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My Fiancé Married My Best Friend and Made Me Her Bridesmaid
Novelix
Completed
Emma spent seven years loving Daniel, believing the bright apartment they bought together was finally her home. Then she learns the smart system recognizes Daniel and her best friend, Lily, but not her. What begins as a broken voice command exposes a deeper truth: she has been the outsider in her own life. Forced to stand beside Lily at a fake wedding, Emma loses the last keepsake from her grandmother and finally leaves. Daniel realizes too late that love ignored is love destroyed. But when he comes chasing, Emma has already found someone who makes room for her voice again.
Chapters (3)
第1章
The smart home system only responded to Daniel's voice.
No matter how loud I got, it never reacted. I'd brought up replacing it before, but Daniel always brushed me off. "Just deal with it. You really want to make a whole thing out of a voice assistant?"
Today, it malfunctioned again.
I was locked inside the apartment, and I couldn't find the AC remote anywhere. The heat was making me dizzy and weak. I kept calling Daniel, but he never picked up.
It wasn't until evening that I finally heard his voice outside the door—his, and Lily's.
The moment the door opened and Lily stepped inside, she wrinkled her nose. "Alexa, turn on the AC. Set it to cooling mode."
The same voice assistant that had ignored me all afternoon responded immediately. "Done. Set to your preferred temperature of twenty-four degrees."
I'd been trapped in that sweltering apartment for hours. I was drenched in sweat, a complete mess.
Daniel glanced at me. "It's always like that. Works sometimes, doesn't other times."
He even laughed a little. "You're really going to make a big deal out of a voice assistant?"
I didn't say a word. I went straight to customer service and filed a repair request.
The technician came quickly. After checking the backend settings, he said, "Miss, this device only responds to authorized voices. It can store a maximum of two users. If you want to use it, you'll need to delete one of the existing profiles and register your voice."
So it wasn't broken.
In this home, my voice had never been allowed to exist from the very beginning.
The technician asked, "Which one would you like to remove?"
Before I could open my mouth, Daniel cut in. "No need to delete anything. You can go."
The technician hesitated. "But—"
Daniel smiled and held out a cigarette. "Sorry for the wasted trip. My fiancée's just throwing a tantrum and taking it out on the locks and the system."
"I apologize on her behalf."
The technician looked at me, took the cigarette, and his tone cooled noticeably. "Your wife's got quite the temper. Making someone come out in this heat for nothing. Can't let women get too comfortable—next time she's hassling a repairman, what's next, the police?"
He muttered complaints all the way to the elevator.
Daniel grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the apartment. "Are you done? Come home."
I shook his hand off.
That familiar tightness settled in my chest. I looked at him. "You think I'm being unreasonable?"
"Three years. You both watched me try to use it, over and over, and neither of you ever said a word. Was it fun? Watching me waste my breath?"
Daniel frowned with impatience. "Well, now you know, don't you?"
"When I was away on business, Lily helped you with all the renovation stuff. She happened to be here the day they set up the system, so her voice got registered. By the time you came back, I'd already forgotten about it."
I asked, "Then why didn't you just delete hers and register mine?"
Daniel lit a cigarette. That was his habit when he was irritated.
He leaned against the edge of the sofa, his tone casual. "Lily is your best friend. If I deleted her voice, imagine how awkward that would be for her."
"Besides, we agreed to keep a room for her. She can stay over when she works late. She actually uses it."
I laughed, though nothing was funny. "And I don't?"
Daniel exhaled a stream of smoke and looked at me. "Do you even know how to use it? You didn't even know you had to register your voice."
He paused, then added, "You used to live in a basement. When did you get so high-maintenance?"
I froze.
My parents divorced when I was young. They each started new families. I became the leftover in both. For a long time, the only place I could sleep was a basement used for storing junk. That shadow hung over my entire adolescence.
When Daniel and I first got together, I told him about all of it, and his eyes were full of heartache.
He held me and said, "Emma, someday I'm going to buy you a big, bright apartment. Sunlight will pour into every corner. I'll never let you live in a place like that again."
Later, he did buy the apartment.
But there was still no place in it for me.
After the words left his mouth, Daniel seemed to realize he'd gone too far. He stubbed out his cigarette in irritation. "That's not what I meant. I just—"
I cut him off. "Let's break up."
Daniel's head snapped up. "Over a voice assistant?"
I looked at him and said, word by word, "Yes. Over a voice assistant."
The air went still.
Lily's eyes reddened almost instantly. "I'm sorry, Daniel, this is all my fault. Just delete my voice and register yours and Emma's."
She turned to me, her voice trembling. "Emma, you and Daniel have been together for seven years. Don't fight over something like this. I won't come here anymore."
Daniel didn't look at me. He spoke to her in a low, soothing voice. "Don't say things like that. As long as I'm here, there will always be a place for you in this home."
Lily had been my friend for ten years. In the beginning, she and Daniel couldn't stand each other. I was the one caught in the middle, mediating again and again until they finally accepted each other.
But somewhere along the way—I couldn't pinpoint when—they'd gotten closer and closer.
Close enough that my boyfriend defended her without a second thought.
Close enough that my home had room for her, but not for my voice.
I went to the bedroom to pack.
Three years of living here, and everything I owned fit into a single suitcase. Like I'd been a guest passing through.
Lily, on the other hand, felt more like the real owner of this place than I ever did.
By the time I came out with my bag, the living room was empty.
My phone buzzed. A message from Lily.
"Emma, Daniel's still upset. Let me talk to him for you."
"You know how he is. Don't take it personally. I really didn't know about the voice assistant thing. I always thought anyone could use it..."
I stared at the screen, let out a quiet laugh, and blocked her.
There was no way she didn't know.
I'd complained to her about that voice assistant at least three times. Every single time, she changed the subject. Told me I was too sensitive, that I was overthinking it, that Daniel was already stressed enough from work, that I shouldn't bother him with something so trivial.
They'd known all along.
I was the only one kept in the dark.
I booked a hotel near the office. My transfer was seven days away, and I had to wrap up all my work in that time. I had no energy left to waste on them.
But that night, Daniel called.
I hesitated for a long time before answering.
Seven years, after all. Even if it was ending, I wanted it to end with some dignity.
The second the call connected, Daniel's furious voice came through. "Emma, you want to fight with me, fine. But what the hell do you mean by blocking Lily? Do you know she cried all afternoon? She didn't even eat dinner."
第2章
Daniel's voice kept going. "Is that what a ten-year friendship means to you? Something you can just throw away?"
I said nothing.
So he did know—Lily and I had been friends for ten years.
Which meant their deception, their dismissiveness, their little games at my expense could all be brushed aside. But the moment I pushed back, I was the one hurting them. I was the one who didn't value ten years of friendship.
Before I could respond, Lily's choked voice came through the phone. "Emma, please don't block me. If you don't want me around, I'll stop coming over. Okay?"
I hung up and added Daniel to my blocked list.
The friendship and the love—I didn't want either of them anymore.
The next morning, I got to the office early.
From a distance, I spotted Daniel and Lily standing by the building entrance. I walked past them as if they weren't there, but Daniel stepped forward and grabbed my hand.
"Emma, we need to talk."
Lily hovered beside him, her voice small. "Daniel, should I also—"
She said the words but didn't move.
Not until Daniel told her, "Go on up."
Only then did she reluctantly leave.
I waved the coworkers blocking my path ahead of me.
For a moment, the two of us just stood there with nothing to say.
After a long silence, Daniel finally asked, "Where have you been staying since you left?"
"A hotel."
"Which hotel? Send me the address. And take me off your blocked list. Call me if you need anything."
I didn't answer.
Daniel studied my face and reached out to touch the dark circles under my eyes. "Come home. Stop doing this to yourself. How can a hotel be better than home? Look at you—you look terrible."
"I already called someone to replace the voice assistant. The new one can register up to five people. When you come back, we'll set up your voice."
My breath caught for a moment.
Here it was again.
At restaurants, he'd book a table for two, then have the waiter drag over an extra chair for me. At the movies, he and Lily would huddle together discussing every gory scene while I sat beside them, shaking. A couples' trip he'd promised me—he booked the side-by-side seats under his name and Lily's. I had to buy a separate ticket and ended up in the last row, wedged into a corner.
In a world built for three, I was always the one left over.
But this time, I wasn't going to give in.
"No need."
I tried to leave, but Daniel wouldn't let go. "Emma, what do you want from me? I'm getting a new one installed, I said I'd register your voice. You're still not happy? What exactly do you want?"
I paused.
At first, all I'd wanted was to replace an inconvenient voice assistant. Later, I wanted Daniel to keep his distance from Lily. It wasn't until now that I finally understood—what I'd wanted all along was to be the one person my partner put first.
Not to be shoved further and further back in a relationship that was always too crowded.
Daniel was still waiting for my answer.
My voice went cold. "You want me to come home? Fine. Delete Lily's fingerprint and voice access. Starting today, she doesn't set foot in my apartment."
Daniel's throat bobbed. "That's not going to happen."
I laughed.
The last shred of hope inside me died right then and there.
"There can be no room for my voice, but there has to be room for hers. Is that it?"
Daniel started to explain, but I cut him off. "Enough. I get it. You don't need to say anything else."
I turned and stepped into the elevator.
He told me to come home.
But that place hadn't been my home in a long time.
Maybe it never was.
第3章
Daniel followed me into the elevator. There were other people inside, and he tried to speak several times but held back.
He trailed me all the way to my office before I finally stopped. "Is there something else?"
Daniel's expression was complicated. After a pause, he said, "Emma, Lily's grandmother is dying."
I looked at him.
He went on. "Lily and I talked it over. We're going back to her hometown to hold a wedding."
I almost thought I'd heard him wrong. "You two are getting married?"
Daniel immediately took my hand. "It's not what you think. Don't be stubborn. You know the only person I've ever wanted to marry is you."
"This is just to fulfill an old woman's last wish."
I gave a mocking half-smile. "I'm not being stubborn. I respect your decision. I'll make myself scarce."
"No." Daniel's voice dropped low. "You're coming too. And you're going to be Lily's bridesmaid."
Lily, who had been eavesdropping outside, walked in. Her eyes were rimmed with red, as though she'd suffered some tremendous injustice.
"Emma, I know this is sudden. I'm not trying to take Daniel from you. It's just that Grandma really doesn't have much time left. I just want her to be at peace."
I fired back coldly. "And marrying your best friend's fiancé is supposed to give an old woman peace?"
Daniel frowned slightly and reached out to smooth my hair. "Don't make it sound so ugly. It's just a ceremony. When we get back, you and I will register our marriage. I'll throw you a wedding ten times bigger than this one. Okay?"
I shifted away from his hand.
His arm hung frozen in midair, and his expression darkened by degrees.
"Emma, I'm not asking."
"The old woman is on her deathbed. You won't even grant her last wish? Then maybe the project you're leading doesn't need to continue either."
He really wasn't asking.
He was threatening me.
Using the futures of my entire team as leverage.
I could throw caution to the wind for myself, but I couldn't drag innocent people down with me.
I took a deep breath and swallowed the nausea rising in my chest.
Daniel's gaze flickered for just an instant before hardening again. "Just help me this one last time. Please?"
One last time.
What a pretty phrase.
I looked at him, and something inside me went quiet. "Fine. I'll do it."
Relief flashed through Daniel's eyes.
Lily could barely contain the delight on her face.
Once we arrived at Lily's hometown, Daniel and Lily had every excuse to grow even closer.
When rooms were assigned, Daniel told me, "To make it convincing for the old woman, Lily and I need to share a room. You'll take the small one next door."
I nodded. "No problem."
During the wedding photo shoot, the photographer egged them on. "Come on, bride and groom—give us a kiss!"
Daniel hesitated, glanced at me instinctively, then lowered his head and kissed Lily.
Afterward, he found me. "Don't read into it."
I smiled. "I understand. I don't mind."
Seeing how calm I was, Daniel opened his mouth several times as if to say something, but in the end said nothing at all.
By this point, words were meaningless anyway.
Between wedding preparations, I received an email from the company. My transfer paperwork was finalized, and my new position had been confirmed.
The moment this was over, I could leave.
