I Said I'd Get Married—Just Not to Her

At a yacht party, someone suggests we play Two Truths and a Lie. The rules are simple. If someone calls your bluff and proves that you are lying, you have to take a penalty shot. When it's my turn, I look across the deck at my girlfriend of eight years, Claire Sullivan, and smile. "I'm getting married this year." Before anyone else can react, my best friend, Daniel Parker, raises his hand. "Bullshit. That's a lie. There's no way you're getting married this year." Laughter erupts around the table, and everyone turns to Claire, waiting for her response. Instead, she calmly picks up a glass of liquor and slides it across the table toward me. "You lost. Drink." Without hesitation, I pick up the glass and knock it back in one swallow. The liquor burns all the way down my throat, and my heart aches along with it. Then it's Daniel's turn. He leans back with a smug grin and says, "I got married this year, too." I call his bluff, but Daniel merely raises an eyebrow. Instead, he reaches into his bag, pulls out a marriage certificate, and passes it around for everyone to see. Daniel lets everyone take a look at it. My eyes drop to the names: Claire Sullivan under Bride and Daniel Parker under Groom. For a few seconds, I can't move. Then everyone bursts out laughing. "Julian lost again!" "We knew he would!" "So double shot this time!" Claire looks at me with what almost passes for an apologetic smile. "We lost a bet last time," she says casually. "The punishment was getting married, so… we did." I stare at the woman I've loved for eight years, then at the man I've trusted as my best friend. My blood runs cold. It seems that Daniel hasn't just won the game; he's won Claire, too. And the worst part? They've both forgotten one thing. I always keep my word. I said I would get married this year, and I will, but Claire just won't be the bride. Chapter 1 Claire Sullivan—my girlfriend of eight years—pushed another glass toward me. "Come on. Don't be mad," she said. "Daniel and I only got married because we lost a round of Truth or Dare last time." She shrugged as if it were nothing. "It's not a big deal. Once the year is up, we'll get divorced." She said it so casually, so confidently, as if she'd already decided I would be willing to wait another year for her. Daniel, on the other hand, was starting to panic. "Everyone was egging us on that night," he said quickly. "I never thought it would actually go this far." He looked at me almost pleadingly. "Don't be mad at me, okay? We've been friends for years. You're not really going to let this ruin our friendship, are you?" Someone beside him immediately chimed in. "Exactly. It was just a joke. That's why we kept it from you." I listened to them, feeling my heart grow colder with every word. They all knew about it. They'd talked about it, laughed about it, and somehow convinced themselves they hadn't done anything wrong. As if I were supposed to laugh along with them. As if I were the unreasonable one for being hurt. In the end, I was the only one who hadn't known. The only one who'd been made a complete fool. I stood up, and Claire frowned. "Where are you going?" "Just getting some air," I said. Her expression tightened, a flicker of impatience replacing the concern I'd almost imagined was there. "Okay, that's enough. Stop making a scene." I looked at her and almost laughed. A scene? Apparently, I was already an outsider. I turned away without another word and walked to the far edge of the yacht, leaving the laughter and conversation behind me. The wind whipped against my face. Beyond the railing, the ocean stretched into the darkness, vast and endless. I pulled out my phone and called Father. He answered after a few rings, sounding surprised to hear from me. "Julian? It's late. What's going on? Why are you calling all of a sudden?" I tightened my grip on the phone, my fingers cold. "You mentioned an arranged marriage before," I said. "I'll agree to it." For several seconds, neither of us spoke. Then I heard Mother take the phone from him. "Julian, are you serious?" "Yes." My voice was steady. "Have you really thought this through?" "I have." I stared out at the distant lights flickering across the water. Strangely, my voice sounded calmer than I felt. "I don't want to wait for Claire anymore." Father's voice immediately sharpened with concern. "Did Claire do something? Where are you? We'll come pick you up." "Don't worry about me," I said. "I'll come home and tell you everything." When I was a child, I was switched at birth and didn't find my way back to my biological family until I was a teenager. My birth parents had always wanted me home. They tried to make up for all the years we'd lost, but no matter how hard they tried, I could never shake the feeling that there was an invisible wall between us. Then I met Claire. For years, I convinced myself that as long as I had her, none of that mattered. I didn't need to know where I truly belonged. I didn't need the family I'd lost. As long as Claire was by my side, I had everything I needed. Looking back now, I realize how wrong I was. I'd spent years underestimating my own worth, convincing myself that having Claire was enough. When in reality, I'd simply valued her far more than she ever valued me. Father's voice softened. "Do you want to meet her first? You know, before you agree to the marriage?" "No," I said. "I trust you to choose the right person for me." After hanging up, I stood alone at the edge of the yacht for a long time. Behind me, the music was still playing, along with the laughter. No one had noticed I was gone. Or perhaps no one cared. They were probably still drinking, joking, and having the time of their lives. To them, what had happened tonight was nothing more than a harmless joke, a little entertainment at my expense. A moment later, my phone buzzed. A message from Claire lit up the screen. "Stop messing around. Come back." I stared at it, and suddenly, I was back in college. It was winter, and Claire had just lost her first business venture. I'd found her crouched on the side of the road, a cigarette burning between her fingers. When she looked up at me, her eyes were red. "Julian," she'd asked quietly, "am I really that useless?" I sat beside her and told her without hesitation, "It's okay. You still have me. I'll always have your back." Back then, I meant every word. Now, looking at her message, I realized just how much I'd given to someone who had never valued it. I deleted it and turned off my phone. That night, standing alone at the edge of the yacht, I finally decided to leave Claire. Chapter 2 I barely slept that night. By morning, the yacht was buzzing with laughter and conversation, as if nothing had happened. Last night's betrayal had already been brushed aside, reduced to nothing more than a stupid joke. Claire came over carrying breakfast and set the tray down beside me, almost as if she were trying to make peace. "Eat something." I didn't touch it, causing her to frown. "Are you seriously throwing a tantrum?" I looked at her with disbelief. "You really think I'm throwing a tantrum?" A flicker of impatience crossed her face. "I already explained everything last night." She sighed, her voice growing sharper. "The marriage was an accident, Julian. Why are you taking it so seriously?" A cold laugh escaped me as I pushed the tray back toward her. "Claire, I finally see you for who you really are." Her expression changed. "Julian Whitmore." The warning in her voice almost made me laugh again. "Don't talk to me like that," I said. "You seemed perfectly clear-headed when you handed me that drink last night." My words carried farther than I intended. The conversations around us gradually died down, and people turned to look. Claire noticed them, too. She reached for my arm and lowered her voice. "Do you really have to make a scene in front of everyone?" I shook her off. "I'm the one making a scene now?" Daniel happened to walk over and stop beside Claire. He glanced at me before speaking in a calm, almost reasonable tone. "Julian, everyone's watching. At least show Claire a little respect." I almost laughed. "Respect?" I looked at him. "Then why didn't you think about respect when you took out that marriage certificate yesterday?" The color drained from his face. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I just wanted to win the game. I got carried away." I stared at him, feeling nothing but a deep, familiar coldness settling in my chest. So this was what our friendship had meant to him—a game and a joke. Something he was willing to throw away just to win. After all these years, I finally understood. "Don't bother explaining," I said quietly. "I'm not interested." Claire's face tightened. Humiliated by the attention around us, she grabbed Daniel by the arm. "If he doesn't appreciate what we're doing, then forget him." She pulled Daniel toward the other side of the yacht. "Come on. Let's go fishing." I watched them walk away. They deliberately left me out and started a deep-sea fishing competition on the deck. Before long, Daniel lost the game. His punishment was simple. He needed to jump into the ocean. Everyone immediately started cheering. "Rules are rules!" "Come on, Daniel! Get in!" Daniel stood at the edge of the deck, hesitating. Then Claire spoke up. "He drank too much last night," she said. "His stomach's still bothering him. He shouldn't be jumping into the ocean." Something twisted painfully in my chest. She remembered that? She knew when Daniel's stomach was bothering him. She remembered what he drank the night before. She noticed every little thing about him. Then, as if what she said next were perfectly reasonable, she turned to me. "Julian, you go instead. Consider it an apology to Daniel." I stared at her blankly. For a second, I honestly thought I'd misheard her. "You want me to take his punishment?" "Julian—" "Claire, you know I'm afraid of water." Her expression flickered, and for the briefest moment, I saw something like hesitation. Then it disappeared. "There's a life ring," she said simply. I turned and walked away. I'd barely taken two steps when Daniel caught up with me and grabbed my arm. "Julian, please. I really don't feel well. Just do me this one favor." I ripped my arm out of his grip. "Why should I take your punishment for you?" The people around us were already getting impatient. "It's just the water!" "What's the big deal?" "You'll have a life ring!" Their voices closed in around me. Before I knew it, everyone had crowded around, leaving me nowhere to go. Desperate, I looked at Claire. She was the one person I expected to stop this. Instead, she walked toward me, picked up a life ring, and forcibly pulled it over my head. I struggled against her. "Let go of me. Claire, stop!" Her hands froze, but just for a second. I looked at her, waiting for her to change her mind, but she didn't. Instead, she lowered her voice. "You'll be fine." Then she shoved me overboard. The freezing ocean swallowed me whole, and water rushed into my mouth and nose. Everything went black. I thrashed wildly, my arms and legs kicking uselessly beneath the surface as panic tore through me. I couldn't breathe or see. When I was a child, I'd nearly been swept out to sea by the waves. I'd been terrified of the ocean ever since. She knew how badly I feared the water. And yet, when it came to Daniel, she still pushed me overboard. I choked on mouthful after mouthful of seawater before finally breaking the surface. I gasped for air as I watched the yacht moving away. I clung desperately to the life ring and watched it grow smaller in the distance. At first, I told myself not to panic. They'd come back. So I waited. I kept telling myself to hold on a little longer. Just a little longer. But the sun began to sink, the sky darkened, and the yacht never came back. That was when I finally understood that they had truly forgotten about me. My hands slowly went numb as I clung to the life jacket. My body grew heavier, my strength fading with every passing minute. As darkness settled over the ocean, memories began flashing through my mind. I remembered Claire back when she had nothing. I remembered holding her when she cried and the promises she made—that once she had everything, she would spend the rest of her life treating me well. I remembered Daniel taking my hand and laughing as he promised that one day, I'd stand beside him as his best man. And I remembered the three of us and all the times I'd swallowed my pride and given in because I thought our friendship was worth protecting. And in the end, they had completely forgotten about me. At some point, I realized I wasn't crying anymore. I didn't have the strength for that, either. The cold seeped deeper into my bones, and the darkness stretched endlessly around me. Chapter 3 By the time someone pulled me from the water, I was barely conscious. A woman crouched in front of me. She checked my breathing first, then pressed the back of her hand against my forehead. "Can you hear me?" I struggled to open my eyes. The woman was wearing a dark blouse, and her voice was calm and steady. She was the one who had saved me. I managed to give her my family's address. By the time the boat reached shore, my parents were already waiting. The moment Father saw me, his eyes welled with tears. He rushed forward and pulled me into his arms, her hands trembling as she held me. "Julian, what happened? Who did this to you?" My throat hurt so badly that I couldn't get a word out. Then Mother looked toward the woman who had brought me to safety. Her expression changed immediately, and she stepped forward. "Ms. Hayes, thank you for saving my son." Only then did I really look at her. Father leaned toward me and whispered, "That's Evelyn Hayes—the woman we've arranged for you to marry." She hesitated for a moment. "And your future wife." When we got home, the housekeeper had already prepared hot cocoa, and the family doctor arrived soon after. Father stayed beside me the entire time, gently drying my hair with a towel. Her eyes were still red as she said, "You're home now. You're safe." Something tightened in my chest, and my nose stung. In that moment, I finally let myself accept them as my family. After the doctor left, the living room fell quiet. Father was the first to break the silence. "Ms. Hayes, you came today because of the business deal, right?" Evelyn nodded. "Yes. But there's something else I want to say first." She looked at me. There was something unexpectedly gentle in her expression. "I fell in love with Mr. Whitmore at first sight." Mother went still, and Father seemed to forget how to breathe. Evelyn continued calmly, "But I respect his choice." The room fell completely silent. Mother looked at me, waiting for my answer. I looked at Evelyn. I had no idea what she could possibly have fallen in love with after knowing me for barely a day. But maybe I had an idea. I lowered my gaze to the mug still steaming between my hands. After a moment, I said, "Okay." I looked back at her. "Let's get married tomorrow." The look of pure shock that crossed Evelyn's face made me smile for the first time since I'd been pulled from the ocean. … The next morning, Evelyn and I went to the courthouse. When the marriage certificate was placed in my hands, I felt strangely calm. There was no hesitation. No excitement, either. Just a quiet certainty that, for once, I was making a choice for myself. As soon as we stepped outside, Evelyn's phone rang. She answered, listened for a moment, then hung up and turned to me. "I have to go out of town for a few days," she said. "Wait for me. I promise I'll give you the wedding you deserve." Before I could respond, she leaned in and pressed a light kiss to my cheek. Then she smiled and walked away. I stood there watching her go until she disappeared into the crowd. … After we parted ways, I headed to the office to hand in my resignation. But the moment I stepped into the conference room, I stopped as I noticed Claire and Daniel were sitting inside. They were there to negotiate a business deal. The moment Claire saw me, she froze. Then she shot to her feet. "Where were you last night? Why haven't you been answering your phone?" I looked at her and let out a cold laugh. "Why don't you ask how I managed to make it back from the ocean alive?" Her expression tightened. "That's not what I meant." Daniel leaned back in his chair and took a slow sip of coffee. Then he smiled. "I knew you'd be fine. You've always been pretty damn lucky." Something inside me went completely still. Whatever hope I had left for either of them disappeared in that moment. Claire seemed to recover first. She pushed the contract across the table. "Since you're here, let's continue the negotiations. You need to give us a little more on your side." I didn't even look at the contract. "Why should I?" The room fell silent. My manager hurried over, clearly trying to keep things from falling apart. "This deal is important to the company," he said. "We really need it to go through. Don't let personal feelings get in the way of business." I stared at him for a few seconds, then I reached for my employee badge. I took it off and placed it on the table. "Then I quit." No one said a word, and I turned and walked out. I thought that would be the end of it. … That night, my private photos suddenly appeared online. I stared at the screen, my hands and feet turning cold. I had never even saved those photos. The only person who could have had them was Claire. And somehow, they were now everywhere. Not long afterward, there was a knock at my door. When I opened it, two police officers were standing outside. They told me I was suspected of distributing explicit images and that I needed to cooperate with the investigation. For a moment, I couldn't process what they were saying. Then they put me in the back of the police car. As the door shut behind me, my mind went completely blank. Chapter 4 Because the photos were real, I was temporarily detained on suspicion of distributing explicit images and had to wait for someone to post bail. Under the judgmental stares of the officers and everyone around me, humiliation burned through every inch of my body. When they finally let me make a phone call, I chose Evelyn. The moment she answered, I tried to keep my voice steady, but I couldn't hide the fear creeping into it. "I'm at the police station." There was a brief silence. Then Evelyn said, "I'll be there soon." After the call ended, I lowered my head, preparing to call my parents next. That was when I noticed an old group chat from one of my college clubs. The messages were coming in rapidly. Most of them didn't know the full story, but after seeing Daniel's marriage certificate, they'd already made up their minds. To them, I was the other man—the homewrecker. I scrolled through the messages, my stomach sinking with every accusation. Then I saw one from Daniel stating, "You guys took the joke way too far. When Julian gets out, you'd better apologize to him!" I stared at those words for a long time, and suddenly, everything became clear. This hadn't been an accident. It had all been deliberate. I quickly took screenshots of the entire conversation, one after another, and sent every single one to Evelyn. … That evening, during visiting hours, I expected to see my parents waiting for me. Instead, Claire, Daniel, and the rest of our friends were sitting on the other side of the glass. None of them even bothered to hide the amusement in their eyes. Claire stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I never wanted things to get this bad. But there's still a way to fix this." I said nothing. She got straight to the point. "If you agree to let this go, I can get you out on bail." For a moment, I honestly thought I'd misheard her. I was sitting behind glass because of what they'd done to me, and she was still expecting me to forgive the very people responsible. Daniel rested a hand against his stomach and spoke in a subdued voice. "Julian, nobody meant for things to go this far. Everyone had too much to drink. I've already chewed them out, and I'll apologize on their behalf. If you can forgive them, we can put all of this behind us." The others quickly chimed in. We'd known each other for years, they reminded me. There was no reason to destroy lifelong friendships over one stupid mistake. I listened to them in silence, feeling strangely hollow. Even now, after everything that had happened, they still believed I should be the one to give in, the one to forgive, and the one to make things right. When Claire realized I wasn't going to respond, her expression hardened. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm the only person who can help you right now." I finally laughed. "You leaked the photos and called the police. Claire, you're the reason I'm sitting in here." Her expression shifted. "I never meant for things to get this bad," she said defensively. "You're the one who kept making a scene." Daniel immediately put on a guilty look. "Julian, I know you hate me. You can do whatever you want to me. Just don't make things difficult for everyone else." I watched him silently, letting him put on his little performance. Then I finally spoke. "Why should I forgive any of you?" Daniel's expression froze. "Keep dreaming," I said. "I'm taking this all the way." Claire's face darkened. Then I caught sight of Evelyn at the end of the hallway. A lawyer and an assistant were with her, already speaking with the officers. Claire noticed them, too. The screenshots I'd sent Evelyn had been printed out and spread across a table, page after page. Her lawyer pointed out suspicious details surrounding the secretly taken photos and presented evidence showing that I had been deliberately set up. A short distance away, Claire's expression darkened. She probably never imagined there would be someone willing to stand up for me. Once the bail paperwork was completed, I was finally released from custody. I tried to act like I was fine, but the fear hadn't completely left me. Evelyn seemed to notice. She gently steadied me. "Are you okay?" she asked. I nodded. Without saying anything else, she took my hand and led me outside. From the moment she arrived to the moment we left, she never once looked at Claire. The moment we stepped outside, I pulled out my phone and opened social media. I posted a photo of the marriage certificate we'd received that day. The caption was simple. "Married. Do not disturb." Our names—mine and Evelyn's—were clearly visible on the certificate. Almost immediately, my phone began buzzing with notifications. I didn't bother checking them. Behind me, Claire was staring at her own phone. She'd seen the post. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. Then I heard her voice behind me. "Julian…" I kept walking and didn't turn around.