My Fiance Rigged the Game for His Bestie? I Changed the Groom Chapter 01
On my wedding day, Alexander Caldwell’s childhood friend, Madison Parker, challenged me to a Sudoku match.
“Let Alex set the puzzle. Whoever wins gets the wedding gown.
“You’ve coached Sudoku for years. Don’t tell me you’re scared.”
I wasn’t.
But Alexander cheated.
He had barely finished writing the puzzle when
Madison began filling in the answers.
She lifted her chin at me. “A deal’s a deal. The dress is mine.”
Alexander’s fond gaze lingered on her before shifting
to me. The moment our eyes met, his brows pulled together.
“You owe her for what happened five years ago. It’s
one dress, Claire. Let her have it.”
I gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.
Fine.
She could have more than the dress.
She could have the wedding too.
Alexander had no idea that his best friend had warned me the night before, down to the last humiliating detail.
I hadn’t believed Ethan Whitmore.
So he’d offered me a wager of his own.
“If you lose, come to this address tomorrow. There’ll be a wedding waiting for you. Marry me.”
I lost twice that day.
After walking out of Alexander’s wedding, I went straight to another one.
Only at the second ceremony, I was the bride, and the gown had been made for me alone.
One hour before the ceremony, I had convinced myself
Ethan’s warning wouldn’t come true.
Then Madison swept into the bridal suite.
Alexander followed behind her, along with half a dozen of their closest friends.
“How about a Sudoku rematch?” she asked.
My stomach dropped.
I looked at Alexander without thinking.
He had already settled onto the couch, as calm as if this were nothing more than a harmless pre–wedding
game.
“Madison never managed to beat you in college,” he said, looking mildly put–upon. “She insisted on one more try.”
Madison pursed her lips. “I’m going to win this time. Right, Alex?”
He didn’t answer.
“The ceremony starts in an hour,” I said. “You really want to do this now?”
My makeup was finished. All that remained was to step into my gown, fasten the veil, and walk down the aisle.
“Oh, don’t be such a sore loser,” Madison said. “If I hadn’t been worse at Sudoku back then, Alex might’ve chosen me instead.”
She tossed it out like a joke.
Alexander looked at me, then at her.
Only then did Madison add, “Claire and I made a deal. I
lost, so I moved abroad and promised to stay out of your lives.”
“That isn’t what happened—”
Alexander cut me off.
“Just play.”
His tone left no room for argument.
The chill in his eyes made the rest of my explanation die in my throat.
“Alex sets the puzzle,” Madison went on. “Winner gets the gown.
“You’ve coached Sudoku for years. Surely you’re not afraid of me.”
Her voice was light, teasing.
Her confidence wasn’t.
The friends behind her were already laughing.
“Still fearless, Madison. What are you going to tell everyone when you’re the one in the wedding gown?”
She laughed. “What’s there to explain? I’m wearing a dress, not marrying Alex.”
“Still, taking the bride’s gown is brutal.”
“And Claire’s about to join Team USA Sudoku’s
coaching staff. If people hear she lost to someone who
hasn’t competed in years, it could wreck her reputation.”
Their comments told me everything I needed to know.
The outcome had already been decided.
I was meant to lose.
Even then, I looked only at Alexander.
“What do you
think?”
Madison and her friends didn’t matter.
His answer did.
Alexander gave a careless shrug.
“Play one round. You used Sudoku to send Madison
overseas for five years, didn’t you?”
“Fine.”
I smiled, then added,
“And if I lose, why don’t I give her the wedding too?”
Alexander frowned.
Madison gave a derisive laugh.
“You’d really walk away? Or is this your way of pressuring Alex to cheat for you?”
Just as I had with Ethan the night before, I gave
Alexander one final chance to choose me.
Instead, he looked at me and said coolly,
“Don’t throw out dramatic threats because you’re
angry. You know that doesn’t work on me.”