Chapter 4 A Bride of My Own

I had already prepared myself for what I might see. I had even anticipated the outcome. But seeing it with my own eyes still made me throw up.

"Harrison!" Vivian hurried after me, her panicked voice quickly alerting the rest of the family. "Please, let me explain. Derek was drunk…"

Allison was the first to rush out of the room. The moment she saw the lipstick marks on Derek's face, she understood exactly what had happened.

"Well, the wedding is tomorrow anyway. Since you've already seen it, I might as well tell you."

She stepped in front of me and spoke slowly. "Derek will take your place at tomorrow's wedding. He's been in a bad place lately. All he wanted for his birthday was to experience having a wedding. So you'll be Derek's best man tomorrow and help make his wish come true."

My parents immediately stepped in front of Derek, shielding him from me.

Even Vivian instinctively moved closer to him. "Harrison, it's just one wedding. We can always have another ceremony later."

She looked at me. "You've never cared much about these formalities, but we can't risk upsetting Derek. You understand, don't you?"

"Harrison, marrying Vivian has always been my dream." Derek looked at me, his eyes welling up. "Can't you let me have this one thing?"

Some were guarding Derek. Others were pressuring me.

Every one of them kept their eyes fixed on me, as if they expected me to lose control at any moment.

But nothing happened. My expression remained strangely calm.

I simply looked at them and smiled. "I'm still getting married tomorrow. But it has nothing to do with you."

They were momentarily stunned.

I walked past them, returned to my bedroom, and shut the door behind me.

"Harrison, stop acting like a spoiled brat!" Allison shouted after me. "If you refuse to be Derek's best man, you can forget about attending the wedding tomorrow!"

I did not respond.

Early the next morning, I opened the door to find a team waiting outside.

"They've brought the suit, Derek. Should we take it to your room, or—"

"I'm sorry, but I think you've mistaken us for someone else." The lead designer bowed slightly. "We're here for Mr. Harrison Huxley."

My parents' expressions changed. They stared at me in disbelief.

Gabriel, who had been waiting at my house since early morning, finally noticed that the suit was not the one I had originally ordered.

It was clearly a higher-end suit, with finer fabric and better tailoring than Derek's.

"Harrison, don't be stubborn." Gabriel came over to me, looking troubled. "You can dress up all you want, but there's only going to be one groom today. Why make a fool of yourself?"

Everyone looked at me with undisguised contempt.

They looked at me as though I had lost my mind. The more extravagantly I dressed, the more pathetic I seemed.

"Absolutely no class," my mother muttered.

I said nothing and calmly returned to my room.

Two hours later, everyone happily crowded around Derek as they headed to the Rutherford residence.

I got into another brand-new wedding car and followed them.

When my car pulled up outside the Rutherford residence, Vivian stepped out in her wedding dress and immediately looked toward me.

She stared at my suit in shock. A flicker of regret crossed her eyes before she gave me a bitter smile and approached. "Harrison, there's no point. No matter what you do, I'm marrying Derek today."

She smiled and held out her hand to Derek, who stood beside her looking pleased with himself.

Allison's expression darkened. "Harrison, enough! Stop making a fool of yourself! Go home right now. Don't you dare—"

Before she could finish, the sound of approaching cars interrupted her.

More than a dozen luxury cars suddenly appeared from another direction and pulled up outside the Rutherford residence.

A woman stepped out of the lead car, holding a bouquet and dressed in a wedding dress. She had an air of effortless grace.

"Ms. Stratford? What are you doing here?" Vivian's eyes widened in shock.

But the woman did not even glance at her. She walked straight toward me.

"I'm here to meet my groom," she said coolly.

Then she smiled and held out her hand to me.