Marrying The Ketchups

Sa gabi ng aking kasal, nasagasaan ako ng kababata ng aking fiancé. Nilagay nito sa panganib ang aking buhay. Sinubukan ng aking best friend na tawagan ang aking fiancé, pero agad niyang ibinaba ang tawag. Pinadalhan niya rin ito ng isang text message. “May sakit si Ruth. Wala akong oras para riyan.” Tinawagan ng aking best friend ang kaniyang boyfriend na isang artista na may malawak na koneksyon. Pero sinabi nito na, “May sakit si Ruth. Kailangan niya ako sa tabi niya ngayon.” Pagkatapos ng isang gabi ng resuscitation, tiningnan namin ang isa’t isa sa ward bago kami sabay na magsalita. “Ayaw kong magpakasal.” Pero nasurpresa kami nang mawala sa sarili ang aming mga fiancé nang ikansela namin ang aming mga kasal.

The day after my best friend, Sarah Blunt married Patrick, the second son of the Brosnan family, I too became a bride and wed Matthew, his older brother. She married a swimming champion, and I, the rock-climbing coach. We thought we had our futures all figured out. Then, something happened that summer. The four of us planned a getaway but Matthew and Patrick’s baby sister, Megan joined us and our peaceful trip became a crowded affair.  While rock climbing, disaster struck—the rope snapped, and all five of us plummeted into the river below. The brothers rushed frantically to save Megan, leaving Sarah and me at the mercy of the river’s current, battered and tossed like driftwood. By the time the rescue team pulled us from the water, we were bruised, scraped, and utterly spent. In the hospital, Megan and I received devastating news that would change everything.  “You’ve been pregnant for 40 days, Ma’am. How could you put yourself in such a risky situation? Your baby survived, but your friend lost hers.” Shaken, I called Matthew to tell him about the pregnancy. His anger cut through the line. “You’re angry that I went to Megs first and now you’re trying to fool me with a fake pregnancy? She’s my sister—it’s my duty to protect her!” Sarah faced her own storm. Patrick practically scoffed at her grief. “Miscarriage? Do you expect me to believe that? The doctors said you only had a 30% chance of conceiving. I can’t stand women who create drama out of nothing.” Both calls ended abruptly, leaving us stunned as we stared at each other in the sterile light of the hospital room. In that shared silence, we made our decision—we would leave these men behind and start anew, launching a business together. But when the brothers received our divorce papers, they showed up at my door in the middle of a storm, kneeling in the pouring rain, crying through the night for a second chance.

My best friend and I caught the eye of the celestial princes and were brought into the heavenly palace as their consorts. She became the caged golden canary of the Crown Prince, Rudolf Frost, while I became the stand-in for the lost love of the Second Prince, Mose Frost. As fate would have it, their lost loves were one and the same person. Everyone in the Celestial Realm envied us, two mortal women chosen by celestial princes to live a life of luxury among the gods. But this blissful existence lasted no more than three years before their true love returned, and our good fortune came to an abrupt end. "I'll fake my death first, and then you'll pretend to fall ill and do the same!" whispered my friend, Gabriela Simon. I nodded, and together we staged our deaths to escape back to the mortal realm. When their lost love, Anna Rivera, brought people to expose our deception, the usually calm and collected Rudolf unexpectedly pulled Gabriela into his embrace. Meanwhile, the ruthless Mose imprisoned me in his palace, staying by my side day and night. Little did they know, this performance was one we had been planning for three years.

My younger sister, Rosalie White, and I are twin mermaids, born with the divine gift of bearing sacred beasts. On the day we come of age, Father presents us with all the unmarried princes of the beast clans. Rosalie picks Charles Summer, the powerful prince of the zilant clan, in hopes of birthing a sacred beast and claiming the beast throne. However, her five babies are all dark, frail half-zilants of the lowest rank. I, with my weak and sickly body, join with Jasper Warren of the serpent clan, the most despised of them all. I end up succeeding in giving birth to a sacred beast hatchling. On the day of the coronation, Rosalie refuses to accept it. She strangles my hatchling and rips out my beast core. Then, she throws our bodies into the beast furnace, destroying us completely. … After my reincarnation, I see Rosalie pointing at Jasper and says, "I only want him." I know that she has also been reincarnated. I chuckle coldly. I'd like to see if she can bear a sacred beast in this lifetime.

My best friend and I married into the same ultra-wealthy family. I married the genius doctor older brother, she married the cold and proud CEO younger brother. On the day of our wedding, Julian Long did not show up. He had gone to help his long-lost love find her missing dog. My grandmother was so upset she had a heart attack. I begged him to come back and save her. He said angrily, “Are you insane, Molly Shane? How could you lie using your only family’s life to drag me back? Sunny’s dog went missing, and I’m helping her look for it. We can have our wedding some other day.” That day, he found her dog, but I lost my grandmother forever. I cried until I passed out. When I woke up, I turned to my bestie. “Evie, I’m getting a divorce. What about you?” My bestie hugged me and wept. “I’m getting a divorce too!” The brothers’ eyes went red with tears when they received the divorce papers.

My best friend and I signed up for the Dual Marriage System so the cancer wouldn't kill me. She and I managed to steal the hearts of the Hopkin brothers. Naturally, we became in-laws. Seven years later, my husband's son told me I was dull and useless. Meanwhile, my best friend's husband slammed her behind bars for the sake of his old flame. When she was released, the last thing she told me was, "Live on." Then, she rushed into the oncoming traffic and was crushed into a pulp by a speeding truck.

Three years after Vivian and I married into the Domingo family, our husbands' childhood crush Niama Guido came back to the town. Vivian and I had a whole escape plan. But the night before we bailed, Vivian threw herself off a high-rise. I called her husband, Pedro Domingo. He laughed, his tone nasty and cold. "Reena, my brother asked, since she jumped today, are you going to drown yourself tomorrow?"

On the eve of my wedding, I was run over by my fiance's childhood friend. My life was in danger. My best friend tried to call my fiance, but he hung up directly. He sent her a text message. "Ruth is sick. I don't have time." My best friend then called her boyfriend who happened to be a well-connected celebrity. However, he said, "Ruth is sick. She needs me by her side right now." After a night of resuscitation, we looked at each other in the ward and spoke at the same time. "I don't want to get married." To our surprise, both our fiances went crazy when they found out we called off our weddings.

My best friend and I had been abducted by the Pendragon brothers—a duo consisting of a religious CEO and a top-billed movie star. We became their secret lovers against our will. "I'm pregnant, Lilith," my best friend said, tears glistening in her eyes. "Me too, Lindsay," I replied softly, caressing my belly. "But I won't go through with it." The brothers heard us. Their control tightened. They watched us during mealtimes, while we slept, and even during our bathroom breaks. We could not endure it any longer, so we fought back. In their anger, the brothers kept mistresses who resembled us. We thought we were free until one day, they found us. They called us homewreckers and hurled insults at us. They broke into our house, scarred our faces, broke our legs, and kicked us until we miscarried. It did not matter how much we tried to explain ourselves. They removed our clothes and paraded us in the street. Finally, the Pendragons arrived. They raised their marriage certificates and declared, "Lilith and Lindsay are our wives!"

My best friend and I marry into the Xylander family at the same time. Everyone says we're lucky. My best friend's husband is a master negotiator, while my husband is a bomb disposal expert. Their enemy abduct us after we've just discovered we're pregnant. He ties bombs to our bellies. When our husbands negotiate with the abductors, they choose to save Melinda Sutton, a woman they grew up with. The bombs are detonated, and we're gravely injured. After surviving the explosion, we decide to get divorced together.