My Sister Stole My Wedding, I Stole Their Future

Right before the wedding ceremony was about to start, my mom suddenly had a heart attack.

I dropped everything, rushed her to the hospital, and stayed by her side.

But the moment we arrived at the emergency room, a notification popped up on our family Snapchat group.

I successfully got Chloe to the hospital. You can start the wedding now.

A second later, my dad replied: "Don't worry. I'm already walking Melody down the aisle."

My brother, Julian, added: "Melody has waited ten years for this. Today, she finally gets to marry Ethan legally."

The three messages were quickly deleted.

But a moment later, my best friend, Sarah, accidentally sent a video to our group chat.

In the video, my sister, Melody, was wearing the custom wedding dress I had handpicked. She wore my ring, walking toward my fianc, Ethan Vance.

On the hospital bed, my mom finally stopped pretending. She snatched the phone from my hand and said, without any guilt, "Chloe, Melody has loved Ethan for so many years."

"She just wants a wedding of her own. Just let her have this one, okay?"

I looked at the heart monitor patches still stuck to her chest and suddenly laughed.

It turned out everyone was acting out their own little play. And I was the only fool, fooled for seven years, treated as a massive joke by the people I loved.

By the time I rushed back to the hotel, Ethan was holding Melody's hand, reciting his vows.

"From the day I met you, I knew you were the only one I wanted for the rest of my life."

My breath caught in my throat.

I wrote those vows myself. To condense seven years of love into one sentence, I had stayed up for three nights straight.

Just last night, Ethan held me in his arms, whispering that he would only say these words to me on our wedding day.

Yet here he was, not changing a single word.

He read them to Melody.

The applause in the hall died down instantly when the guests saw me standing at the door.

Ethan immediately let go of Melody's hand and walked toward me.

"Chloe, go back to the hospital."

"I'll explain everything once the ceremony is over."

I lost control and stormed forward, confronting him.

"I want you to explain right now!"

"Why is she wearing my wedding dress? Why is she wearing my ring, standing next to my groom?!"

Ethan stepped in front of Melody, a flash of impatience in his eyes.

"Because this wedding was meant for Melody from the very beginning."

Those words froze me to the spot.

I had spent an entire year planning this wedding.

But Ethan was telling me it never belonged to me.

He looked at the diamond veil on Melody's head, his voice dead calm.

"Melody picked out this veil a long time ago."

"She was living abroad and couldn't come back for the fittings, so I had you try it on to make sure the measurements were right."

I stared at him, my heart breaking.

"What about the dress?"

"It's hers too."

"The original design sketch was made to fit Melody's measurements."

A cold sweat broke out all over my body.

No wonder Ethan refused to let the tailor alter the waistline. He kept telling me to lose weight to fit into the dress.

I starved myself for six months just to fit into it.

Now, I finally understood. I was never the bride.

Melody held Ethan's arm, looking at me with pity in her eyes.

"Chloe, don't blame Ethan. I was the one who told him to pursue you."

"Back then, I had to go abroad for my medical treatment, and I didn't know if I would survive."

"You had just been dumped by your ex, and you couldn't sleep at night."

A perfect look of sorrow washed over her face.

"I couldn't bear to see you suffer, so I begged Ethan to take care of you for a while."

"The food Ethan brought you every day? I wrote that menu."

"The restaurant for your first date? I picked it."

"Even the confession he said to you? I taught him word for word."

My throat felt like it was blocked by concrete.

Ethan had pursued me for ninety-nine days.

I used to write down every little detail of those ninety-nine days in my diary.

But it turned out none of those moments belonged to me.

Sarah, holding her bridesmaid dress, walked over to us.

"Chloe, it was wrong of us to keep you in the dark."

"But Melody has suffered way more than you."

"She watched the man she loved stay with you for seven years, and she never tried to break you up."

"She's been kind enough. Stop pushing her."

I looked at Sarah, the girl I had called my best friend for over ten years.

"So, you knew too?"

Sarah nodded.

"We were just afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it."

"You have such an extreme personality. If you found out Ethan actually loved Melody, who knows what you would have done?"

Everyone stood by Melody's side.

They looked at me with defensive, wary eyes.

As if I weren't the victim who had been lied to for seven years.

As if I were a crazy woman about to ruin my sister's happiness.

The phone in my bag suddenly vibrated.

It was the director of the London project who had offered me a job three months ago.

"Hi Chloe, tonight is the deadline to confirm your permanent transfer to London."

"We saved the last seat on the flight for you."

I gripped my phone. I had turned down this job once before, all because of Ethan.

Back then, he had hugged me tightly, whispering in my ear.

"Chloe, if you go to London, what am I going to do?"

"We're getting married soon. Can you really leave me behind?"

After agonizing over the decision, I chose him. I gave up a career-defining opportunity just to marry him.

Thinking about the seven years of sweetness we shared, I looked at Ethan, my voice cracking.

"Since Melody is back, why didn't you just break up with me?"

"Did you ever love me? Even for a second during these seven years?"

Ethan remained silent for a long time.

Melody smiled softly, her tone dripping with pity.

"He didn't break up with you because I didn't let him."

"You made Ethan your entire world."

"I was afraid that if he left, you would lose your mind again."

She walked over to me like a generous saint.

"Chloe, I let the man I love stay with you for seven years."

"I watched him celebrate your birthdays, take wedding photos with you, and even plan a wedding."

"I have compromised for so long."

"Now, I just want my wedding back. Why can't you grant me this one wish?"

With that, she gently placed her hand over her stomach.

"If it were just me, I could keep waiting."

"But I'm three months pregnant."

"I can't let my baby grow up without knowing their own father."

Ethan's face paled, and he immediately put his hand on her waist.

"The doctor said you need to stay calm."

"Don't waste your breath explaining things to her."

He looked up at me, his voice freezing cold.

"Chloe, Melody has sacrificed seven years for you."

"Now that she's pregnant with my child, I can't keep playing this game with you."

With a few short sentences, he erased the seven years we had built together.

But Ethan once cared about me more than anything.

When I was hospitalized with acute gastritis, he cancelled all his business meetings to stay by my bedside for two days and nights.

When his family opposed our relationship, he cut off his trust fund and moved into my tiny, rented apartment.

During our hardest times, we shared a single piece of toast.

He gave me the only egg we had, smiling.

"Chloe, wait for me."

"I will prove to everyone that you didn't make the wrong choice."

Later, when his startup failed and he was drowning in debt, I worked my day job and took freelance design gigs at night, pulling him through the hardest two years.

The day he got his first major investment, he cried in my arms for a long time.

He swore he would never betray me.

Those hugs were real.

Those tears were real.

But now, he was shielding a pregnant Melody, telling me our seven years of love was just a show.

Suddenly, the giant screen behind them lit up again.

The staff, unaware of the chaos, started playing the couple's memorial video as scheduled.

Bold gold letters flashed across the screen:

"Ethan Vance & Melody Miller: Ten Years of Love."

Photos began to slide across the screen along a timeline.

On my twenty-fourth birthday, Ethan told me his flight was delayed, leaving me alone with a cold birthday cake.

But in the photo on screen, he was wrapping a scarf around Melody under a snowy mountain, leaning down to kiss her red nose.

Six months ago, when I had my first miscarriage.

Ethan said he had an urgent business trip and couldn't sign the surgery consent form at the hospital.

My mom said her chest was hurting.

My dad and Julian both turned off their phones.

I lay on the cold operating table alone, shivering from the pain.

In the photos on screen, they were celebrating Melody's birthday on a private island.

My mom was holding a gift, my dad was cutting the cake, and Julian was setting off fireworks by the beach.

Sarah stood behind the camera, capturing their perfect family reunion.

The photos filled the seven years I was excluded from.

And they exposed all the lies they had fed me.

The doors of the ballroom opened again.

My mom rushed in, wiping away Melody's tears with a pained expression.

When she looked at me, her voice was filled with annoyance.

"Melody has suffered enough for seven years."

"She just wanted her wedding back. Why did you have to come back and make a scene?"

My voice trembled.

"Mom... so you didn't have a heart attack? You were faking it the whole time?"

"Three years ago, when Ethan and I were supposed to get married."

"You suddenly said your chest was hurting and made me stay at the hospital with you."

"Was that just to keep me away, too?"

Melody suddenly laughed.

"Chloe, you finally figured it out."

She pulled a marriage certificate out from beneath her bouquet.

In the photo, she was leaning against Ethan's shoulder.

They looked incredibly happy and perfect for each other.

The date stamped at the bottom was the exact day I was stuck at the hospital three years ago.

My dad and Julian were the witnesses.

Sarah took the photos.

Ethan had married Melody with everyone's blessings.

Meanwhile, I was sitting alone, watching over my "sick" mother.

I had sent Ethan dozens of messages, apologizing for not being able to make it to the courthouse.

I told him we would find another day to get married once my mom was better.

He took a long time to reply.

"It's okay, we have plenty of time."

Melody waved the certificate in front of my face and laughed out loud.

"Chloe, I was the one who sent that text."

"Because at that moment, Ethan's hands were all over me. He didn't have time to look at his phone."

Standing in the middle of the crowded ballroom, I felt completely numb.

I bit my lip so hard it bled, turned around, and ran out.

If I stayed a second longer, my heart would literally stop beating from the pain.

Standing outside, listening to the wedding march playing inside, my hands shook as I typed my reply to the London project director: "I'm in."

The reply came almost instantly.

"Great, Chloe. Your transfer is confirmed. We've booked your flight."

I had twenty-four hours left before I could leave them forever.

Originally, Ethan and I were supposed to head straight to the airport for our honeymoon after the wedding.

My passport and luggage were already packed in the bridal suite.

I stuffed my passport into my suitcase, but before I could walk out, the door was pushed open.

"Chloe!"

Ethan rushed in, panting, as if he was terrified of losing me.

My face was pale. I let out a mocking laugh and opened my mouth to speak, but he shoved a piece of chocolate into my mouth.

The gesture was so natural, just like he had done a thousand times over the last seven years.

"Look at you. Your blood sugar is dropping."

The rich chocolate melted in my mouth, but it tasted incredibly bitter.

Seeing my silence, Ethan took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

"I'll have the driver take you to a hotel."

"I've booked a room for you. Stay there for a few days."

"Once the wedding is over, I'll come find you and explain everything."

My nose stung.

He didn't say he loved me, and he didn't say he couldn't let me go.

But these instinctive acts of care still reminded me of the old Ethan, the one who would run through the rain to buy me medicine and make sure I finished my food before leaving.

Seven years of habit don't disappear instantly.

The jacket still carried his warmth. I used to think this warmth belonged only to me.

But now, his wife was someone else.

"Ethan, I knew you'd be here."

Melody's voice came from the door. Sarah was right behind her.

Melody looked at Ethan's hand, which was still hovering near me. Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Am I always going to be second to her?"

"I know you still care about Chloe. If that's the case, I'll just back out and let you two be..."

The next second, Ethan pulled her into a tight embrace, his eyes red. Melody stood on her tiptoes, kissing him through her tears.

At that moment, I felt like the villain in their fairytale.