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Chapter 3

Author: That's All
I said, "Fine. Keep doing your makeup. I'm not going to force you to stop. At 8:58 am, I'll leave this house on time."

At 8:52 am, my dad, David Stewart, came upstairs. He pushed past the relatives gathered by the door. He asked in an urgent tone, "Why haven't you gone downstairs yet? The wedding cars are ready!"

No one answered.

Jack replied coldly, "The bridesmaid's eyeliner got smudged, so she's redoing her makeup. The groom is waiting beside her."

Dad's expression darkened as he turned to Charles. "So you're making Natalie wait for her?"

Charles pressed his lips together. "It's only a few minutes, Dad…"

"Don't call me that!" Dad cut him off sharply.

The entire room fell silent.

Charles' expression soured immensely.

Dad pointed at the clock on the wall. "It's 8:53 am. We've scheduled Natalie's departure for 8:58 am, and we finalized that time a month ago. The invitations, the wedding cars, the hotel, the emcee... Everything has been arranged around that schedule. And now, you're telling me it's only a few minutes?"

Charles lowered his voice. "Dad, it's not that I don't care about Natalie, but Winnie is her best friend. On a day like today, can't we all just be considerate and not embarrass each other?"

Dad let out an incredulous laugh. "Not embarrass each other? You're making the bride stand around in her wedding dress while her bridesmaid removes and reapplies her makeup, and you think that's okay?

"You're making our entire family stand here and become a laughingstock, and you think that's not embarrassing?"

Charles had no answer to that.

However, Winnie stood up at that moment. "David, please don't be so hard on Charles. I'll admit I delayed things by a few minutes. But I'm doing this for Natalie's sake. I want to look my best because I want her wedding to be perfect."

Dad fumed, "Perfect? Today isn't your—"

He was about to say more when I grabbed his arm.

I said, "Dad."

He turned to look at me. His eyes reddened instantly. He was a man, almost 50 years old, yet he looked as though he might break down at any moment.

"But Natalie—"

I spoke softly. "It's okay. At 8:58 am, I'll leave this house no matter what."

When Charles heard that, his expression darkened. "Natalie, there's no way Winnie will be ready by 8:58 am. How are we supposed to go downstairs and get into the wedding car?

"Are you really going to let your anger ruin our wedding? Can you really bear to do that? Can your parents afford the humiliation?"

His words came down like knives, with each one piercing my heart mercilessly.

So he knew how much I loved him. He knew how much my parents cared about their reputation. And that was why he believed I would keep swallowing my pride, no matter how blatantly he favored Winnie.

I looked straight into his eyes. "You're right, Charles. I really can't bear to do that."

Charles seemed relieved. The faintest hint of a smile appeared on his face.

But I continued, "That was the old me. Not anymore."

The smile froze on his face. He warned, "Natalie, that's enough! You should know when to stop!"

I ignored him and lowered my eyes to my phone. The chat was still open, and the last message on the screen was a single word.

"Okay."

At 8:54 am, the wedding emcee practically ran upstairs. "We really can't wait any longer! The bride is scheduled to leave at 8:58 am. The photographers, wedding cars, and confetti cannons are all ready downstairs. Any later, and the entire schedule will be thrown off course!"

Every relative in the room turned to look at Charles.

Danny spoke in a grave voice. "Charles, if you still intend to marry Natalie, then take her downstairs and get her into the wedding car now."

Olive chimed in anxiously, "Exactly! If Winnie isn't ready, let her finish her makeup on her own. The two of you need to go downstairs right now."

Winnie immediately frowned. "What are you all trying to say? I'm the bridesmaid! How is the ceremony supposed to proceed without me?"

Jack sneered. "The wedding can go on with one less bridesmaid. The truly disastrous scenario is missing the lucky moment."

Winnie's face went pale. She turned to Charles. "Charles…"

He immediately stepped in front of her. "Enough! There's no need for all of you to gang up on her."

Dad stared at him, his gaze unwavering. "Charles, I'm asking you one last time. Are you leaving now or not?"

Charles didn't answer immediately. He glanced at Winnie, then looked at me.

He said, "After Winnie finishes her makeup."

Everyone in the room froze.

Mom's tears finally spilled over, but I remained perfectly calm.

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  • Groom Chose the Bridesmaid, so I Left   Chapter 14

    Shawn tilted his head and looked at me. "What were you dreaming about?"I said, "How annoying you were as a kid."He raised an eyebrow. "Do you still feel like hitting me now?"I gave him a sidelong glance. "That depends on how you behave."He smiled and took my hand. "Alright. I'll keep behaving, then."Our first honeymoon destination was the seaside. It was somewhere I'd wanted to visit for a long time. However, Charles had always said he was too busy to take me there.He'd said his projects were keeping him occupied, taking vacation days was difficult, plane tickets were too expensive, and all beaches were pretty much the same anyway. There was nothing special about them.Eventually, I'd stopped bringing it up.Shawn, on the other hand, had planned every detail of our trip.He scheduled which day we'd watch the sunrise, which day we'd go out on a boat, which evening we'd explore the night market in a nearby town, and which day we'd do absolutely nothing but enjoy the breeze

  • Groom Chose the Bridesmaid, so I Left   Chapter 13

    I'd originally invited those colleagues to witness my happiness. I never expected them to witness an entirely different kind of spectacle.The groom had nearly made the bride miss her lucky moment because he was waiting for the bridesmaid to fix her makeup. The bridesmaid had removed and redrawn her eyeliner in front of an entire house full of relatives.And in the end, the bride had left with another man.The whole thing was so outrageous that when my colleagues returned to work, they couldn't keep it to themselves.At first, it was just quiet gossip in the break room."Have you heard? Winnie made a scene at Natalie's wedding.""Heard about it? I was there.""She made the groom get her makeup bag, then insisted on fixing her eyeliner because it had smudged.""The bride's lucky moment of departure was only minutes away, and she still wanted to remove it and start over.""What's wrong with her?""And the craziest part? The groom actually waited for her.""I don't think those

  • Groom Chose the Bridesmaid, so I Left   Chapter 12

    Shawn continued, "You want barbecued ribs? I'll make them for you. You want to go to the beach? I'll go with you. When you don't feel like smiling, you don't have to. And when you want to cry, I'll be right there beside you."Natalie, I'll love you the way you deserve to be loved. Not just in this moment, but in every moment, for the rest of our lives."When he finished, the audience erupted into thunderous applause. I was crying so hard I could barely see him.As the officiant pronounced us married, flower petals rained down from above. Shawn lowered his head and kissed my forehead.In that moment, I didn't think about Charles. I didn't think about Winnie, either.All I could hear was my own heartbeat. One beat was followed by another, steady and clear.…According to my family's tradition, newlyweds returned to the bride's family home on the third day after their wedding. Mom had prepared a whole table of dishes early that morning.When Shawn arrived carrying bags upon bags o

  • Groom Chose the Bridesmaid, so I Left   Chapter 11

    I said softly, "I won't."At 11:18 am, the wedding began.As the music started, I stood at the end of the flower-lined aisle, linking my arm through Dad's. His palm trembled slightly. I turned to look at him. "Dad."He sniffled. "I'm fine. It's just that…"He paused for a long time before finally saying, "I'm just glad you finally stopped putting yourself last in a relationship."My tears nearly spilled over again.Dad patted the back of my hand. "Come on. Let's go."At the end of the floral arch stood Shawn. He watched me unblinkingly. Sunlight streamed in behind him, making him look as though he'd journeyed through years of waiting just to reach this moment.When Dad placed my hand in Shawn's, his voice was deep and solemn. "Shawn, I'm entrusting Natalie to you."Shawn shed every trace of his usual playfulness and bowed respectfully. "I'll take good care of her."Dad fixed his gaze on him. "Don't just say it."Shawn nodded. "I'll spend the rest of my life proving it."T

  • Groom Chose the Bridesmaid, so I Left   Chapter 10

    I went on, "I'd have to put up with Winnie calling you in the middle of the night, turning to you whenever she got sick, running to you every time she got her heart broken, and treating you like someone she could summon whenever she wanted."And you'd keep telling me she didn't mean any harm. You'd keep saying I was overthinking things. Charles, just imagining a life like that makes me feel suffocated."Charles' face grew paler by the second. "No."He shook his head and said, "It won't happen again. I'll keep my distance from Winnie. I promise."I gave a faint, humorless smile. "You're making that promise now because I'm leaving. But I gave you chances. I asked you at my home. I asked you again at the door. And in the final minute, I asked if you wanted to leave with me. Every single time, you chose her."Charles' eyes reddened. "I just didn't think you'd really leave."The moment the words left his mouth, even he seemed stunned by them.I looked at him, and the last trace of em

  • Groom Chose the Bridesmaid, so I Left   Chapter 9

    He led me farther inside.I saw that my relatives had already begun arriving one after another. It turned out the wedding convoy hadn't just picked me up. They'd also arranged transportation for my relatives from the hotel.Mom was already there, waiting for me in the lounge. The moment she saw me, she hurried to her feet. "Natalie."Dad stood beside her, his eyes still red. He glanced at Shawn, his tone gruff. "At least you showed up in time, kid."Shawn immediately straightened. "Don't worry, Mr. Stewart. I'll always be there on time from now on."Dad snorted. "Don't make promises you can't keep."Shawn nodded. "You can hold me to that."Mom finally cracked a smile at his response.Emma hurried over, too. The moment she saw me, tears spilled down her cheeks. "Natalie, I've been waiting for this day for so many years," she gushed.As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how they might sound and quickly tried to explain. "No, that's not what I meant. I just… I mean…"

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