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My Family Gave My Wedding to Their Favorite Girl
Novelix
Completed
At her engagement party, Claire’s own family turns her humiliation into Vanessa’s livestream content—cutting her hair, tearing her dress, and nearly triggering a deadly allergy while her fiancé stands by. Claire finally calls off the wedding, only to discover they are not done with her. To save Vanessa’s image, they take Claire’s venue, dress, and ceremony and put Vanessa in her place. But Claire has stopped begging to be chosen. With evidence, legal action, and one man who never stopped respecting her choices, she is ready to take back her life.
Chapters (3)
第1章
At my engagement party, my brother dumps a bucket of dirty water over my head for Vanessa’s livestream prank.
“One thing I never told you,” Ethan says, grinning as muddy water runs down my face. “I’ve always thought you looked cute when you were a mess.”
Laughter breaks out around the room.
I stand frozen beneath the lights, my makeup ruined after three hours in the chair.
Before I can wipe my eyes, Mom reaches for a pair of scissors.
“One thing I never told you,” she says. “I’ve always preferred you with short hair.”
My stomach drops.
“Mom, wait—”
The scissors close beside my ear.
A thick section of hair falls over my shoulder and lands at my feet.
I’ve been growing it for nearly ten years.
My eyes burn, but Sophie is already stepping forward.
My best friend since middle school smiles at the camera Vanessa has hidden somewhere behind the curtain.
“One thing I never told you? I think you take clothes way too seriously.”
She grabs the side of the dress I designed for tonight.
“Sophie, don’t.”
The fabric tears before I can stop her.
A second rip follows.
By the time I manage to pull away, the dress hangs open at my side, leaving me scrambling to cover myself with both hands.
The room is full of people I love.
Not one of them stops laughing.
Then Adrian walks toward me.
Relief hits so fast it almost hurts.
He takes my hand and helps me upright.
For one stupid second, I think he’s finally going to end this.
Instead, he gives me a light push backward.
“One thing I never told you,” he says with a smile, “I love how easy you are to fool.”
The curtain behind me drops.
Vanessa stands there holding a camera.
“Surprise!”
She beams at the livestream.
“My latest series is called ‘Pranking the Person Everyone Finds Most Annoying.’ We took a vote.”
She turns the camera toward me.
“And Claire won by a landslide.”
The live chat moves too fast to read at first.
Then individual comments start catching my eye.
She really just stood there and took it?
No wonder they picked her.
Vanessa is too nice. At least she gave her some attention.
I look at Mom.
At Ethan.
At Sophie.
Then at Adrian.
No one looks ashamed.
Adrian takes off his jacket and drapes it around my shoulders.
“There. Better?”
My throat tightens.
Vanessa laughs. “Claire, say hi to everyone. They love you.”
I knock the camera aside.
Not hard enough to break it, but enough that Vanessa gasps as though I slapped her.
“Claire,” Adrian warns.
Sophie quickly steps between us.
“Come on. It was a joke.”
Ethan appears beside her carrying a cake.
“Exactly. Don’t ruin the rest of the night.”
I look down.
Gold lettering stretches across the strawberry frosting.
Congratulations on the new series, Vanessa. We love you.
For a second, nobody speaks.
Sophie’s smile falters.
“Oh.”
Ethan glances at her.
“Wrong cake.”
“Right. Obviously.” Sophie laughs too quickly. “That one’s for Vanessa. Yours is over there.”
She brings out another cake.
Smaller.
Plain white frosting. Barely decorated.
My name is squeezed across the top as if someone added it at the last minute.
Before I can say anything, Mom places a hand on the back of my head.
“Smile for the camera, Claire.”
Then she shoves my face into the cake.
Everyone bursts out laughing.
Vanessa nearly doubles over.
“Oh my God, Margaret! That was perfect.”
Ethan smears another handful of frosting across my cheek.
“The viewers voted for the cake smash.”
The itching starts almost immediately.
My throat follows.
I jerk upright.
“What flavor is this?”
Sophie’s face changes.
Vanessa answers first.
“Mango.”
I stare at her.
Everyone in this room knows I have a severe mango allergy.
Adrian’s smile finally disappears.
“Vanessa.”
“What?” She looks startled. “I forgot.”
My skin is already burning.
“You forgot?”
“I said I forgot.”
She turns the camera toward herself.
“Guys, relax. Claire always gets dramatic about everything.”
Adrian pulls a pill bottle from his pocket.
He waits until Vanessa ends the livestream before handing it to me.
“I told her this part was too much.”
I stare at him.
“You knew?”
“I told her not to use mango.” He presses the medication into my palm. “Take this before your face swells. You’ll worry about the wedding photos later.”
Something cold settles in my chest.
Not because Vanessa did this.
Not because Ethan laughed.
Not because Mom cut my hair or Sophie tore my dress.
Because Adrian knew enough to bring my allergy medication.
He expected something to happen.
He just came prepared to fix it afterward.
I take off my engagement ring.
Adrian frowns.
“Claire?”
I place it on the table.
“There won’t be any wedding photos.”
His face goes still.
“What are you talking about?”
“The wedding is off.”
Mom scoffs.
“Oh, for God’s sake. Don’t start.”
Vanessa lowers the camera.
“Claire, seriously? You’re calling off your wedding over a prank?”
I look at all of them.
For once, I don’t explain.
I turn and walk out.
Behind me, Mom’s voice follows me into the hall.
“Let her go. She’ll calm down when she stops being dramatic.”
Outside, my hands are shaking so badly I almost drop my phone.
I open a conversation I haven’t touched in years.
For a long moment, I stare at the last message Daniel ever sent me.
If you ever need me, call.
My fingers hover over the screen.
Then I type.
You once said you’d wait for me. Does that still stand?
The reply comes almost immediately.
Always.
【Word Count: 918】
第2章
The ride home takes twenty minutes.
By the time I get there, half the internet has already seen me with cake on my face and my torn dress hanging off my shoulders.
My phone keeps vibrating.
Coworkers.
Clients.
People I haven’t spoken to in years.
One message makes me stop.
Claire, they’re turning screenshots of you into memes. Please tell me you’re getting those videos taken down.
I open the first repost.
Then the second.
Then a compilation someone has already edited together.
My brother dumping water over my head.
Mom cutting my hair.
Sophie tearing my dress.
Adrian pushing me backward.
The comments are worse outside Vanessa’s livestream.
Some people laugh.
Others call it cruel.
A few ask why no one stepped in.
For the first time tonight, I feel something other than humiliation.
Anger.
I forward every link to an attorney I’ve worked with before and ask her to preserve everything.
Then I open Vanessa’s profile.
I almost never check her account.
Vanessa posts constantly. Restaurant openings. Brand trips. Resorts. New clothes. Photos from places she says she “randomly discovered.”
I scroll.
A photo from a mountain lodge.
Adrian’s watch appears at the edge of the table.
Another post from a waterfront hotel.
Ethan is reflected in the glass behind her.
Then a rooftop bar.
Mom’s favorite handbag sits beside Vanessa’s chair.
I keep scrolling until I reach a pinned vlog.
The date stops me.
My birthday.
Last year.
I remember that night too clearly.
Mom had called around six.
She sounded breathless.
She told me she and Ethan had been in a car accident on the way home from a business trip.
Adrian was already with them, she said.
They were being treated at a private medical center a few hours away.
I left immediately.
On the way to my car, a drunk man followed me through the parking garage. I got away, but not before falling hard enough to split my palm open.
I wrapped it myself and kept going.
I drove for hours.
When I finally reached the medical center, security told me my name wasn’t on the approved visitor list.
I called Mom.
Then Ethan.
Then Adrian.
Over and over until my phone was almost dead.
No one answered.
Adrian appeared the next morning looking exhausted.
He hugged me and told me everyone had fallen asleep after a long night.
I believed him.
Now I watch Vanessa’s birthday vlog.
There is no hospital.
No accident.
No emergency.
They are all in a luxury resort suite.
Mom is laughing while Vanessa opens gifts.
Ethan brings out a cake.
Adrian stands behind Vanessa with one hand resting on her chair.
The timestamp shows they were filming while I was sitting outside that medical center in the cold.
I shut the video off.
For once, I don’t cry.
I’m too tired.
When I reach my apartment, I go straight to my bedroom to pack.
I stop in the doorway.
My suitcase is already on the floor.
So are my shoes.
My jewelry boxes.
My work folders.
Everything that used to be inside my room has been pushed into the hall.
Inside, Vanessa’s clothes hang in my closet.
Her skincare products cover my vanity.
Her luggage sits open beside my bed.
A week ago, Mom told me Vanessa needed somewhere closer to work.
I assumed she would use the guest room.
Apparently everyone else knew better.
I crouch to pick up one of my sketchbooks.
The front door opens behind me.
“Claire?”
Adrian.
He crosses the apartment quickly and pulls me into his arms.
“Thank God you’re here.”
I don’t hug him back.
He doesn’t seem to notice.
“You disappeared. Do you know how worried I was?”
I take out my phone.
Two missed calls.
No message.
Not one text asking if I’m okay.
I hold up the screen.
Adrian’s expression shifts.
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?”
He sighs.
“You know what Vanessa is like. If nobody goes along with her ideas, she gets upset. Then your mom worries about her, and you end up fighting with your family again.”
“So humiliating me was easier.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you did.”
His mouth tightens.
He tries a softer tone.
“I know tonight went too far.”
“You brought allergy medicine.”
“That was just in case.”
“In case what?”
He doesn’t answer.
Instead, he reaches for a gift box sitting on the table.
“We wanted to make it up to you.”
He opens it.
Inside is a bright red wig.
Underneath it is a black outfit with barely enough fabric to qualify as clothing.
I stare at him.
Adrian gives me an uncertain smile.
“Your hair got messed up. I thought you might want options.”
“And this?”
He touches the outfit.
“Vanessa said you take yourself too seriously.”
Of course she did.
“She thinks trying something different might help.”
“Help what?”
“You know.” He hesitates. “Us.”
My stomach turns.
Adrian keeps talking.
“We’ve been together for years, Claire. Sometimes you’re so reserved. So controlled. Maybe it would be good to loosen up for once.”
I look at the red wig again.
At the outfit.
At Adrian’s face.
Then I understand why he is suddenly being so patient.
Why he came back instead of staying with Vanessa.
Why the clothes are already waiting here.
I walk toward the bedroom door.
“Claire?”
I pull it open.
Vanessa stands in the hallway with a camera raised.
Ethan is behind her.
Mom too.
Sophie is adjusting a tripod beside them.
For half a second, nobody moves.
Then Vanessa lowers the camera.
Her smile slips.
“Well.”
She laughs awkwardly.
“Guess you ruined the surprise.”
【Word Count: 1,056】
第3章
I look at the camera in Vanessa’s hand.
Then at Adrian.
He has gone pale.
“Claire, listen.”
“No.”
That single word surprises all of us.
Vanessa recovers first.
She hugs the camera against her chest.
“It wasn’t going to show anything.”
I turn to her.
“What exactly were you planning to film?”
She opens her mouth.
Nothing comes out.
Adrian steps forward.
“I was going to make sure she stopped before it went too far.”
I laugh.
The sound comes out wrong.
“You said that about tonight too.”
Mom rolls her eyes.
“Enough. You already ruined one stream.”
Sophie folds her arms.
“Claire, when did you become this difficult?”
I look at her.
My best friend.
The girl who once promised we would stand beside each other at our weddings.
Tonight she tore my dress because Vanessa’s viewers thought it would be funny.
“You’re asking me that?”
Sophie’s face stiffens.
Vanessa’s eyes immediately fill with tears.
“I was trying to help.”
“By secretly filming me in lingerie?”
“I wanted people to see another side of you.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
Vanessa looks at Mom.
There it is.
The same move she has used since we were children.
“I knew she hated me.”
Mom’s expression changes instantly.
“Vanessa—”
“I’ve tried so hard to be part of this family, but she’s never wanted me here.”
A tear slides down her cheek.
“She probably wishes you never took me in.”
When we were younger, this was usually the point where I apologized.
It didn’t matter what Vanessa had done.
If she cried, Mom expected me to fix it.
If I refused, I was cruel.
Selfish.
Jealous.
Once, Mom locked me in a storage room until Vanessa decided she was ready to forgive me.
Vanessa knows exactly what comes next.
She lowers her head, waiting.
I look at her.
“Yes.”
Her head snaps up.
I smile without warmth.
“Yes, Vanessa. I want you out of my face.”
Silence.
Ethan reacts first.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
Adrian immediately moves beside Vanessa.
“This is her home too.”
I look toward my bedroom.
The room filled with Vanessa’s things.
“My mistake.”
Vanessa’s mouth twitches.
For the first time, I think she realizes I am not going to apologize.
Mom grabs my arm.
“You don’t get to insult her and walk away.”
“Let go.”
“You broke her camera tonight.”
“I knocked it aside.”
“And now you’re trying to throw her out?”
“I’m trying to leave.”
Mom tightens her grip.
“No. You’re going to apologize first.”
I pull away.
She shoves me.
Hard.
My hip hits the side of the desk.
Something sharp drives into my abdomen.
Pain explodes through me.
I gasp.
For a second, I don’t understand what happened.
Then Sophie screams.
“Claire!”
I look down.
A pair of sewing scissors lies on the floor.
Blood is spreading across my shirt.
Too fast.
Ethan’s face drains of color.
“Call 911.”
My knees buckle.
Adrian catches me before I hit the floor.
“Claire. Claire, look at me.”
I press both hands against the wound.
Blood slips between my fingers.
I have a clotting disorder.
Everyone here knows it.
Adrian knows better than anyone.
Three years ago, after a car accident, I cut my hand open pulling him away from broken glass.
The wound wouldn’t stop bleeding.
I spent hours in the emergency room.
When Adrian finally woke up, he held my bandaged hand and stared at it for a long time.
Then he kissed my fingers.
“I’ll never let you bleed because of me again.”
I believed him then.
Now my vision blurs.
Vanessa makes a small sound beside us.
“Oh my God.”
Adrian looks at her.
Vanessa is staring at the blood.
Her face has gone white.
“I feel sick.”
Adrian moves instantly.
One arm still supports me.
His free hand reaches up and covers Vanessa’s eyes.
“Don’t look.”
His voice turns soft.
“You hate blood.”
For a moment, I forget the pain.
Vanessa grips his wrist.
“I can’t breathe.”
“It’s okay. Don’t look.”
Then, finally, Adrian looks back at me.
“Claire?”
Something in his expression changes when he sees my face.
“Claire, stay with me.”
I am still bleeding.
He is still holding Vanessa against his side.
And suddenly, everything becomes very simple.
All these years, I kept waiting for one moment that would prove I mattered more.
One emergency.
One choice.
One time when Adrian would look at both of us and choose me without hesitation.
Now I have my answer.
He does choose.
Just never me.
【Word Count: 869】
