Chapter 1~ Switching brides

The loud disturbing sound of a phone ringing suddenly woke Roxanne out of her deep slumber.

“Roxy, how can you still sleep when your sister has snatched your fiancé? I saw them flaunting their love at your mother’s shopping mall!” Heather Jacobs screamed at her best friend on the phone with anger laced in her voice. "Aren’t you going to teach them a lesson?"

The previous night, Roxanne Smith’s stepsister announced that she was pregnant and would be getting married to Victor Morgan who was also the father of her child. She claimed the two were in love and couldn’t stay away from each other. 

Victor Morgan was Roxanne’s fiancé and yet, he was easily snatched by Maya Smith, her stepsister.

He even got her pregnant!

Nevertheless, Roxanne seemed to be unbothered by this matter. After receiving the news that night, she even slept like a baby until 10:00 a.m.

“Babe, I don’t care whether Maya and Victor are an item or not-”

“Are you crazy?! Why wouldn’t you care? Don’t you get it? Maya wants everything that you have. You shouldn’t let her get what belongs to you this time,” Heather responded, cutting off Roxanne’s words.

Roxanne Smith was once the only daughter of Kenneth and Grace Smith. However, things changed when her mother died and then Kenneth later married Miriam Hopper and had a daughter.

Although, on the surface, Miriam pretended to be good to Roxanne, she secretly mistreated her. Her father, on the other hand, believed in what he saw rather than what his daughter said.

In the end, Roxanne gave up and went with the flow. For the past twenty-five years, she always yielded to Maya Smith without a fight.

This time wasn’t any different. Maya had expressed interest in her fiancé like always and since Roxanne didn't love him, she happily let him go.

Rubbing her eyes to wake herself up, Roxanne said, “I don’t love Victor anyway. It’s good riddance. I’m a free woman now.”

“I would celebrate with you if that was the case, Roxy! I’ve called you because there’s some big news! You’re still getting married but your fiance is now Henry Ford! You and your sister have switched places! The news says you’re marrying her fiancé!”

“What?!”

Roxanne jolted up from bed, unable to feel sleepy anymore. Her stomach sank as she asked, “Are you being for real? Why would I marry Henry Ford?”

“It’s all over the news, Roxy. Maybe someone leaked the news but everyone knows now,” Heather replied sympathetically. 

Feeling her heart go wild in her chest, Roxanne cut the call and immediately went online. She wanted to check for herself.

Her eyes widened when she saw the article that had gone viral all over social media and when she read the headline, her heart sank to the pits of her stomach.

[Henry Ford, the new CEO of the Ford corporation, is engaged to marry Roxanne Smith, the eldest daughter of Kenneth Smith, CEO of Starlight Inc.]

Roxanne couldn’t believe what she was reading!

When did she get engaged to Henry Ford? This piece of news was ludicrous!

She quickly rushed downstairs and found everyone seated in the living room. 

“Father, why am I being announced as Henry Ford’s fiancée? Wasn’t he arranged to marry Maya?” Roxanne questioned, her heart thundering in her chest.

Were they making her marry Henry Ford because Maya refused to marry him?

Kenneth cleared his throat and averted her gaze, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. He was about to reply when Miriam beat him to it.

“Roxanne, dear, you finally woke up? I was going to tell you the good news when you woke up. Victor fell in love with your sister and got her pregnant. As your mother, I cannot stand by and watch you be aggrieved. Henry is so handsome and rich. You are our lovely daughter, and you and Henry couldn't be more compatible. It was the best arrangement and I'm really happy for you. As a mother, I am so glad to see my two favorite daughters finally grow up and will soon get married.” Miriam said fakely, trying to wipe away the tears that didn't exist.

Roxanne clenched her hands into fists. Here it was again. Miriam was once again exercising her hypocrisy, just as she had always done since she was a child. 

Roxanne’s eyes fell on Maya and she saw the smug smile on her lips. Roxanne knew it was all part of their plan. Maya switched sides so quickly because her fiancé had an accident six months earlier and lost feeling in both legs. After seducing Roxanne's fiancé, she also wanted to let her marry her disabled fiancé in her place.

“Did you discuss it with Mr. Ford?” Roxanne asked, “Does he agree to switch the brides?”

As the top CEO who lived abroad with his grandfather for years, Henry decided to return to the Country and take over as CEO of the Ford Corporation. However, he was involved in a terrible accident and was bedridden for months. Despite the many months of physiotherapy, it was confirmed that the heir to the Ford Corporation would be bound to a wheelchair forever.

This information was all over the news. Henry Ford was disabled and bound to a wheelchair for life! Roxanne knew Maya didn’t want to marry a crippled man so she came up with such a scheme to have her take her place. 

“Even though Dad was friends with Henry's late father, and even though Henry's parents died in an accident when he was ten and he and his grandfather went abroad, I don't think Henry forgot who his bride is. If we suddenly switched brides after his car accident, I'm sure Henry and his grandfather would misunderstand,” Roxanne reasoned.

She saw her father's thoughtful expression after hearing her words and a sigh of relief escaped her lips. 

That’s it, she knew her father's weaknesses. 

However, Miriam wasn't going to let Roxanne convince her father. She quickly cleared her throat and intervened in a gentle voice that didn't match her demeanour. 

"Roxanne, dear, why do you think so? We are doing all this for you. The original agreement did not specify who was Henry's bride. As our favorite eldest daughter, you should have been Henry's bride. It turns out that you are more patient and caring. You are a better match for Henry than Maya."