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The Bride Wore White, So Did My Sister

Novelix Completed

复仇、追妻火葬场、追悔莫及、打脸、背叛、果断的、受害者、大女主、剧情/戏剧、现代/都市

Chapters (4)

第1章

The night before my wedding, I called Julian pretending to be my eighteen-year-old self. I was full of hope. "Julian, how are we at twenty-seven? Are we getting married? Are we… happy?" There was a long silence on the other end. Then Julian's exhausted voice came through. "Not really." "Emma, my whole life has been thrown away on you." "I'm begging you. If there's a next life, let me go." I froze. For a moment, I thought I'd misheard. When I came back to myself, I called my mother with trembling hands, crying. "Mom, I—" "I know." My mother cut me off, sighing with tender affection. "You're eighteen-year-old Emma, aren't you?" "That poor boy Julian hasn't had it easy. He's been in love with Serena for five years, and because of you, they've had to smother it all this time." "Emma, listen to Mom—if there's a next life, if there's a heaven, let him and Serena be together. Pray for them. Let go. That's what a good girl does." The tears went cold on my face. Trembling, I dialed one last number—my own sister, Serena. She was in bed with Julian on the other end, sobbing under her breath as they made love. "Emma, forgive me. Just tonight. He belongs to me only for tonight." "I won't fight you for him in this life. I only beg you—in the next, step aside for me." I hung up with tears streaming down my face. Something in me died completely. No need for a next life. No need for heaven. In this life, I would give them what they wanted. … Julian didn't come home until the next morning. He shrugged off his coat, hung it up, and glanced at me carelessly. "Why are you up so early?" "Couldn't sleep," I answered evenly. I paused, then said, "Julian, let's call off the wedding." He froze, turned his head, and met my slightly swollen eyes. "You… are you joking?" "I played a game last night." I looked straight at him. "That Call Your Future Self challenge on social media." Julian's hand stilled. He looked at me, and the color drained from his face bit by bit. "Emma, are you testing me?" I let out a bitter laugh. I never imagined his first response would be an accusation, before any explanation. "If I don't test you, am I supposed to stay in the dark my whole life, playing the fool?" "Julian." My eyes reddened. "The two of you—aren't you disgusted with yourselves?" Slap. His hand cracked across my face and my head snapped sideways. I covered my cheek, dazed. Julian stared at his own hand, stunned. He looked as if even he hadn't expected to hit me. He pressed his lips together, lowered his hand, and looked at me heavily. "Emma, if you have ugly things to say, aim them at me. I won't have anyone insulting her." Every drop of blood in my body rushed to my head. Eyes burning, I raised my hand and slapped him back, hard. "How dare you hit me!" "Julian, from the day I was born, not even my parents have ever laid a hand on me!" But this second slap didn't land. Julian caught my arm in an iron grip. He gave a cold smirk. "Your parents?" "Serena and I—your parents know everything. Did you know that?" "Last Thanksgiving, the moment you walked through the door, before you even sat down, your mother was tugging at you, insisting on dragging you to the Beverly Center. Your father claimed he had to run out and buy a pumpkin pie." He leaned down, his tone playful. "Your entire family has been running interference for us." My head jerked up. I stared at him, unable to believe it. He released me with contempt. "Emma, wake up." "If I were you, I'd make good use of what little guilt your future husband still has left for you." "After all—not even your parents love you."

第2章

I dropped to the floor, tears pouring down my face. "Why…" I forced myself to lift my head. "Why would you do this to me?" "Julian." My voice shook. "I'm not the kind of woman who clings and begs." "If you're determined to be with Serena, I can accept it. I can break up with you. We can cancel the wedding. You go marry her!" "Why hide it from me? Why does everyone have to band together to lie to me?" "Just go be with her! Why do you still want to marry me?" I screamed through my tears, and my heart hurt so much I thought it might kill me. He looked down at me from above. After a long silence, he let out a cold laugh. "What other reason could there be? You think it's because I love you?" He bent down, wiped a tear from my chin, and clicked his tongue with a mixture of disgust and pity. "Emma, Serena is your own sister. Single. Divorced. Raising a kid alone. She's had it hard enough." "I don't want her to face any more gossip." "If our wedding gets called off and I turn around and get together with her, how are the relatives and family friends supposed to look at her? What would those old ladies at the parish say?" "So." He gripped my shoulders, his voice tender to the point of cruelty. "Emma, I can't bear to wrong her. So I have to wrong you." Ice ran through me from head to toe. I stared at him in disbelief. "You mean… you'd use marrying me as a cover so you can be with Serena?" "Smart girl." He tapped the tip of my nose fondly. "So you'll play along, won't you?" I slapped his hand away, furious. "Julian, what makes you think I'll play along and let the two of you jerk me around?" "You will." He smiled, and pulled a folded paper from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He set it in front of me. "Last week's medical results are back. You're pregnant." "Emma, this is our child. Our first. You conceived him when you were most in love with me, when your head was full of dreams about our marriage." "You wouldn't have the heart to let him be born without a father, would you?" "And besides—you love me this much. Ten years together. Your whole youth belongs to me. Can you really bear to call off the wedding?" "Even if you did, what man would want a woman already showing?" I picked up the report. My hands shook so badly I could barely hold it. The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center letterhead was unmistakable. Tears kept spilling out, blurring my vision. Then, suddenly, I laughed out loud. Tears hit the paper. "Julian, you're ruthless." He smiled, reached out and ruffled my hair. Gentle and cruel, all the way through. "Be a good girl, Emma. You don't have a choice." "Remember—don't say a word of this in front of Serena. I don't want her carrying any of this weight. Understand?" I looked at the way his expression threatened me while sheltering her, and it was as if I were seeing him for the first time. He rose smoothly and stepped over me without a glance. I ran into the bathroom and vomited into the toilet until the world went black. Wave after wave of nausea rolled up from my stomach. I couldn't tell anymore what was burning—my heart, or my gut. I knelt on the cold marble floor, shaking, laughing and crying at once. Finally, mechanically, I took out my phone, tapped the stop button on the recording, and saved every word of the last conversation as an audio file. Then I opened the browser and booked the earliest available appointment at the family planning clinic. Julian was wrong. I did have a choice. I just had to be more ruthless than him. More willing to burn it all down.

第3章

The next day was supposed to be the day we went to the Los Angeles County Clerk's Office to apply for our marriage license. Julian called many times. I didn't answer any of them. Finally, Serena called. "Emma." Her voice was gentle on the other end, with a hint of teasing reproach. "Today's the day for the license. How can you throw a tantrum and not come?" "Did you fight with Julian? I'll give him a good scolding for you, all right? Just come on over, be a good girl." I listened to her voice in a daze. It was nothing like the woman I'd heard tangled up with Julian in bed that night. Two different people entirely. How badly I wished that night had only been a nightmare. That I could wake up and Serena would still be the sweet older sister who adored me. And Julian would still be the man I trusted with everything. But no. I leaned back against the hospital bed and spoke hoarsely. "I'm sick. I can't come." "Serena, tell Julian we'll have to reschedule." I hung up right after that. Then I opened the synced feed from the dashcam of Julian's Tesla. The image steadied. Julian and Serena were in the car. Serena was frowning. "Julian, what's wrong with Emma? Everything was fine—why is she throwing a fit now?" "She wouldn't have found out about us, would she—" "No." Julian leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth. "She's too stupid. What could she possibly know?" "And even if she did, she wouldn't dare do anything." He said it with certainty. "Serena, I won't let anything hurt you." Serena still looked uneasy. "But if she doesn't come to file the paperwork, how are the two of us going to—" "Then she doesn't. The wedding will go ahead as planned. It's just a show for everyone else." Julian's voice was lazy. Then, suddenly serious, he looked at her. "Let's get married." Serena stared at him blankly. "What did you say?" Julian pulled her into his arms. "She gets the wedding. You get the license." "From today on, you're my real wife." Off camera, my breath caught in my throat. I'd known for a long time that there was something wrong between them. But watching the man I once loved most, wearing that face, say those words to another woman—my own sister—the pain was still fresh. On the screen, Serena's eyes slowly filled with tears. She nodded instinctively, then shook her head, over and over. "No, no, we can't. We've already wronged Emma too much. This… this is too cruel to her." "So you'd rather turn me down? Is that not cruel to me?" He leaned in closer. "Serena, are you going to choose your sister over me?" Serena looked at him, her face twisted in agony. Finally, as if she'd made up her mind about something, she nodded. "Okay. We'll apply for the license." "Even if it has to be annulled later, even if we have to divorce—I'll accept it." She looked at him, tears in her eyes, as resolute as if she were walking to her execution. "Julian, no matter what happens later… at least this once, I'll have truly been your bride." They gazed at each other with unbearable devotion, then kissed, refusing to let go. Off camera, tears rolled down my face and wouldn't stop. So this was the sister I thought loved me most. This was the man I thought loved me most. Sisterly devotion, love that lasted a lifetime—all of it a joke. And I was the punchline. I closed my eyes and let the nurse wheel me into the operating room.

第4章

Three days later, on the day of the wedding. I sat in front of the vanity, watching my mother's reflection in the mirror as she brushed my hair. Her expression was warm and tender. No sign of anything amiss. Suddenly, I asked, "Mom, do you think… I'll be happy?" My mother's hand froze for a beat. She lifted her eyes and met mine in the mirror. Her look was hard to read—somewhere between reproach and helplessness. "Emma, you're marrying the man you love most. How could you not be happy?" "Think about Serena—" She stopped, unable to go on. I tugged at the corner of my mouth. If I didn't know the truth, I would have thought she meant Serena's marriage was unhappy. But now, I knew perfectly well what she meant—that I had stolen Serena's happiness. That I had stolen Serena's man. I'd always known my parents favored Serena. In this family, Serena was the good daughter—Ivy League, followed the rules, married and had a baby the way the church wanted. Later, when her marriage failed and she came home with Mason, my parents' guilt and favoritism only doubled. They kept her cradled in their palms. And I was always the other one. Even now, with her marriage in ruins, she was still my parents' pride. I wasn't. I just hadn't imagined they could take the favoritism this far. Helping their older daughter sleep with their younger daughter's fiancé. Not a shred of guilt. If anything, they blamed me—as if I were the one who had stolen their older daughter's happiness. "Yeah," I sighed. "I'm marrying the man I love most." "But do you think he loves me back the same way?" "Mom." I tilted my head up to look at her. "Have you ever loved me the way I've loved you?" My mother froze. In that instant, I clearly saw the panic flash in her eyes. But she recovered. "Of course I have." Her smile was flawless. "No one in this world loves you more than your mother." "Serena just hasn't been as fortunate as you. Mom can't help favoring her a little more." The cold crept into my chest. She had watched me marry a man of dubious character, helped everyone lie to me and deceive me, and still called me the fortunate one. Meanwhile, Serena—who had applied for a marriage license with Julian and was already his lawful wife—had to hide it all because she feared being talked about. She couldn't stand publicly beside him. And that was called unfortunate. How could anyone's heart tilt this far to one side? "Emma." My mother spoke again, meaningfully. "Marriage is sacred, but no marriage is perfect. A wife has to learn to be forgiving. She has to learn to turn a blind eye sometimes. That's what a good woman looks like in the eyes of God." I curled my lip in mockery. Was this really a mother's advice to her daughter? Or was it a vaccination—warning me that once I found out anything later, I shouldn't make a fuss, shouldn't cause a scene, just turn a blind eye and get through it. I lowered my head and hid the ice in my expression. "Understood." My mother nodded, satisfied, and rose to go greet the arriving guests. Slowly, I pulled open the vanity drawer and closed my fingers tight around the USB drive inside.