Chapter 1
On the day of my wedding, my fiancé told me I couldn’t sit in the lead car, just because his
secretary got carsick.
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Can believe it? I was the bride, and I wasn’t even allowed in the lead car. I had never heard
of anything so absurd.
I turned to his mother and sister for help, hoping they’d see how disrespectful this was. But instead, they both said the same thing: “You should be more understanding.”
Family and friends were already watching with raised eyebrows, and my coworkers, especially
the ones who envied me, were ready to record and post the drama for laughs.
So I didn’t say another word. I walked straight up to my childhood friend, slid into the
passenger seat of his car, and said calmly, “Didn’t you say you didn’t want me marrying
someone else? Well-wanna go get a marriage license right now?”
His eyes lit up. “Hell yeah!”
And when word got out that I’d gone and registered my marriage with someone else, Luciano
Jones and his whole family absolutely panicked…
We’d gotten an early start that morning, and by now, the wedding procession had been
completed. I was holding up the hem of my silk dress, just about to step into the car, when
Luciano stopped me.
“Hold on. You’ll have to sit in the second car.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Darlene gets carsick. She has to sit up front. You’ll ride in the back, it’s just a short drive anyway.”
I stared at him, trying to wrap my head around what he just said.
“Luciano, it’s our wedding day. I’m your bride. And you’re telling me I don’t get to sit in the lead car with you because your secretary needs it more?”
“Besides, people who get motion sickness usually just roll down the window or, at most, ask for the front seat-not the lead car. That’s reserved for the bride and groom.”
Darlene, who was clearly loving every second of this, chimed in with a sugary-sweet voice, “Sorry, Trista. I’ve got a… special kind of motion sickness. Luciano was worried about me and
insisted I ride up front with him.”
She even added, ever so graciously, “Not like I wanted to. I know it’s not exactly proper.”
I nearly exploded.
“Oh, so you do know it’s inappropriate.”
But with so many guests and relatives around, I swallowed my anger and tried to keep my
tone even.
“The lead car is for the bride and groom. You let Darlene take that seat, and anyone watching would think you’re marrying her, not me.”
Luciano just shrugged. “Why care what people think? Everyone here already knows I’m
marrying you.”
I realized there was no getting through to him, so I turned to his mother.
“Your son is insisting on riding with his secretary and told me to just pick any random car to
sit in.”
Before she could say anything, his sister cut in.
“Oh my god, it’s just a car. Why are you making it a big deal and tattling to Mom?”
“Trista,” his mother added with a sigh, “Luciano’s job is demanding. He needs his assistant close by in case anything urgent comes up. Once you’re married, you’ll understand. Just be the bigger person.”
That was the moment I saw things clearly. This whole family? They were all on her side.
Luciano had already opened the door for Darlene, and she was settling herself comfortably
into the lead car.
People around us were whispering, some in shock, some with disgust. But the ones who stood out most were the ones relishing the scene.
My coworkers who’d never liked me weren’t even pretending to be polite anymore. Phones out, they were filming everything, capturing the moment I was ditched for a secretary on my own wedding day.
One of them laughed under her breath, narrating for the video, “Guess karma came quick for this manipulative little witch. Sure, she forced the wedding through, but she didn’t even make it into the lead car.”
Another one added with a sneer, “Darlene’s the real one Luciano loves. So what if the bride got the ceremony? She didn’t even qualify to ride with him.”
