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My Sister Married My Fiancé at My Thanksgiving Wedding
Novelix
new
Completed
"My wedding was scheduled for Thanksgiving Day. I was about to put on my dress when my best friend, Chloe, called to say my parents were dying and I had to get to the hospital right away. I raced there in tears and waited outside the ER for half an hour. The lights over the operating rooms never came on. The nurse checked the records, then frowned at me. “Ma’am, we don’t have either of those patients here today.” I froze. Then I called a cab and headed straight back to the wedding venue. My sister, Eve, was there in my wedding dress, wearing my ring and kissing my fiancé, Soren, at the wedding I’d spent three months planning. Everyone cheered and clapped for the happy couple. Chloe smiled. “Good thing we got Quinn out of the way. Otherwise, how could this wedding have gone so perfectly? Best Thanksgiving ever.” My mom wiped away tears. “Eve, my sweet girl. She finally married the man she loves.” My dad nodded. “This wedding was always meant to be Eve’s.” I smiled. The tears came anyway. The people I’d done everything to protect—my family, the man I was supposed to marry, and the friend I’d known for twelve years—had all betrayed me. This wedding had been a performance they’d been rehearsing for months. I tore off my ridiculous veil, pulled out my phone, and sent a message. “Mara, I’ll take that open position you mentioned. I can leave whenever you’re ready.” If they wanted me gone, I’d make it easy for them."
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
My wedding was scheduled for Thanksgiving Day. I was about to put on my dress when my best friend, Chloe, called to say my parents were dying and I had to get to the hospital right away.
I raced there in tears and waited outside the ER for half an hour. The lights over the operating rooms never came on.
The nurse checked the records, then frowned at me. “Ma’am, we don’t have either of those patients here today.”
I froze. Then I called a cab and headed straight back to the wedding venue.
My sister, Eve, was there in my wedding dress, wearing my ring and kissing my fiancé, Soren, at the wedding I’d spent three months planning.
Everyone cheered and clapped for the happy couple.
Chloe smiled. “Good thing we got Quinn out of the way. Otherwise, how could this wedding have gone so perfectly? Best Thanksgiving ever.”
My mom wiped away tears. “Eve, my sweet girl. She finally married the man she loves.”
My dad nodded. “This wedding was always meant to be Eve’s.”
I smiled. The tears came anyway.
The people I’d done everything to protect—my family, the man I was supposed to marry, and the friend I’d known for twelve years—had all betrayed me.
This wedding had been a performance they’d been rehearsing for months.
I tore off my ridiculous veil, pulled out my phone, and sent a message.
“Mara, I’ll take that open position you mentioned. I can leave whenever you’re ready.”
If they wanted me gone, I’d make it easy for them.
…
I caught a ride home to pack. I didn’t own much, so it only took thirty minutes.
I’d just zipped up my suitcase when I heard the front door open downstairs.
My mom’s voice carried up the stairs. “This picture turned out so well. Eve and Soren look perfect together.”
Soren agreed. “They do. The whole family’s in it.”
So this was the family they wanted.
I wasn’t in it.
After a round of laughter, my dad said, “Soren, you and Eve had your wedding, but Quinn’s name is on the marriage license. You two should apply for a new one tomorrow. We’ll deal with Quinn later.”
Soren didn’t answer.
Then Eve spoke, her voice wavering. “Mom, Dad, don’t pressure Soren. I never thought I’d get to have a wedding with him.”
Soren couldn’t stand seeing her upset. He gave in right away.“Okay. I’ll apply for a new marriage license with Eve. Quinn’s easy to handle. She’ll get over it.”
Eve let out a small laugh, but she still sounded worried. “But… won’t Quinn hate me?”
“What does she have to hate you for?” My mom’s voice rose. “You’re the one she owes! If she hadn’t clung to Soren, you wouldn’t have lost him in the first place.”
The picture frame slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.
It was the only family photo with me in it.
The house went quiet. Then I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. My bedroom door flew open, and all four of them stood in the doorway.
“Quinn.” Soren looked alarmed. “You… heard everything?”
I didn’t look at him. I looked at my parents.
My dad sighed.“Your sister gave up everything for you growing up—even her chance to be happy. It wasn’t fair to her. She said her birthday wish was to marry Soren, so we lied to you. Don’t take it out on her.”
I couldn’t keep quiet anymore.
“When did I ever ask her to give anything up for me?”
“I ate her leftovers. I wore the clothes she didn’t want. And now you’re giving her my fiancé—”
My mom had hit me hard across the face. Her voice shook with anger.
“You ungrateful brat! Your sister’s always looked out for you. She gave you everything, and now you’re attacking her over a man?”
Tears ran down my face. My hand trembled against my cheek.
“Fine. I don’t want any of it. I don’t want anything. Is that what you want?”
Eve suddenly reached for me. Startled, I shoved her away on instinct. Her back hit the wardrobe.
My dad rushed over and stepped in front of Eve. Then he shoved me away. “How could you lay a hand on your sister? I’m so disappointed in you!”
I hit the floor hard. My ears rang.
My parents rushed Eve out of the room to find the first-aid kit. As they passed me, they stepped right over the broken photo.
When I finally looked up, Soren was staring at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Quinn, stop making a scene. Take a few days to think things over. After Thanksgiving, we’ll talk about the wedding.”
He left without looking back.
He didn’t even look at the bruises covering my legs or my swollen, reddened face.
And yet, he used to panic over even a tiny scrape on my hand and insist on taking me to the hospital.
My phone lit up.
Mara replied, “You finally said yes. I’ll get everything set up. But I want to be clear: you’ll have to stay there for at least two years. Are you sure?”
I looked at the filthy, broken photo and typed back:
“I’m sure.”
Chapter 2
I put down my phone and started picking up the broken glass. One shard cut my finger.
I went downstairs to look for a Band-Aid and found everyone gathered around Eve, trying to comfort her.
Not one of them looked up.
Then Eve called to me. “Quinn, a lot of people asked if I stole my own sister’s fiancé. Could you tell them you ran off from the wedding?”
I nearly laughed.
“I didn’t run off. You all tricked me into leaving. What people say has nothing to do with me.”
My mom pointed at me, furious. “See? I knew you were heartless. You can’t even do your own family a small favor. I should’ve gotten a dog instead. It would’ve been better than you.”
Soren frowned. “Quinn, don’t be like this. We owe her.”
Eve had been born with a hole in her heart. My parents felt guilty about it, so they expected me to make it up to her, too.
For twenty-four years, anything I liked became Eve’s the second she looked at it twice. My room. My college recommendation. My spot in the summer program.
Now Soren was going to be hers, too.
When I was nine, I was crying in the backyard because I was hungry. Soren was eleven. He spent all the money he had on three pieces of fried chicken and brought them to me.
“Don’t cry. If your family won’t love you, I’ll be your knight.”
But I’d forgotten. I wasn’t the princess.
Eve was.
I looked at Soren for a long time before I finally said, “The day you all lied to me, we stopped being us.”
“From now on, you’re you, and I’m me. We’re over.”
“Quinn—”
He tried to stop me, but I turned and went back to my room.
Half an hour later, Chloe pushed my door open without knocking. Her voice was sharp and impatient.
“I heard what happened. You went too far. Eve is your own sister. How could you let people think she stole your fiancé?”
I stared at her and laughed. “Isn’t that the truth?”
We’d known each other for twelve years. I’d thought we had no secrets.
But she’d known all along and helped them lie to me. Now she was standing in my room, acting like I was the one who’d done something wrong.
What a joke.
Maybe my expression finally reminded her that I was the one who’d been hurt.
Her voice softened.“Fine. If you won’t clear things up for Eve, we’ll figure something else out. Come downstairs and eat. Dinner’s ready, and Soren wants to apologize after we eat.”
“Quinn, don’t ruin Thanksgiving over something this small, okay?”
Just then, a message came in.
“Quinn, I booked your flight. It leaves at six tomorrow morning.”
I turned off my screen. The refusal I’d been about to give her turned into a yes.
Fine.
Let this be my last goodbye.
As always, the table was loaded with food, all of it Eve’s favorites: spicy sausage stuffing, Brussels sprouts with hot honey, cranberry sauce with jalapeños, and more.
I couldn’t eat spicy food, but no one had ever cared.
I looked at the chairs. Each one had a name card: Mom, Dad, Eve, Soren, Chloe.
There wasn’t one for me.
I didn’t complain like I used to. I went to the hall closet, took out a folding chair, and set it in the corner by the door.
My dad carved the meat, and everyone started eating. I sat by myself with my hands in my lap.
“Quinn, are you still mad at me?” Eve asked, her eyes red.
Soren looked annoyed. He scooped a spoonful of stuffing onto my plate. The spoon clinked against the rim.
“Enough. Don’t start this today. Eat like everyone else and let’s have a peaceful Thanksgiving.”
Thanksgiving?
Maybe they were thankful for the family they had without me.
I didn’t argue. I forced the spicy food into my mouth, even as it made me cough and choke.
Soren seemed satisfied and went back to piling Eve’s plate with everything she liked.
My mom tapped her glass with her ring.“Let’s go around the table. Everyone say what they’re thankful for this year.”
My mom said she was grateful her favorite daughter had found happiness. Chloe said she was grateful for the family she’d chosen, looking right at Eve.
When it was Eve’s turn, she put down her fork and smiled at me across the table.
“I’m thankful for my sister, Quinn. Thank you for supporting Soren and me—and our baby.”
The knife and fork in my hands stopped moving. My blood ran cold.
My parents, Soren, and Chloe weren’t surprised. Chloe even held up her phone to record us.
“Send it to me as soon as you can,” my mom said. “I’ll post it in the group chat so everyone can see. Quinn’s happy for them. Eve didn’t steal her sister’s fiancé.”
So this was their idea of an apology.
My family, the man I loved, and my best friend were all using my humiliation to protect Eve.
Chapter 3
I put down my fork and stood up.
Soren grabbed my wrist so hard I felt my bones grind together.“Quinn, she’s your sister, and she’s pregnant. We didn’t have any other choice.”
I yanked my hand free.“So I deserved to be tricked?”
I was the one who’d been lied to and had everything taken from me, but Eve started crying and snatched the steak knife off the table. She held it to her neck.
“Quinn, this is all my fault. Blame me if you have to. Would you be happy if I died?”
Everyone panicked.
My parents shouted that I was trying to kill my sister. Chloe screamed. Soren lunged for Eve’s hand. Neither of them managed to control the knife. It turned and sliced across my face.
Two cuts opened. Warm blood ran down my chin.
Soren froze. The knife slipped from his hand and hit the table. He took a step toward me.
Then Eve fainted against him.
Soren scooped her up. My parents and Chloe crowded around them and followed him as he carried Eve to her room. No one looked back at me.
I stood beside the table for a few seconds, then pressed my hand to my face.
I went to the bathroom and found the first-aid kit myself.After I bandaged my face, I passed Eve’s room. The door was slightly open.
Everyone was gathered around her bed.
Chloe was guessing the baby’s sex on her phone. My mom stroked Eve’s hair.
Soren held her close. “Boy or girl, I’ll love them both.”
He’d said the same thing to me countless times when we were in bed together.
I gave a bitter smile and went back to my room.
Not long after, someone knocked.
Soren came in holding a piece of Dad’s homemade peanut brittle on a paper napkin.“You barely ate dinner. Have something.”
When I was little and Mom punished me by making me skip meals, Soren would sneak food to me through the back stairs. He always brought it the same way.
I took the candy and bit into it.
Then Eve and Chloe pushed open the door and burst out laughing. My parents came in behind them.
“Oh my God, Quinn! You can eat peanuts after all. The experiment worked. Your allergy was just a ridiculous psychological thing!”
Less than ten seconds later, I started struggling to breathe. I couldn’t get a word out.
Soren glanced at me and explained it like it was no big deal.“The doctor said Eve needed to let off some steam for the baby’s sake. She saw an experiment to test allergies and really wanted to try it.”
“You—You know this could kill me—”
He frowned and took a step toward me.
Mom put out an arm to stop him.“She’s pretending. She was fine when she didn’t know there were peanuts in the candy. Now she knows, so she’s putting on a show.”
Soren stared at me for a few seconds, then held out a pill bottle.
“Stop faking an illness for attention. If you really feel sick, take some allergy medicine.”
I was in so much pain that I swallowed two pills.A moment later, my stomach cramped violently. I curled up on the floor, clutching it.
“It hurts…”
My mom looked annoyed. “You took the medicine. What could still be wrong? You’ve been competing with your sister for attention since you could talk. Now you’re lying to us right to our faces.”
The concern disappeared from Soren’s eyes.
“Grow up, Quinn. We don’t have time for this.”
They left with Eve. They didn’t see the blood spreading down my legs.
I curled up on the floor as the pain in my stomach got worse. I reached for my phone, but missed it several times. After what felt like forever, I managed to stand. I made my way downstairs and drove myself to the hospital.
After examining me, the doctor said I was about seven weeks pregnant. I’d miscarried.
I’d taken the wrong medication, and the delay in treating my severe allergic reaction had been too much for my body.
They were all celebrating Eve’s baby.
No one knew I’d lost mine because of them.
