Loading promotion info...
The Groom Swap Was His Idea,The Marriage Was Mine
Novelix
Completed
Liam thought switching places with his twin on our wedding day was harmless. He could marry my half sister, let Adrian stand beside me, then come back once everything settled. He thought I would still be waiting. I wasn't. If he wanted to hand me to his brother, I would make the switch permanent. So I married Adrian for real and left New York behind. But Liam's regret is only the beginning. Because the brother everyone dismissed as the Whitmore family's unwanted son has secrets of his own—and by the time they realize who Adrian really is, I'll already be standing at his side.
Chapters (3)
第1章
On my wedding day, I realized the man standing at the altar wasn't my fiancé, Liam.
There was a tiny mole behind his ear.
Liam didn't have one.
Only his twin brother, Adrian, did.
A chill swept through me. I turned to leave, but as I passed the lounge next door, I heard my half sister Alyssa laugh softly.
“What if Nora finds out?”
Liam chuckled, completely unconcerned.
“So what? Adrian already agreed to stand in for me and finish the ceremony.”
“Today, I only want to marry you.”
I froze outside the door, my nails digging into my palms.
Through the crack, I saw Liam—the man who was supposed to be marrying me—still dressed in his tuxedo. Beside him stood Alyssa in a wedding gown.
My mother was beaming.
“This is for the best. Alyssa has waited all these years. At least now she can finally marry Liam openly.”
My father sighed.
“Honestly, this is all Nora's fault. If she hadn't forced her way between them in the first place, none of this would have been necessary.”
Even Ethan, the older brother who had always claimed he loved me most, said,
“I'll keep an eye on Nora. If she finds out, she'll make a scene and ruin Alyssa's wedding.”
I stood behind the door, cold from head to toe.
The wedding I'd dreamed about for months had been a lie from the start.
The man I'd been waiting so long to marry was already holding my sister's hand, ready to hand me over to someone else.
If Liam wanted me to marry his brother that badly, fine.
I'd give him exactly what he wanted.
This time, I'd marry his brother for real.
…
The two ceremonies took place almost simultaneously.
On the other side of a flower wall, applause kept erupting for Alyssa.
During the family toast, the officiant invited both couples to raise a glass to their parents.
Mrs. Whitmore accepted Alyssa's champagne with a smile and even kissed her hand.
“You've been on your feet long enough, sweetheart. Sit down and rest.”
When it was my turn, her smile vanished.
She glanced at the glass I offered her but didn't take it.
“Hold it properly.”
I did.
“And lose the attitude. This is a Whitmore wedding.”
I looked up and even smiled.
“Of course.”
“Why would I ruin such an important day for everyone?”
She paused, caught off guard.
My gaze had already drifted past her to Liam.
He had once promised that as long as he was around, no one would ever get the chance to hurt me.
Now his arm was around Alyssa's waist.
When he noticed me looking, he frowned.
“Don't look at me like that. You disgust me.”
My fingers curled slightly, but I only looked away.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry. I guess I had you all wrong.”
Liam went still.
Alyssa's eyes immediately filled with tears.
“Nora, why do you keep staring at my husband? Anyone watching would think you were interested in your own brother-in-law.”
Before I could answer, Mrs. Whitmore knocked the champagne out of my hand.
Cold liquid splashed across my dress. The glass shattered on the floor, and a shard grazed the back of my hand.
“It's your wedding day and you're still staring at your sister's husband. Do you have no sense of boundaries at all?”
My mother's expression hardened.
“Nora. Apologize.”
My father stood beside her without saying a word in my defense.
I glanced at the red mark on my hand, then lifted my head calmly.
“Fine.”
I looked at Alyssa.
“I'm sorry.”
“Today is your wedding. I shouldn't have tried to steal your spotlight.”
Alyssa blinked.
My mother, however, visibly relaxed.
Ethan lowered his voice in warning.
“You've waited years for this wedding. Don't ruin it now.”
I looked at him.
“Don't worry.”
“I'm definitely getting married today.”
He finally looked satisfied.
What he didn't know was that the man I intended to marry was no longer Liam.
Liam turned away with Alyssa on his arm.
As he passed me, he hesitated for half a second.
For one foolish moment, I thought he might at least look at my injured hand.
Instead, he said coldly,
“Stop looking at me.”
Then he walked off with Alyssa.
The guests followed them, applause and congratulations fading into the distance.
I bent to pick up my fallen clutch. When I straightened, my heel twisted beneath me.
A hand caught my arm before I could fall.
I looked up.
Adrian.
He and Liam had almost identical faces, but their eyes were nothing alike.
Adrian's were quiet and controlled.
His gaze dropped to the cut on my hand.
“You know, don't you?”
I didn't deny it.
After a moment, he said,
“I only agreed to stand in for Liam and finish the ceremony.”
“If you want to walk away now, you still can.”
I almost laughed.
So they all assumed everything could go back to normal once the wedding was over.
Adrian would step aside. Liam would come back to me.
And I was supposed to pretend none of this humiliation had ever happened.
Adrian watched me.
“Do you still want to go through with it?”
I looked down at the ring on my finger.
All I could hear was Liam's voice in my head.
Disgusting.
A few seconds later, I looked up.
“Absolutely.”
Adrian's expression shifted.
I held out my hand to him.
“After the ceremony, we'll make it legal.”
“Under your real name.”
If Liam wanted to push me into his brother's arms, then I'd let him.
第2章
After dinner began, I slipped out onto the second-floor balcony by myself.
Voices rose from the darkness below.
Adrian's.
“The wedding is over. How much longer are you planning to keep this up?”
Liam gave a lazy laugh.
“What's the rush? Alyssa's already emotional. If I switch back now, it'll only make things worse for her.”
Adrian was silent for a moment.
“What about Nora?”
“She's too controlling.”
There was a note of irritation in Liam's voice.
“She wants to know where I am, who I'm talking to, even what's on my phone. I'm tired of it.”
I stood perfectly still.
Once, he'd told me he loved that about me.
The year he was at his sickest, I'd stayed beside his hospital bed for three days straight.
When he finally woke up, he'd squeezed my hand and smiled.
“Nora, keep me on a short leash. That way I'll never leave.”
Funny how the things someone once loved about you became flaws the moment they stopped loving you.
Adrian's voice turned cold.
“So you're just going to keep lying to her?”
“When Alyssa settles down, I'll switch back.”
Liam paused.
“I'll make it up to Nora.”
“For now, just deal with her for me.”
I almost laughed.
Even now, he still believed that if he decided to come back, I would be waiting exactly where he'd left me.
I turned and went back inside.
The band had already started playing.
I had barely stepped into the crowd when someone shoved me hard from behind.
I lost my balance.
A hand clamped around my waist before I hit the floor.
Liam.
He had caught me on instinct.
I looked up and met his eyes.
For one unguarded second, the panic in them was impossible to hide.
“Nora!”
Alyssa's voice cut through the room.
Liam's hand went rigid around me.
Alyssa walked over with tears in her eyes.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Staring at my husband wasn't enough, so now you have to throw yourself into his arms?”
The room gradually fell silent.
Liam was still holding my waist.
I didn't pull away.
Instead, I said softly,
“You still wear the same cologne.”
His entire body stiffened.
I'd picked that scent for him years ago.
Back then, he'd wrapped his arms around me and said he would wear nothing else.
Liam's face darkened.
“Nora, what the hell are you talking about?”
I gave him a faint smile.
“Nothing.”
“I just realized that even something familiar can belong to the wrong person.”
He stared at me.
Unease flashed through his eyes.
Then, as if desperate to cover it, he abruptly let go.
“You're married now. Act like it.”
With that, he shoved me away.
I stumbled backward into the champagne tower.
Glass crashed everywhere.
Champagne soaked through my dress as I fell into the broken glasses. Pain ripped through my palms.
Blood ran down my fingers.
Liam's face changed. He took one instinctive step toward me.
Then Alyssa cried out.
“Liam!”
He stopped.
A few seconds later, he turned and pulled her into his arms.
When he looked back at me, his expression had gone cold again.
“You brought this on yourself.”
My mother frowned at me.
Ethan lowered his voice.
“Nora, why do you have to take everything from Alyssa?”
I stared at the blood on my hands and said nothing.
No one had ever wanted my explanation anyway.
Mrs. Whitmore turned on Adrian.
“Take your wife out of here.”
“You can't even control your own wife, and now she's throwing herself at your brother in front of everyone.”
Every eye in the room was on me.
Adrian didn't argue.
He crossed the room, crouched in front of me, and draped his jacket over my champagne-soaked shoulders.
第3章
A member of the house staff took me to a dressing room.
The moment I opened the door, I froze.
Liam was inside, pulling off his champagne-soaked shirt.
The sight of his bare shoulders was painfully familiar.
When he saw me, his expression turned ugly.
“Nora, you followed me all the way in here?”
“I'm your husband's older brother.”
I stared at the face I knew better than my own and suddenly smiled.
“You two really do look alike.”
Liam's pupils tightened.
“Sometimes I honestly can't tell you apart.”
Silence settled over the room.
For a split second, guilt and discomfort flickered across his face.
Then he snapped.
“Stay away from me. Alyssa doesn't like me getting too close to other women.”
Something twisted in my chest.
Once, that had been my rule.
And he used to pull me into his arms and laugh.
“Fine. You're the only one I listen to.”
Now Alyssa had taken my place.
Whatever last trace of hope I'd still been clinging to disappeared.
The dressing-room door burst open.
Alyssa stood there, staring at Liam's bare chest and my soaked dress. Tears spilled down her face.
“Liam… what are you doing?”
Liam shoved me away immediately.
My lower back slammed into the edge of a table, doubling me over in pain.
He was already rushing toward Alyssa.
“It's not what it looks like. She came in here on her own.”
He paused.
“She was trying to seduce me.”
Alyssa cried harder.
My mother stormed in and slapped me across the face.
“Nora, have you no shame? He's your sister's husband!”
My father's face was thunderous.
Ethan looked at me with open disgust.
Mrs. Whitmore snapped,
“How did a woman like you ever marry into this family?”
Mr. Whitmore's voice was ice-cold.
“Go back to the east-wing guest room. When you've learned to stay away from your sister's husband, you can come out again.”
I covered my stinging cheek and said nothing.
I was done explaining myself to people who had already decided I was guilty.
Adrian walked in at that moment.
Mr. Whitmore turned on him.
“Perfect. Take your wife back to the east wing and keep her from embarrassing us again.”
Mrs. Whitmore added sharply,
“Useless. You can't even keep your own wife under control.”
Adrian ignored them.
He came to me and helped me to my feet.
“She is my wife.”
His gaze swept across the room.
“She is not something you get to punish whenever you feel like it.”
Liam's eyes dropped to Adrian's hand on me, his expression darkening by the second.
