Someone Else's Bride for 30 Days

After I texted that reply, the wedding planning group chat was silent for half a minute.

The one who broke the silence first was Celine Jodie's brother, Jordan Jodie.

He sent a voice message, speaking as if he were lecturing an immature junior, "Gabriel Young, a wedding is not a joke. The hotel, guests, and parents have been informed. Don't make such irresponsible remarks even if you are angry."

Celine's best friend, Hailey Krate, stepped in to smooth things over.

Hailey: [Gabriel, it's not as serious as you think. Dylan recently lost his job and is in a bad state. We're just helping him overcome a past regret. We all know that you're Celine's only groom!]

She even sent a praying-hands emoji, as if this betrayal were nothing more than a joke taken too far.

My phone rang a second later. It was my best friend, Isaac Tatum, who called. When I answered, his tone was panicked. "Gabriel, I thought this wasn't appropriate from the beginning, but—"

I interrupted him, "Who took Celine's dress and the wedding ring on her finger?"

There was silence on the other end of the line.

I went into the walk-in closet. Only an empty hanger remained where the white dress had hung. The ring box on the vanity was still there, but her ring was missing.

Isaac finally said, "I took them. They said they wanted those things to take commemorative footage, then I was afraid you'd be angry, so I didn't dare tell the truth."

I gripped my phone. "So you used the passcode I gave you to get into my marital home and took the clothes and wedding ring I prepared for my fiancée so that she could marry someone else?"

He quickly corrected me, saying, "No! She didn't marry him. They're just going to keep the marriage certificate for a month. It's only for show. Celine will still marry you."

There was even a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Gabriel, I'm stuck in the middle too."

He had personally helped someone else destroy my marriage, and now, he expected me to understand his predicament. Was this really my best friend from childhood?

I hung up and pulled my suitcase down from the top of the closet and only took what truly belonged to me—my ID card, my laptop, a few changes of clothes, and the accessories my father had left me. I had just zipped it when the sound of the digital lock unlocking came from the foyer.

Celine was back, carrying food from my usual barbecue place. "You haven't eaten?"

She placed the food on the table, as if the drama in the group chat had never happened.

I looked at her left hand. On her ring finger was the wedding ring I had designed myself.

"Is the marriage certificate real?" I asked.

Celine paused. "It's real, but it's not like what the people in the group chat made it out to be."

She took off her suit jacket, her voice tinged with weariness. "Hailey and the others kept stirring things up, and Dylan just got fired from his job. Everyone was watching. I couldn't just embarrass him in public."

"So you married him?"

She frowned and corrected me, "We just registered for marriage. We'll get it handled again in a month. It won't affect our wedding."