Groom Swap at the Wedding

I plucked the groom's boutonniere and handed it to my wife, Rose Lane, then didn't bother with the subtle looks she and the people around us were exchanging. I just walked out of the hotel.

Rose didn't come after me.

Behind me, the hall erupted in applause as Rose and Zachary Zimmer took the stage, surrounded by the celebrating crowd.

I knew this wasn't an accident. It was Zachary's way of poking at me.

Too bad Rose couldn't—or wouldn't—see it. Maybe she saw and was deliberately letting it slide.

In the past, I might've felt upset, but now, surprisingly, I felt nothing but calm.

I went home and took a much-needed nap.

Rose hated fuss, so the entire wedding had fallen on me. From start to finish, I was running around making sure nothing went wrong.

I'd been preparing nonstop after work, carefully selecting hotels and staying up late to choose invitation card designs and party favors. Yesterday, I even rehearsed until the early hours, and my chest still ached from the stress.

Looking back now, it felt hardly worth it.

I should've just gone through the motions.

Just as I was drifting in and out of sleep, Rose's call jolted me awake.

"Marcus, the wedding's over. Where are you?"

Hearing her cheerful voice on the line made me chuckle—I'd been home for hours, and she hadn't even noticed I was gone.

Or maybe she had noticed, but she didn't care enough to check.

I yawned. "At home."

For a split second, there was nothing but silence.

"Marcus, are you still upset about the wedding?" she asked, knowingly, like she always did.

This time, she was wrong. I wasn't angry, just uninterested.

"I'm not," I answered truthfully.

Rose didn't believe me. "I know you're holding some resentment, but I did it for the company's sake. Many of today's guests were business partners. If they saw us messing up even our photos, they'd doubt our competence. I just didn't want you to look like a joke.

"And Zachary was under so much pressure today—you have no idea how many drinks people piled on him. He took the hits for you. You should be thanking him."

I was amused. I started to suspect that in the chaos of the wedding, someone had slipped off with her brain.

Before I could answer, Zachary's gentle voice cut in. "Rose, don't say that. I was just doing what I was supposed to do."

"Nonsense. You handled the unexpected situation perfectly. I'll soon tell the financial department you're getting a raise."