The Wrong Groom

Chapter One

The Wrong Groom

(Ella’s POV)

My veil kept slipping as my mother adjusted it for the third time. I couldn’t tell if my hands were shaking from nerves or instinct. Something about this morning felt off, and I couldn’t explain it.

“You look beautiful,” my mother said as she stepped back. “Lucas will be speechless.”

I tried to smile. “I hope so.”

“You look like a princess,” Reese whispered as he hugged me. My brother rarely showed emotion.

“Of course she does.” Tracy winked at me, smoothing the skirt of my wedding dress.

My father appeared in the doorway, straightening his tie. “It’s time, sweetheart. And you look beautiful.”

Those words hit harder than I expected. My stomach tightened, but I took his arm anyway. When we walked toward the church doors, he leaned closer.

“Your quiet today. Are you nervous?”

“A little nervous. I’m trying not to trip and embarrass myself.,” I said. I couldn’t shake the strange feeling sitting heavy beneath my ribs.

“Your glowing Ella. Your going to take Lucas’s breath away.”

The doors opened.

Music swelled. Guests rose. My father squeezed my arm, and I lifted my eyes to the altar, ready to see the man I thought I would spend my life with.

It wasn’t Lucas.

My steps faltered.

Standing at the altar was… Hayes Flynn.

He was the best man, of course he should be here. But where was Lucas?

Hayes stood there, calm and composed.

His eyes locked onto mine the second I saw him, and something in his expression told me he wished he could be anywhere else.

I froze.

The whispers started immediately.

My father tensed beside me. “Where is Lucas?”

I couldn’t answer. My breath caught in my throat as Hayes took a small step forward, like he was preparing to catch me if I collapsed.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t gesture. He only watched me, waiting.

My heart pounded painfully against my ribs. Everything felt distant. I couldn’t hear the music anymore. Or my mother’s soft gasp behind me. The only sound that cut through the haze was Hayes’s voice, low and careful.

“Ella… Lucas isn’t coming. He sent me in his place.”

It took me a second to understand his words. To truly understand what they meant.

Hayes continued to talk. “We can stop this. You can walk out. You don’t have to do anything.”

He looked like he meant it. Like he wanted to protect me from something I hadn’t even processed yet.

I forced myself to take a step forward.

Then another.

The whispers grew louder, but I kept walking until I reached the altar. Hayes swallowed hard, trying to hold himself steady.

“Ella,” he murmured, “I swear I didn’t plan this.”

I lifted my chin, not trusting myself to speak. If I opened my mouth, the entire room would hear my heartbreak. And my humiliation.

The minister hesitated. “Are we continuing?”

I nodded once.

Gasps echoed behind me. My father called my name softly in warning, but I didn’t turn around. I refused to give the crowd even one second of me falling apart.

The minister cleared his throat and began.

Hayes stood beside me like a man caught in a storm he never asked for, shoulders tense, jaw clenched. When asked if he would take me as his wife, he hesitated for only a breath before answering quietly.

“I do.”

My pulse stumbled.

When it was my turn, I felt everything inside me settle into stillness.

“I do.”

Hayes released a breath I didn’t realize he had been holding. The kiss was brief, barely there, more of a promise to help me stand than anything else.

And then the ceremony was over.

We walked back down the aisle together, hand in hand, while the room erupted in confused murmurs. Every step felt unreal, but I didn’t let go of Hayes. He didn’t let go of me either.

I didn’t understand anything.

But I knew one thing for certain.

Lucas had left me on our wedding day and sent another man to marry me.