All Chapters of His Bride Had My Face: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

A loud ringing filled my ears. My face went pale as I stared at the familiar rose tattoo on the bride's shoulder.My best friend, Daphne Ferguson, got it on her left shoulder years ago after a devastating heartbreak. I tried everything I could to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen.No matter how many times I asked, she refused to tell me who the man was. She would only cry and say, "I just wanted something I could hold on to. Valerie, you have everything. You don't know what it's like to love someone you can't have."Now I finally understood. The man she could never have was my fiancé, Joel Kemper.My knees nearly gave out, and I almost collapsed.For the past three years, whenever I fell apart, Daphne always answered my messages right away and comforted me, but she never once came to see me.I thought she was too busy with her work assignment out of town to get away. It never crossed my mind that she was the woman from three years ago, the one who would rather cut up he

The moment Joel saw me, his expression changed. He instinctively took a step toward me, his lips parting, but he didn't say anything.I gave a bitter smile and turned to Daphne."Or do you think this is somehow my fault, too?"Daphne went pale, her fingers tightening around the skirt of her wedding dress.I stared at the gown I helped design myself, the one I had imagined wearing down the aisle countless times.I always pictured myself marrying Joel in it, with Daphne standing beside me and giving us her blessing.But now, she was the one wearing it, and she was the one marrying Joel."Valerie, I'm sorry. I just..."Daphne's eyes reddened as she struggled to explain."You just what? Couldn't help yourself from going after my fiancé? You're unbelievable!"All the hurt and anger I had been holding back finally exploded. Before I even realized what I was doing, I slapped her across the face.Daphne recoiled, the last bit of color draining from her face.Joel immediately stepp

The moment Joel saw Valerie Clayton run into the street, he sprinted after her, but he was still too late.She disappeared into traffic and was thrown violently into the air.For a second, everything seemed to stop.Joel couldn't understand how June could feel this cold, how an icy chill could cut straight through his chest and leave his hands shaking.He walked stiffly toward her motionless body and reached out to touch her."Valerie, what have you done?"His face had gone deathly pale, but he still forced out a mocking smile."Is this another one of your tricks to make me leave Daphne?"Car horns blared around him, and people started gathering, but Joel barely seemed to notice. He just stared at her, waiting for an answer.Valerie didn't move.The silence felt unbearable. All Joel could hear was his own heartbeat pounding faster and faster.Ever since Valerie brought him home when he was eight, she had been like a little sun that never stopped shining, always talking, alwa

The space around Joel seemed to shatter, then pieced itself back together.The spacious luxury apartment disappeared. In its place was a cramped, stuffy basement with exposed brick walls. A cheap wedding photo of him and Daphne hung crookedly on one of them.Calling it a wedding photo was generous. It looked more like a random snapshot, and even their smiles looked forced.Daphne, who was sitting on the floor clutching her stomach earlier, suddenly had her original face again.She looked down at her skirt. There wasn't a drop of blood.Then she screamed."What's going on?"Joel stood frozen, stunned by the impossible change. Then he suddenly looked down at the phone in his hand.But no matter how hard he searched, the messages from moments ago were gone, as if they had never existed. The tailored suit he had been wearing somehow turned into a faded, worn-out shirt, and even the ring Valerie once gave him was gone."Valerie…"As if something suddenly clicked, Joel shot to his

After the call connected, the other end stayed silent for a long time.The moment I realized it might be Joel, I started to hang up, but his hoarse voice came through the phone."Valerie, I suddenly remember things that never happened in this life. You went back and changed our future, didn't you?"His voice cracked."If you already knew what was going to happen, why didn't you stop me? If I'd never gone after those guys that day, if I'd stayed away from Daphne, maybe we could've had a happy ending this time."There was no point pretending I didn't know what he was talking about anymore.After a brief silence, I said, "I already tried to fix things between us, after I caught you and Daphne in bed together. You know exactly what answer you gave me."Before he could say anything else, I hung up.But Joel was more persistent than I expected. The next day, he suddenly showed up at the celebration party and grabbed my wrist."Valerie, we need to talk."He looked like he hadn't sle