My Best Man Stole My Bride on Stage

My best friend, Billy Steele, gets jilted at the altar by his heartless fiancée, Megan Landry. In tears, he begs my fiancée, Anna Faulkner, to step in and save the day. Anna reassures me, "Craig, Billy and I have known each other since childhood. We're closer than friends. Today's wedding is just a formality. You and I are getting married next week anyway, so think of this as a chance to get familiar with the wedding proceedings." For the sake of our friendship, I grit my teeth and nod in agreement. I watch as Anna, who is supposed to be a bridesmaid, becomes Billy's bride instead. Eyes brimming with love, Anna loops her arm through Billy's during the ceremony. When the officiant asks if she is willing to marry Billy, she answers with even more conviction than she does when I propose to her. I keep reassuring myself that it's all just an act and that I shouldn't take it seriously. But after they exchange rings, the officiant smiles and announces, "The groom may now kiss the bride." The guests immediately erupt into cheers and urge them to kiss. Billy pounds his chest and promises me, "Craig, don't worry. We'll just fake the kiss with a clever angle." I take him at his word. But in the very next second, Anna rises onto her tiptoes and pulls Billy into a deep, passionate kiss right in front of everyone. Chapter 1 The moment my fiancée, Anna Faulkner, kissed my best friend, Billy Steele, the entire crowd erupted. It wasn't a fake kiss or a mere peck on the lips. No, it was a deep, passionate kiss. I, Craig Hunter, stood frozen in place, my face as white as a sheet. The bridesmaid beside me whispered, "Oh my god, are Anna and Billy really just acting? They're taking this way too far!" Yeah, way too far—so much so that even I was starting to think they were a real couple. Thunderous applause erupted from the audience. Someone shouted, "One more kiss!" Billy pushed Anna away, his face flushed as he glanced at me. He had just opened his mouth to speak when Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. I glanced down at the groomsman's suit I was wearing, feeling that the whole situation was utterly absurd. At long last, the seemingly endless kiss came to an end. Billy immediately came over to find me. "Craig, I'm sorry. I really didn't know—" Before he could finish, Anna grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind her protectively. "Craig, we were just acting. You were the one who agreed to it in the first place, so it's not like you can blame Billy." Her self-righteous attitude made me look even more unreasonable by comparison. "Craig, there's really nothing going on between Anna and me. You're the one she cares about the most," Billy explained. Anna cared about me? She knew perfectly well that it would hurt me, yet she still kissed another man right in front of me. Furious, I hurled the flowers in my hand to the floor and stormed out of the ballroom. In the past, Anna would have chased after me immediately and begged me to make up with her. But today, even after standing in the cold wind for nearly half an hour, she still hadn't shown up. After finishing my second cigarette, I returned to the ballroom. As I passed the corridor, I noticed that the makeup room door was slightly ajar. A faint sound came from inside, and I froze. On the couch in the makeup room, Anna and Billy were tangled together. Their clothes were in disarray, and Anna's skirt had been pushed up to her waist. Her breathy, suggestive moans filled the room. She playfully slapped him and said, "Billy, are you crazy? What if Craig finds out?" Billy, however, didn't seem worried in the slightest. He let out a low chuckle and replied, "Anna, you've been sneaking around with me for two years. If Craig were going to find out, he would've by now." He grabbed her firmly by the waist and pressed her down beneath him. "Besides, we just got our marriage certificate. Is it illegal for me to sleep with my own wife?" Two years together? A marriage certificate? I felt as though I'd been plunged into an icy abyss, and my breathing grew increasingly labored. Anna stopped resisting and instead pressed herself even closer to Billy. "If it weren't for the baby, I'd never have married you. I'm supposed to marry Craig next week, and I still haven't figured out what to do." I dug my nails painfully into my palms as I struggled to contain the fury threatening to explode inside me. The baby Anna was carrying was actually Billy's? When I found out she was pregnant, I was so thrilled that I immediately started making wedding arrangements like the fool I was. Never in a million years did it cross my mind that the baby wasn't mine. Billy wrapped his arms around her, his eyes filled with a tenderness I had never seen before. "Just get a fake marriage certificate when the time comes. Craig trusts you so much that he'll never suspect a thing. So what if you marry him? You'll still be mine." Anna let out a soft cry. "Be gentle. The baby's inside." "Don't worry, I'll be gentle." Their intimate, sickeningly suggestive voices made my chest ache as though it were about to burst. I stumbled backward several steps, bracing myself against the wall as I struggled to catch my breath. One was my best friend of four years in college, and the other was the woman I'd been in love with for five years. The two people I trusted most had been sleeping together behind my back, all while pretending to be nothing more than good friends. It was a long while before Billy finally emerged, hand in hand with Anna. The moment they saw me, both of them panicked. Billy was the first to rush over and grab me. My eyes immediately fell on the hickey on his neck. "Craig, I'm sorry. This was all Anna's fault for going too far just now. I've already reprimanded her." Billy shot Anna a glance. "Hurry up and apologize to Craig now." Anna immediately came over and wrapped her arms around me. Then, she cooed at me the way she always did when she wanted to sweet-talk me. "Craig, it's all my fault for not taking your feelings into consideration." Looking into her sincere eyes, I recalled how she had kissed Billy with 100 times more passion and initiative than she had ever shown when kissing me. I clenched my fists and pretended I was about to punch Billy, who was standing watching the spectacle. But Anna quickly grabbed my wrist and shoved my hand away. "Craig, have you lost your mind?" she roared. I held back, not daring to struggle for her sake. The forceful shove sent me crashing into the wall, and the pain was so intense that my vision went black. "Anna, are you and Billy really just friends?" I asked. Chapter 2 A flicker of panic flashed through Anna's eyes, but she quickly composed herself. Then, she looked at me in confusion. "You suspect me? It's not what you think. Billy and I grew up together. And sometimes, when you've known someone for so long, it's easy to forget to maintain proper boundaries." She still refused to admit the truth. In retrospect, the signs had been there all along. Ever since Anna and I got together, the three of us went everywhere together. She couldn't even remember my birthday, yet she always sent Billy birthday wishes right at midnight. I couldn't eat spicy food. But every time she ordered a meal, she made sure everything was spicy because Billy liked it that way. Whenever Billy felt even slightly unwell, Anna would give him time off work. When my stomach condition flared up and the pain was so excruciating that I was banging my head against the wall, Anna said, "Just bear with it. It'll pass," before reminding me not to be late for the meeting. Billy and I both stood by Anna as she built her business from the ground up. Yet, after the company went public, Billy's salary was twice mine. It wasn't as though I had never complained or gotten jealous, but Anna always gave me the same answer. "Billy and I have known each other for years, and he's your best friend too. So, I can't shortchange him." Best friend? Yet, the way she looked at him was gentler than she had ever looked at me. Anna told me to go home and cool off, then dragged me away. But after dropping me off at the apartment, she drove off again. Before leaving, she said, "Billy was left at the altar, so he's already in a bad mood. After what you said just now, he's probably drinking alone again, so I'm going to check on him." Her mind was entirely occupied with Billy. She hadn't even considered how I was feeling at that moment. After returning home, I accidentally came across a diary. Every page had a plane ticket from one of Anna's trips to Harpea pasted onto it, and beneath them were her handwritten notes. "Billy was transferred to the overseas branch. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving him there without checking on him, so I went on a business trip to Harpea and stayed for three days. The truth is, I just wanted to see him." I turned to the page dated our third anniversary. As I read the entry, my eyes reddened, and I clenched my teeth tightly. "After wrestling with my feelings for so long, I finally confessed to Billy. It turned out he loved me too. I didn't want to let this opportunity slip away. But he couldn't bear to lose Craig as a good friend, so he asked me not to break up with him. And I agreed. "Billy finally agreed to sleep with me. Compared to Craig, it seemed my body preferred him." That day, I called Anna more than a dozen times, but she rejected every single call. Eventually, she sent me a message, her tone icy. "I'm busy. Stop bothering me." So, all this time, she'd been busy sleeping with my best friend—the one she always insisted was just a friend. I turned to the last page of the diary. It had been written just a few days ago. "Billy wants to marry some random woman, but I won't allow it. He's the father of my child, after all. There's no way I'm letting him go." Clipped inside the diary was a pregnancy test report, and Billy's name was printed in the section marked "Father of the Child". My fingers trembled as I gripped the report. The very day Anna discovered she was pregnant, she flew straight to Harpea. She even went out of her way to approve my leave so I could go abroad to help her out and assist Billy with the wedding planning. Anna had deliberately driven Megan Landry, the so-called heartless woman who had left Billy at the altar, away too. She had planned to use the excuse of familiarizing herself with the wedding arrangements to seize the opportunity to marry Billy herself. My phone rang. It was my mother, Tina Goldberg, calling to urge me about the wedding again. "Craig, when are you and Anna coming home? The whole family is waiting to celebrate your wedding!" "Mom, I'm not marrying Anna." Before Mom could fly into a rage, I continued, "But don't worry. The wedding will go ahead as planned." It was just that I would be changing the bride. Chapter 3 I spent the entire night reading Anna's diary. Over the past two years, she'd taken more than 100 flights, and every page of her diary was filled with Billy's name. By the time dawn broke, I was standing outside Billy's house. A pair of Anna's high heels sat by the entrance, and lighthearted laughter drifted from the kitchen. Anna had never cooked for me once. Yet, there she was, wearing an apron and making soup for Billy. Billy wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "You should go back and check on Craig. He must be heartbroken being all alone." Anna's tone was indifferent, as though she were talking about someone who had nothing to do with her. "What does he have to be heartbroken about? I'm pregnant, and he hasn't even taken proper care of me. And now he expects me to comfort him? "Billy, I don't think I ever loved Craig that much. Not back then, and not now. There's nothing about him that compares to you." Her words pierced straight through my heart. We had been together for five years. I'd stood by her side as she built her company from the ground up and took it public, only to hear her say she'd never really loved me that much. I could no longer hold back. Rage overwhelmed my reason. By the time I came to my senses, my palm had already struck Anna across the face. "Anna, we're over. I'll let you two have each other." Billy immediately stepped forward to stop me. "Craig, don't get the wrong idea. Anna's just—" I flung the pregnancy report and diary straight at his face. "The baby is yours, isn't it? Have you two no shame? Why bother pretending anymore?" Anna bent down and picked up the things, her expression eerily calm. "Craig, so what if the baby is Billy's? Our wedding is next week—if we break up now, how are you going to explain it to our families?" "I'm sorry, Craig. I'll take Anna to get an abortion right away," Billy said guiltily. Anna immediately clung to his arm and glared coldly at me. "I won't agree to that! Craig, you're the one who can't perform in bed. You've struggled to get me pregnant all these years. Now that I've finally managed to conceive, you should be thanking Billy instead. "Besides, the fact that I'm still willing to go through with the wedding with you is already more than you deserve. After all, your reputation is so terrible. Who else would want you if not me?" Billy tried to cover her mouth, but it was already too late. I froze, feeling as though her words had shot through my heart. When I was 19 years old, I accidentally got my ex-girlfriend pregnant. She came to me in tears, and knowing the timing was far from ideal, I went with her to get an abortion. But when I returned to campus, rumors had spread like wildfire. People said I was promiscuous and had spread a venereal disease. They called me a scumbag and accused me of refusing to take responsibility after getting my girlfriend pregnant. I posted several lengthy explanations online, but no one believed me. I was ostracized and bullied. Whenever I went, people pointed at me and whispered behind my back. More than once, I nearly died. It was Billy who repeatedly pulled me back from the brink of despair. Later, he even introduced me to Anna. She had never believed the rumors about me. And whenever she heard someone badmouthing me, she'd rush to my defense and confront them head-on. The day Anna and I got together, the entire campus was in an uproar. Everyone said Anna had gone crazy. After all, why would the campus belle choose to date a pathetic loser with a stained reputation? But she had simply squeezed my hand tightly and said, "Craig is the most wonderful person in the whole world. You have no idea how I wish I could give him everything I have." And I had believed her. Yet, now, the very person who had pulled me out of the abyss was the one pushing me back into it with her own hands. I looked into Anna's eyes. They had once been filled with tenderness, but now, all that remained was cold indifference. "Anna, you once told me you didn't believe the rumors and that you trusted me. What about now?" I asked. Anna said nothing, but the look in her eyes had already given me the answer. Seeing how utterly devastated and hopeless I looked, Billy finally panicked. "Craig, don't take it to heart. Anna was just saying things out of anger." He reached out to grab my hand, but I was so furious that I violently shoved him away. A sharp cry of pain rang out as Billy fell to the floor and struck his head against the corner of the table. Clutching his bleeding forehead, he went deathly pale. Before I could even react, a tremendous force came crashing toward me. Anna shoved me hard against the table. A glass shattered on impact, and its fragments pierced my palm. Blood gushed out instantly, yet I didn't feel any pain. Anna helped Billy to his feet, her eyes red as she screamed at me, "Craig, if anything happens to Billy, I will never forgive you! And you can forget about ever having that wedding!" Without sparing me another glance, she hurriedly led Billy away. I remained kneeling amid the shattered glass, blood covering my hands. Anna still had no idea that even without her, the wedding would go on. Chapter 4 That very night, I flew back to the country. The moment I landed, I sent a message to someone. "I'm back. Let's register our marriage tomorrow." The reply came almost instantly. "Okay." Back when Anna and I were planning the wedding, she had dumped every single arrangement on me. She claimed she was too busy with work and told me to make all the decisions myself. Thus, I took it upon myself to change the bride. On the day of the wedding, I came downstairs in a black suit, ready to leave for the ceremony. A black wedding car was waiting outside the apartment. Anna had somehow returned without my knowing. She was holding a bouquet of red roses, and her expression was softer than it had been that day. In fact, she even seemed a little nervous. "Craig, I was wrong about what happened before. I'll do whatever you say today. I'll go along with the wedding and see it through, okay?" Before I could answer, she continued to lay down her conditions. "But you have to promise me that you won't make things difficult for Billy in the future. He still cares about you, after all. The three of us can still hang out just like we used to." As she spoke, her tone carried an air of condescension. So, in the end, it was still all about Billy. I simply shook my head calmly. "That won't be necessary." Anna, however, assumed I was still sulking. She immediately grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the car. "Come on." "Anna, let go of me." She ignored me and ordered the people nearby to help shove me into the car. I desperately pounded on the window. "Anna, what the hell are you doing? Let me out!" "Craig, today is our wedding. Do you really have to make such a scene?" "Anna, you've got it wrong. The bride isn't—" Before I could finish, Anna's phone rang. Billy's desperate cries drowned out my voice. "Anna, my car's been hit! I might not make it to the wedding." Anna's expression changed instantly. "I'm coming right now!" She wrenched the steering wheel, sending the car veering in the opposite direction before speeding off at full throttle. Grief and fury surged through me. I pounded on the car window so hard that my hands turned red. "Anna, let me out! I need to get to the wedding!" Anna frowned deeply and snapped at me, "Billy's been in a car accident, and all you can think about is the wedding? The ceremony is canceled! Your best friend is in trouble, and you can't even be bothered to ask how he's doing? How can you be so heartless?" I stared into her bloodshot eyes and asked hoarsely, "What does it matter to me whether he lives or dies?" Anna fell silent and slammed her foot down on the accelerator. The car swerved sharply around a bend, sending my head crashing hard against the window. A sharp pain shot through my forehead, and blood streamed down my face. Anna froze for a moment, but she didn't stop the car. Clenching her teeth, she snapped, "I told you to sit still, but you wouldn't listen! Why do you insist on making a scene?" Blood trickled into my eyes, turning the world into a sea of red. The car sped faster and faster until the number on the speedometer climbed to 75 miles per hour. Despair and hatred spread through my body like poisonous vines. I took a deep breath and made a decision that bordered on madness. Anna continued to warn me coldly, "Don't even think about me letting you out of the car. When we see Billy later, you'd better apologize to him." The next second, I shoved the car door open. A fierce gust of wind rushed inside, whipping the hem of my suit out into the open air. Anna's eyes widened, panic flashing across her face. "Craig, what are you doing?" Before she could react, I jumped. The moment I left the car, excruciating pain tore through my body. All I could hear was the howling wind rushing past my ears and Anna's heart-wrenching scream. "Craig!"