What does that mean? Aubrey, are you throwing another tantrum?"

"I already told you, this is the last time!" His voice flared with impatience.

I didn't raise my voice. I just interrupted him with absolute, chilling calmness.

"I mean, have a wonderful trip."

With that, I hung up.

I pressed my finger against the screen and permanently moved his number to my blocked list.

Taking off the diamond tiara, I slowly began dismantling my elaborate bridal hairstyle.

The door behind me pushed open softly.

Harrison walked in holding a warm glass of honey water and set it gently on the vanity.

"Still waiting for him?"

I picked up the glass and took a sip. The warmth slid down my throat, driving away the chill in my chest.

"No more waiting," I said, turning to look at him.

"Harrison, are you free tomorrow to finalize our marriage license paperwork?"

Leaving the hotel, I did not head back to the luxury estate Carter and I were supposed to move into as newlyweds.

Instead, I took a cab back to the downtown apartment we had rented together for the past four years.

Even though we bought the estate outright two years ago, this small apartment was the place that actually held all our memories.

And now, I was going to personally wipe those memories clean.

Pushing the door open, a pair of matching couple's slippers still sat neatly in the entryway. Carter had specifically ordered them online last month, customized with our initials.

I stepped right over them and walked barefoot into the living room.

The finalized guest list we had poured over last night was still scattered across the coffee table. His suit jacket from yesterday's fitting was draped casually over the arm of the sofa.

Everything looked like a perfect illusion of happiness, right up until that jarring phone call shattered it all this morning.

I dragged my suitcase out and began packing my life away, piece by piece.

Clothes, skincare, reference books.

I actually didn't have that much stuff. It barely filled half the suitcase.

Ironically, every corner of this apartment was littered with traces of Stella.

I pulled open a drawer to grab my passport, but a blue velvet box accidentally tumbled out.

It hit the hardwood floor with a sharp crack, the lid popping open.

Inside lay a diamond-encrusted necklace. The pendant was shaped like a star.

My hands froze.

Carter had bought this for our three-year anniversary.

At the time, he had looked at me with eyes full of guilt.

"Aubrey, I bought this necklace for you. But Stella saw it, and she said it perfectly matched her name. She cried and begged to borrow it for a few days. You are always so understanding, you won't mind, right?"

Eventually, the necklace was returned, only to be casually tossed into the back of this drawer and never mentioned again.

My face remained entirely blank as I kicked the necklace straight into the trash can. I went back to digging for my passport.

I finally found it on the bottom shelf of the bookcase.

Pulled out right alongside it was a neatly folded piece of A4 paper.

The bolded black title read: Breakup Agreement.

I stared coldly at the utterly ridiculous clauses printed on the page.

"Clause 1: Post-breakup, the male party must accompany the female party to the movies once a month until she heals from the heartbreak."

"Clause 7: Whenever the female party falls ill, the male party must be on call 24/7 and cannot decline under any circumstances."

"Clause 19: The male party must accompany the female party on a farewell trip from her bucket list."

At the bottom of the page, Carter's signature was bold and sharp. Next to it, he had drawn a tiny smiley face.

How touching. The absolute best ex-boyfriend in the world.

I crumpled the paper into a tight ball and tossed it perfectly into the trash can, right on top of that star necklace.

Just as I zipped up my suitcase, the smart speaker in the living room pulsed with a green light.

"Received new photos from the shared cloud."

It was a family sync setting Carter had set up to prevent his phone storage from filling up. Any photo he favorited on his phone would automatically cast to the home devices.

Because my phone was tied to the same system, the digital display lit up instantly.

It was a live photo album from Iceland.

In the pictures, the Northern Lights were breathtakingly vibrant. Carter was wearing a heavy parka, holding Stella tightly in his arms to shield her from the snow. Stella's cheeks were flushed pink from the cold, but she was smiling radiantly.

I tapped the live photo.

Stella's playful voice rang out through the speaker. "Carter, the aurora is so beautiful! If only it could stay like this forever."

Carter's deep, gentle voice immediately followed. "As long as you are happy, I will bring you here to see it every single year."

I stared at the screen in silence.

Five seconds later, the display went dark.

Just yesterday, he had sworn to me that this would be the final time he fulfilled a clause.

Today, under the Northern Lights, he was promising her forever.

I opened the system settings and ruthlessly kicked my account out of the family sharing group.

The moment I finished, my phone rang.

It was an unknown local number.

I tapped the answer button.

"Aubrey, it's Stella."

Stella's voice was weak and fragile, laced with a careful, probing hesitance.

"Carter just went to heat up some milk for me. I sneaked out and used the hotel lobby phone to call you."

I didn't say a word. I just listened to her perform.

"I am so, so sorry, Aubrey. I honestly had no idea today was your wedding day."

"My depression flared up yesterday. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like I was going to die, so I panicked and called Carter."

"He was just so worried about me. He didn't even change his clothes before rushing to the airport."

"Please don't be mad at him. If you have to blame someone, blame my useless, sick body."

She punctuated her speech with two weak, pathetic coughs.

I held the phone to my ear. My tone was as casual as if we were discussing the weather.

"Stella, if you actually felt sorry, you wouldn't be calling me right now just to gloat."

The breathing on the other end hitched.

She clearly hadn't expected the usually tolerant and quiet Aubrey to be so bluntly vicious.

"Aubrey, you misunderstood me..." Her voice immediately took on a tearful waver.

"Stella? Who are you talking to?"

Carter's voice suddenly cut through the background, layered with obvious panic.

A second later, the phone was snatched away.

"Aubrey!" Carter's voice instantly dropped to freezing temperatures, dripping with arrogant accusation.

"Stella was nice enough to call and apologize, and you verbally abuse her? She is crying so hard she can barely breathe!"

I looked down at the suitcase by my feet.

"I didn't say anything to abuse her."

"You didn't say anything, and she is crying?" he sneered.

"Aubrey, I thought you were a generous person. I never realized you were so petty you couldn't even tolerate a sick woman!"

"Stella is just too kind. She felt guilty for taking me away. Did you really have to be so vindictive?"

He fired off accusations one after another, as if I had committed an unforgivable crime.

I couldn't even be bothered to defend myself. I moved to hang up.

But suddenly, he softened his tone, as if he were granting me some grand, merciful favor.

"Forget it, I am not going to fight with you. I need you to go to Stella's apartment right now."

I frowned. "Why?"

"No one has fed Stella's Ragdoll cat in two days. Go over there and fill the food bowl. The passcode is my birthday."

He paused, then added as if it were the most natural request in the world.

"Oh, and scoop the litter box while you are there. Stella is a neat freak, so make sure it is spotless."

"Did you hear me, Aubrey?"

The air in the apartment seemed to completely freeze.

He wanted me to go to his ex-girlfriend's apartment and scoop her cat's crap.

On my wedding night.

A memory from a brutal winter two years ago suddenly surfaced in my mind.

I had caught a severe flu. My fever spiked to 103 degrees, and I didn't even have the strength to get out of bed. I called Carter, begging him to come home and take me to the emergency room.

He had sounded incredibly annoyed on the phone.

"Aubrey, Stella's cat suddenly stopped eating. I have to take it to the vet for a full blood panel. You just have a fever. Take some Tylenol and sleep it off. Stop acting so spoiled."

That day, shivering and delirious, I had to call an ambulance for myself.

And now, he actually had the audacity to bring up that damn cat.

"Aubrey? Are you listening?"

When I didn't respond, that familiar impatience crept back into his voice.

I took a deep breath, my tone dead flat.

"Carter, do you honestly believe I was born to be the unpaid maid for you and your ex?"

He froze on the other end of the line.

He clearly hadn't expected me to rebel. He went silent for two seconds before his voice spiked in volume.

"What nonsense are you spewing now? I just asked you to feed a cat. Why do you have to blow everything out of proportion?"

"You never used to be like this! Why are you so bitter and mean now?"

"Stella is sick, and that cat is her emotional support! If something happens to it and her condition worsens, are you going to take responsibility?!"

His emotional blackmail was as practiced and fluent as ever.

It was so fluent it was laughable.

"If the cat is so important to you, why don't you fly back and feed it yourself?"

I didn't wait to hear another word. I hit the red button.

With a quick swipe, I added the unknown local number to my blocked list.

Grabbing the handle of my suitcase, I took one last look at the place I had called home for four years.

I walked out, pulled the door shut, and locked it.

Without a single shred of regret.

Early the next morning.

I got up before the sun and headed to a high-end bridal boutique downtown.

I had originally booked an appointment today to pick up the custom reception gown Carter had personally designed for me.

Even though I didn't need it for a wedding anymore, I had already paid for it in full. I planned to bring it home and cut it up into cleaning rags.

The moment I stepped inside, a familiar burst of laughter echoed from the lounge.

"This is gorgeous! If she wears this for a photoshoot under the snowy mountains, it's going to look absolutely killer."

It was Carter's younger sister, Karina.

She was lounging on the velvet sofa in the VIP section, holding an espresso and showing off a photo on her phone to her friend.

"Obviously. My brother picked it out. He treats Stella like a literal princess."

When Karina saw me walk in, the smug smile froze on her face.

But it only took a second for her to replace it with a theatrical, mocking grin.

"Oh, look who it is. If it isn't my almost-sister-in-law, Aubrey."

She put a heavy emphasis on the word "almost".

I ignored her completely and walked straight to the front desk.

"Hi, I am here to pick up the custom gown for Aubrey."

The sales associate looked incredibly awkward, stammering as she flipped through the appointment ledger.

Karina strutted over in her designer heels, her tone dripping with provocation.

"Don't bother looking, Aubrey. My brother had the dress overnighted to Iceland yesterday."

My hands stopped. I turned to look at her.

"He took it?"

"Yep." Karina waved her phone smugly, shoving the screen right in my face.

In the photo, Stella was wearing the stunning red reception dress that was meant for me. She stood against the backdrop of an Icelandic glacier, the red silk catching the wind perfectly.

Carter was standing just out of frame, but his hand was visible, gently tucking a strand of windblown hair behind Stella's ear.

"Stella said she wanted to do a 'goodbye to youth' photoshoot," Karina said with a sickly sweet giggle. "My brother thought that red dress would pop perfectly against the snow, so he just had it shipped over."

"You aren't mad, are you, Aubrey?"

"Stella is so sick. Just treat it like doing charity work. What is the big deal if she borrows it?"

The heavily made-up friend next to her immediately chimed in.

"Exactly. A woman who can't even keep her man from running away at the altar shouldn't be making a fuss over a piece of fabric."

"They are true soulmates. You were just the benchwarmer. Stop acting like the main character."

Their harsh, mocking voices were painfully loud in the quiet boutique.

The sales associate kept her head down, too afraid to make eye contact.

I looked at the familiar red dress on the phone screen, and suddenly, my chest felt completely hollow.

Two months ago, Carter had stayed up for three nights straight with a sketchbook, refining that design for me.

He had held my hands and said, "Aubrey, I designed this specifically for you. It's the only one of its kind in the entire world."

Turns out, his "one of a kind" was easily transferable.

I pulled my gaze away and looked at Karina. My voice was perfectly steady, without a single ripple of emotion.

"Since your brother loves doing charity with other people's property..."

"Do me a favor and tell him that the remaining balance on that dress is forty thousand dollars. I expect it wired to my account by three o'clock this afternoon."

"As for the fifteen thousand dollar deposit, consider it my donation to Miss Stella's medical bills. No need to thank me."

Karina stared at me, completely dumbfounded. She had clearly never seen me use money as a weapon before.

"You... Aubrey, are you obsessed with money or something?! Does my brother not spend enough on you?!"

I didn't bother entertaining her tantrum. I turned on my heel and walked out the door.

The moment I stepped onto the sidewalk, my phone buzzed with notifications from the Preston family group chat.

Carter had just sent a massive digital cash gift to the chat.

Followed immediately by a scenic photo.

The caption read: "Wish fulfilled. Someone said the snow here looks like cotton candy."

The older relatives in the chat were completely silent, clearly too awkward to respond.

Only Karina jumped in immediately to play cheerleader.

"Carter! Stella looks stunning in that red dress! Some people could never pull off that kind of elegance."

I stared at the screen, my face void of expression as I tapped the top right corner.

"Leave Group Chat."

Five seconds later, a barrage of private messages from Carter flooded my screen like rapid fire.

"Why did you leave the family chat? Are you trying to embarrass us?"

"Aubrey, what exactly is your problem these past few days?"

"I just noticed you froze my secondary credit card, and you canceled our honeymoon suite in Bora Bora."

"Are you seriously using these petty tricks to force me to come home?"

I looked at the endless wall of accusations on the screen, and a profound wave of exhaustion washed over me.

A few taps of my finger.

Delete Contact.

The world was finally quiet.

I looked up. The winter sun was a bit blinding.

My phone buzzed one more time. It was a text from Harrison.

"The house is clean, and your things have been moved in."

"What time are you coming home? I made soup."

Three days later.

Carter ended his trip to Iceland early.

Maybe it was because I froze his card, or maybe it was because I had completely blocked him on every single platform.

He finally sensed that something was genuinely wrong, and he dragged Stella on the first flight back to the city.

At 2:00 PM, I was in the office finalizing my handover documents.

The heavy glass doors of the open-plan office were suddenly shoved open.

Carter marched in wearing a bespoke suit, striding with intense purpose.

He was holding a massive bouquet of sunflowers.

Those were Stella's favorite flowers. He had probably just grabbed them out of the passenger seat on a whim.

"Where is Aubrey?" he demanded sharply at the front desk.

The moment he appeared, every single eye in the office darted toward my desk.

Whispers broke out everywhere.

After all, the CEO leaving his bride at the altar was already the biggest gossip in our social circle.

I didn't try to hide. I calmly closed the folder in my hands and looked up at him.

He marched straight over and slammed the massive bouquet down on my desk.

Yellow pollen scattered everywhere, dusting the surface of my official resignation form.

"Aubrey, what exactly are you trying to prove?"

He looked down at me, his tone heavy with exhaustion and a frustrated, parental kind of reprimand.

As if I were the one throwing an irrational tantrum.

"I went back to the apartment, and the passcode was changed. I went to the estate, and you didn't leave a single piece of clothing behind."

"Blocking me, leaving the family group chat, canceling the cards."

He took a deep breath, visibly trying to force a softer, coaxing tone, just like he always used to.

"I even cut the trip short and came back early. What more do you want?"

"My farewell trip with Stella is over. I officially tore up the Breakup Agreement."

"From now on, I will only be good to you."

He reached across the desk, trying to grab my shoulders.

"Stop making a scene. We will go reshoot our wedding photos this weekend. Pick a good date next month, and we will do the wedding all over again."

"Are you finally satisfied now?"

Listening to his grand, merciful concessions, I couldn't even summon the energy to be angry.

This was Carter.

He always believed he was entirely in the right.

He believed that because he had fulfilled his ex-girlfriend's "wishes" and was now lowering himself to comfort me, I should be crying tears of absolute gratitude.

I stepped back, avoiding his hands completely.

"Carter, you don't need to do the wedding over again."

I pushed the sunflowers aside and picked up my resignation form.

"I have already officially resigned from Apex Innovations. I am leaving the city tomorrow."

His hands froze in mid-air. The expression on his face shattered.

"Resigned? Leaving?"

He stared at me in disbelief, as if I had just told the most absurd joke in the world.

"Are you out of your mind? Apex is something we built together! Where the hell are you going to go?"

"You are throwing away your entire career just to spite me?"

He lunged forward, trying to snatch the resignation form out of my hands.

But the moment his hand clamped down on my wrist, his gaze locked onto my left hand.

Right there, shining clearly under the office lights, was the platinum wedding band Harrison had given me.

Carter's pupils shrank violently. His face instantly darkened into a storm of fury.

"What is that?"

He stared dead at the ring, a microscopic sliver of panic bleeding into his voice.

"Did you seriously buy some cheap piece of trash to wear just to piss me off?"

"Aubrey, this little stunt is beyond childish!"

I aggressively ripped my wrist out of his grip.

"It's not a cheap piece of trash. It's my wedding ring."

I looked him dead in the eye, pronouncing every word with crystal clarity.

"Carter, we are entirely, permanently over."

Instead of blowing up, he laughed. A strained, almost manic sound.

"A wedding ring? With who? That random stand-in actor who didn't even show his face at the wedding?"

"Do you honestly think hiring some extra to put on a play is going to force me to apologize?"

He was getting more agitated by the second. He whipped his head around, scanning my desk as if looking for evidence to expose my "bluff."

Then, his eyes landed on a half-open personal tax update form.

It was standard paperwork required for HR upon resigning.

There was a section titled: Marital Status & Spouse Details.

Carter's eyes locked onto that piece of paper.

The color drained from his face inch by inch until he was paler than the paper itself.

He snatched the form off the desk, his hands trembling so violently he couldn't control them.

The paper crumpled in his white-knuckled grip.

"A copy of your... marriage certificate?"