My Fiance Rigged the Game for His Bestie? I Changed the Groom Chapter 09
My parents adored Ethan too.
The moment they heard what Alexander had done
before the wedding, they blocked every number, email
address, and account he could use to reach them.
They returned every expensive gift he had ever sent
our family, unopened and untouched.
If a bottle of wine had already been opened, they
bought an identical replacement and sent that back instead.
When Ethan found out, he replaced every one of
Alexander’s gifts with a more expensive version.
He called it erasing the evidence.
So when Alexander came to my parents‘ house to ask
me back, gifts crowded every room until there was
barely a clear path to walk through.
“Claire, I knew you’d be here.
“You and Ethan did this to make me jealous, didn’t you?
“How could he possibly put together a real wedding overnight?
“I brought Madison to apologize. What happened that day was wrong.
“I’ve already asked the planner to hold another date. We can have the ceremony again. Just say yes.”
When I didn’t answer, he turned to my parents.
“Mom, Dad, please say something.
“I know I was wrong. I even had a backup gown ready that day.
“It wasn’t as beautiful as the first one, but-”
“We are not your parents. Don’t call us that.‘
My father cut him off without looking up from the Montblanc fountain pen Ethan had given him.
As he’d gotten older, he had developed a fondness for
beautiful writing instruments.
Alexander immediately tried to ingratiate himself.
“That pen is exceptional. You have excellent taste, sir.”
“No,” my father said proudly. “My son–in–law has excellent taste.”
Alexander’s expression froze.
His gaze moved across the gifts covering the floor, and something in his face cracked.
My mother opened another box, found a flawless
vintage Cartier bracelet inside, and fastened it around her wrist on the spot.
Then she looked at me. “Tell Ethan he doesn’t need to
spend this much.”
I nodded, though Ethan’s spending was not something
I had any control over.
He was terrifyingly thorough.
He had memorized every gift Alexander had given me
during our five years together.
Then he replaced each one with the same thing, only better.
Afterward, he either threw Alexander’s gifts away or
boxed them up and shipped them back.
Before sending anything, he always put on an
expression of exaggerated consideration and asked,
“Would you mind if I sent these back? I hate looking at them.
“Of course, if you want to keep them, I’ll respect that.”
There was never anything to say to that.
“You two are really married?”
Alexander’s voice cracked.
No one else in the room answered him.
I nodded.
“We had a wedding. How did you miss that?”
“But you don’t have a marriage license yet, do you?”
I laughed. “We do.”
“Ethan isn’t like you. He was terrified I’d disappear.
“He made sure every document was signed and filed
on our wedding day.”
Alexander’s face changed.
He must have remembered the day I suggested getting
the license before our ceremony.
He had insisted on waiting until afterward.
Now I understood that when someone showed no
urgency to make a marriage official, the entire relationship deserved a second look.
“Claire, how can you be this heartless? You’re destroying five years over one mistake.
“Five years ago, you forced Madison to leave-”
“I told you I didn’t.” I cut him off.
“If you don’t believe me, look into it. We were at a
college reunion when she came up to me.
“Every person in our class can confirm that she demanded the challenge from beginning to end.
“And she never said a word about a wager.”