The Groom Thief

After removing the veil from the bride's head and handing it to my husband, Ethan Stewart, I ignored the strange expressions on his and everyone else's faces. I, Nora Letterman, turned around and walked straight out of the wedding venue.

Even after I left the venue, Ethan still didn't come after me.

Behind me, there was thunderous applause. He and Mia Jenner were surrounded by the crowd as they walked onto the stage.

I knew Ethan had already figured out that everything was Mia's doing. He just chose to let her have her way.

Even if I investigated now, it would be pointless. He had probably already done what he always did and erased all the evidence of Mia setting me up.

If this had happened before, I might have been furious and broken down completely.

But this time, I was surprisingly calm. I simply went home and went back to sleep.

Ethan hated trouble, so I had handled every single detail of the wedding myself from beginning to end.

To make sure nothing went wrong, I spent all my free time after work preparing for it. I carefully picked the venue, stayed up late choosing invitations and wedding favors, and even rehearsed until dawn the day before. My heart still ached even now.

Now that I thought about it, it all felt so pointless.

If I had known this would happen, I should have just gone through the motions.

I was still a little groggy when Ethan's call woke me up completely.

"Nora, the wedding is over. Where are you?"

Listening to his cheerful voice, I almost laughed. I had been home for so long, and he still hadn't noticed.

Maybe he had noticed. He just didn't care enough to pay attention.

I yawned. "At home."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"Nora, are you still upset about what happened at the wedding?"

He asked the question the way he always did and pretended not to know the answer.

But this time, he was wrong. I really wasn't angry. I just found it boring.

"No," I answered honestly.

Of course, he didn't believe me. "I know you're still upset, but this whole thing was your fault in the first place.

"A lot of the guests today were our business partners. They're important people. How could we make them wait around for you? If they realized the bride was showing up late, they might question our company's professionalism.

"I did this for the company. Instead of understanding me, you're here getting jealous and angry. What right do you have to act like this?

"Besides, Mia was under a lot of pressure today too. She managed to come up with a solution at the last minute and even helped you handle all those drinks. You should be thanking her."

Listening to his unreasonable excuses, I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.