Crowning My Bridesmaid The Billionaire Heiress Walks Away

On my wedding day, the bridal car broke down midway. By the time I finally rushed to the venue, the ceremony was already underway. Vivian, my bridesmaid, wasn't wearing her designated bridesmaid dress. Instead, she wore an ivory bridal gown nearly identical to mine. Under the gaze of all our friends and the glaring flash of the cameras, my fiancé knelt on one knee, holding up a ring: "Vivian, will you marry me?" When they noticed me standing in the doorway, everyone froze in panic. I just smiled, walked up to them, took off my veil, and crowned her head with it. "There. Now you truly look like the bride. Congratulations, you two." "Vivian, will you marry me?" Dressed in that white gown, Vivian burst into tears of joy. "Yes! A million times, yes!" Cheers erupted from our circle of friends. Their eyes held a sickening mix of relief and regret. Relief that this golden couple was finally together; regret that it was supposedly just a rehearsal. "Kiss her! Kiss her!" The chant grew louder. Vivian looked at Tyler with tearful, adoring eyes, her cheeks blushing red. Tyler cupped her face and pressed his lips firmly against hers, kissing her with an intensity as if he were pouring a lifetime of regrets into that single moment. I stood by the entrance, watching quietly. Tears stung my eyes, blurring my vision. By the time they parted, my emotions had gone completely numb. I blinked away the tears. The five years of love I had for this man evaporated into thin air. I walked toward them. The crowd descended into complete chaos. People stumbled over themselves trying to explain, but their brains short-circuited. No one could find a single excuse. Vivian looked at me anxiously: "Chloe, please don't get the wrong idea! The venue was just so gorgeous, and all our friends were here... I've always dreamed of what my wedding would look like, so I begged Tyler to do a mock run with me." "You're not mad, right?" As she spoke, her eyes welled with tears, making it look like I was the villain bullying her. I looked at the gown she was wearing—virtually a twin to my own custom dress—and gave her a sincere compliment: "You look stunning." Then, I unpinned my veil and gently placed it over her hair. "Now you really look like the bride." Seeing my calm reaction, Tyler visibly exhaled a long breath of relief. "Phew. Thank god you're not making a scene. See? Getting married has finally made you mature. You're not throwing childish tantrums anymore." He reached out to grab my hand to lead me toward the main aisle, but I violently shook him off. Staring at his empty hand, Tyler frowned with annoyance. "Chloe, what the hell are you doing?" "Everyone's waiting out front. Don't make a fool of yourself." He reached for my hand again, but I stepped back, dodging him. His patience ran out instantly. He sneered, "Ha, and here I thought you actually grew up. Are you really going to ruin everything over nothing?" Looking at the man I had dated for five years, my disappointment hit rock bottom. How pathetic. At the wedding I had spent five years dreaming of, my fiancé knelt to another woman and kissed her passionately. Yet, I wasn't allowed to be upset. If I showed any anger, I was being dramatic. The calm facade finally shattered. I pointed at Vivian’s bridal gown, my voice trembling with rage: "Who's being dramatic here? She agreed to be my bridesmaid, ditched the dress I bought her, and showed up in a wedding gown! What does that mean to you, Tyler?" I had mountains of fury left to scream, but Tyler cut me off harshly: "Enough, Chloe!" "She already explained it to you! Haven't you thrown enough fits? We're about to miss the exact auspicious minute my mom got from the psychic. If you walk out with me right now, we can still make it." The auspicious time. His superstitious mother had paid an astrologer a fortune to calculate the precise minute the ceremony had to start to guarantee our marriage's fortune. Because of that stupid timeline, when my car broke down, I panicked. I finally hitched a ride, only to hit gridlock traffic a mile away. I literally carried my heavy, massive train and ran down the asphalt in four-inch heels. My toes were bruised and bleeding. "Walk with me now, or don't regret it later," Tyler warned, utterly confident. After all, he knew how deeply I loved him. We had fought countless times before, but I was always the one who caved. Not this time. I looked him straight in the eyes. "Ha." A cold, mocking laugh escaped my lips. Right on cue, a banquet coordinator rushed in from the front hall. Not noticing me in the back, the coordinator saw Tyler and Vivian standing side by side, looking like the perfect couple, and grabbed them. "Oh my god, the timeline is about to be ruined! What are you two doing hiding here? Hurry up!" A spark of sheer triumph flashed in Vivian's eyes. Tyler looked back at me once more, warning: "Chloe, you've dreamed of this wedding for five years. Don't you dare regret this." To that, I gave him my final answer: "I wish you both a happy marriage."I walked out of the hotel and dragged my exhausted body back home. The apartment was littered with wedding preparations. I had been a perfectionist with every single detail, comparing endless samples. The rejected items were still piled up by the entrance. I used to look at them with pure excitement. Now, all they brought me was endless exhaustion and disgust. I collapsed onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. When did everything go so wrong? We once promised to stay together forever. …… In my senior year of high school, my parents' cold, fake marriage finally exploded into an ugly divorce. They fought ruthlessly over assets and custody. To escape the drama, I transferred from my elite private prep school to Tyler's ordinary public high school. Shortly after I arrived, it was time for midterm exams. Having never attended a public school, I didn't know the rules—I didn't know you had to store your backpacks in designated lockers or locate your assigned exam rooms beforehand. While everyone hurried off to their tests, I stood by my desk in a total panic, surrounded by my belongings. The mocking whispers and disdainful sneers of my classmates stabbed at me like needles. It was Tyler who stepped up. He told them to shut up, packed my things with practiced ease, and guided me directly to my exam room. In that dull, stressful high school environment, his gesture sparked instant gossip. People whispered that Tyler had a thing for the new girl. Tyler didn't dodge the rumors. He admitted it to everyone: "Yeah, I like her." Scarred by my parents' toxic marriage, I had always been terrified of romance. So, what changed my mind? It was the New Year's Eve of our senior year. My parents were gone, so I stayed behind in my cold, tiny rental apartment. When fireworks lit up the midnight sky, an overwhelming loneliness crushed me. The whole city was shining, but not a single light belonged to me. The next second, Tyler appeared at my door. His nose was bright red from the freezing cold, and he pulled a container of steaming, homemade food from beneath his heavy jacket. His eyes sparkled with hope. He said, "Give me a chance, Chloe. I want to spend every single New Year with you." The roaring fireworks couldn't drown out the sound of my racing heart. For the first two years of our relationship, Tyler truly kept his word. He gave me all his warmth and attention, and a girl starved of love like me drowned in his affection. Once, when we had a big fight and I brought up breaking up, he was in another city for a competition. He dropped everything, caught the next train, and showed up beneath my dorm building. He broke down crying and wrapped me in his arms. "Chloe, please don't leave me. I can't survive without you." "As soon as we graduate, we're getting married." I cried with him, promising we would never part. And then, on our third anniversary... He took a single phone call, left me alone at the restaurant, and walked away. Only later did I find out that his precious childhood sweetheart, Vivian, had returned to town. …… I pulled myself out of the memories. I finally saw the truth. He didn't suddenly change overnight. From the very beginning, Vivian had always been the priority. Looking back at everything I had sacrificed, regret gnawed at my bones. After graduation, my family had planned to send me abroad to an elite art institute, but I gave it up for him. I dialed my mother's number. The moment she picked up, my voice broke: "Mom... I want to apply for grad school in London." The line fell quiet for a moment. Then my mom spoke: "Chloe, I warned you years ago. A woman who loses herself in love will always live to regret it." "As a consequence, I'm not going to hand everything to you on a silver platter this time. Study for your exams, build your portfolio, apply on your own, and get your own acceptance letter. Prove it to me."I had been painting since I was a little girl. Whenever my parents threw things and screamed, I would hide in my small studio. With the sounds of shattering glass outside, I painted a safe haven for myself, stroke by stroke. Over the years, I won countless national art awards. Everyone called me a prodigy. My parents' original plan was for me to study abroad under world-renowned masters and become a full-time artist. Instead, I fooled myself into thinking Tyler was my sanctuary. I dropped my paintbrushes and picked up a frying pan, cooking three meals a day for him. Thank God, it wasn't too late to fix my mistake. I bagged up every single thing related to Tyler and threw it all into the dumpster. Looking at the suddenly clean, open space, I felt a weight lift from my chest. I spent the entire night researching art programs and planning my next steps. The next afternoon, I went to a flagship bookstore in the city center to pick up some prep books and reference materials. Holding the heavy stack of books felt like holding solid, tangible hope. My heart felt grounded for the first time in years. As I walked out of the store, I ran right into Vivian. I tried to walk past her, but she stepped in my path: "Chloe! What a coincidence! Oh, please don't get the wrong idea. This isn't a date! There's a trendy new bistro here, and I just begged Tyler to try it with me." She blinked her doe eyes, looking timid. "Chloe, are you still mad about yesterday? Don't worry, I gave him a stern talking-to! I told him he has to apologize to you properly." Just then, Tyler walked up from behind. His eyes were glued to Vivian. He didn't even notice me and naturally reached out to take her hand: "Let's go, our table is almost ready. You said you wanted ice cream, so I grabbed you a Haagen-Dazs." Following Vivian's gaze, he finally spotted me. Panic flashed across Tyler's face. He yanked his hand away from Vivian's like he'd been burned. "What are you doing here?" I didn't answer. I just stared at the cup of Haagen-Dazs in his hand. I used to love ice cream, too. Back when Tyler was broke in college, he refused to let me pay on our dates out of pride, so I always pretended I didn't want any. Later, when he got a decent job and had disposable income, he would sneer at me: "How old are you, Chloe? Stop craving kid stuff." "Prep books for English and art?" Tyler noticed the titles in my arms, and his tone instantly turned condescending. "Chloe, stop embarrassing yourself. You've been out of school for years. Let's not pretend your academic skills were ever impressive." Vivian let out a giggling snicker. A wave of disgust washed over me. When we took our college exams, he forgot his audio headset, so I gave him mine, barely passing the test myself. When the finals came around, he made me run across campus in the pouring rain to deliver his interview portfolio, making me miss my own exam. He conveniently forgot that before graduation, I was the one who tutored him through all his courses. I stared at him in dead silence until his mocking laughter withered away under my icy glare. Embarrassed, he snapped defensively: "Drop the act, Chloe! You obviously saw my Snap story about this restaurant and stalked me here!" "You're the one who walked out on our wedding yesterday! I'm taking Vivian out on a date, and if you think a casual apology will get me to forgive you like before, you're dead wrong—" In the past, whenever he ditched me for Vivian, I would cry my eyes out, but I always ended up swallowing my pride and begging for peace. This time, I looked at him like he was a total stranger. I brushed past his shoulder and said calmly: "Have fun. You're newlyweds, after all. You should spend plenty of time with her."