Chapter 2 Changing the Groom Before the Wedding

The sound of knocking startled Isabella awake. She instinctively looked around for Michael's figure.

At some point, Michael had left. It was like he had never been there, as there was almost no trace of his presence from last night, except for the ache between her legs and the soreness in her body, which reminded her of everything that had gone down.

She got dressed, took a quick look around to make sure everything was in place, and then opened the door. Her stepmom, Sophia Brown, and her half-sister, Bianca Taylor, walked in.

"Isabella, did you get your marriage certificate with John yesterday? Show it to me." Ever since the wedding date with John was set, Sophia had been treating her like gold.

"Sophia, I didn't get the marriage certificate with him,," Isabella said flatly.

"Why?" Sophia's face darkened. "The Williams family doesn't agree to the marriage?"

"It has nothing to do with the Williams family," Isabella mustered the courage to look up at Sophia and said, "Sophia, I'm not marrying John."

Sophia was shocked and questioned, "What about tomorrow's wedding? The invitations have already been sent out. How am I supposed to explain this to our relatives and friends?"

Isabhella replied calmly, "The wedding will go on as planned, just with a different groom."

"What? A different groom? Isabella, you must be out of your mind..." Sophia shouted.

Isabella knew that when she voiced her thoughts, Sophia would definitely yell at her.

Maybe she was the only one in the world to change the groom the day before the wedding. Anyone who heard it would probably scream.

After Sophia finished venting, Isabella said, "John cheated on me. I caught him red-handed. I can't marry him."

"I knew John didn't like you. You couldn't keep him," Bianca said, gloating.

"What about the wedding gifts? Do we have to return them?" Sophia interrupted Bianca, asking urgently, "Who is this new groom? Will he give wedding gifts?"

Isabella didn't say anything. In her mind, the gifts from the Williams family would definitely have to be returned. She didn't know whether Michael would give a gift and how much, and she didn't want to ask. He was already doing her a favor by having the wedding with her, so asking for a bride price on top of that would be too much.

"The wedding gifts from the Williams family are with me. Think of it as payback for raising you. I'm not returning them.," Sophia said. "If they ask for them back, that's your problem! Our family needs money for everything, especially your grandmother. Her treatment, medication, hospital stays, and living expenses cost a lot every month. She loves you so much, so consider this money as your contribution to her."

Isabella had anticipated that Sophia wouldn't return the gifts. Though angry, she felt she had to return the money to the Williams family.

After Sophia and Bianca left, Isabella changed her clothes and went to the hospital to see her grandmother, Ella Garcia.

Previously, the Williams family had said that Ella, being a terminal cancer patient, couldn't recuperate at home, and the hospital wasn't a good place either, so they didn't let her visit. Isabella hadn't seen Ella for over a month.

Sitting on the bus to the hospital, scenes from the previous day replayed in her mind.

"John... who do you like more, me or Isabella?" In the bedroom, the woman's voice was so sweet it gave Isabella goosebumps.

"Isabella? She can't compare to you. You're so soft and warm. " John's heavy breathing was audible.

The intermittent sounds from the bedroom made Isabella feel a heavy weight on her chest. She was so angry she almost forgot to breathe.

She never expected that John, who was about to marry her and had sent her a message on WhatsApp half an hour earlier saying he missed her, would disparaging her to please another woman in their marital home.

The bedroom door was ajar. John stood naked by the bed, while the woman lay on the bed with her legs held high by John. With each thrust, the woman's moans grew louder, prompting John to thrust even harder.

Underneath them, the smooth silk sheets were crumpled and messy.

Isabella felt a pang in her heart. She had decorated the house, bought the bed, and replaced the bed linens. She hadn't even slept in it once, and now it was dirty.

Now, she didn't want any of them, including John.

Isabella pushed the door open and calmly looked at the two people in front of her.

"Oh, you're here!" The woman on the bed was the first to notice her and even greeted her.

John turned around at the sound. Seeing Isabella, he scrambled off the woman, wrapped himself in a sheet, and ran over to grab Isabella's hand. "Isabella, let me explain."

Thinking about how those hands had just been on another woman, Isabella felt disgusted and pulled her hand away forcefully. "Don't touch me. I find you disgusting."

John said, "Isabella, it wasn't my fault. She came on to me. She's a mattress salesperson and she said she needed me to test the quality of the mattress."

Hearing John say this, the woman on the bed sneered, her eyes full of disdain. Compared to John's embarrassment, the woman was calm and unhurried. She didn't even bother to put on clothes, just draped a blanket over herself and leaned against the headboard, watching the drama unfold.

Isabella suddenly felt that all of this was meaningless and didn't want to entangle with John any longer. "John, we're breaking up. I'm not marrying you."

"Isabella, you dare? Aren't you afraid of your grandmother..." John was sure Isabella wouldn't dare.

Isabella indeed didn't dare. She was getting married for Ella, who was in the late stages of cancer and whose only wish was to see her get married.

John continued, "Isabella, I'm a normal man. I need to release my desires. If you had let me sleep with you earlier, I wouldn't have looked for someone else!"

Isabella laughed in anger. "So, it's all my fault?"

"Of course. It's just a small thing between men and women. Even if I cheated, so what? It's just a small mistake that all men make." John said smugly.

Looking at John's shameless smile, Isabella felt utterly disappointed. She raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

"Isabella, you're crazy! How dare you hit me?" John looked at her in disbelief. "I'm not marrying you now. Let's see how you explain this to your grandmother."

"If you won't marry her, I will!" A tall, slender man walked in from outside.

The man pointed at the woman on the bed and said to Isabella, "Let me introduce myself. I'm her boyfriend, oh, now ex-boyfriend."

Then he shook hands with Isabella and said, "Hello, I'm another victim."

John rushed forward, roughly pushing the man away and sternly reprimanding, "Take your hands off her. Don't touch my fiancée."

The man sneered, "Yours? She'll soon be my wife." With that, he forcefully held Isabella and left.

She thought the man just wanted to take her away from the awful cheating scene, but he actually took her to the city hall.

Isabella did the craziest thing she had ever done in her life: she married a man she had just met.

Because she had no other choice, the wedding had to go on. She couldn't let her grandmother worry. She also couldn't force herself to continue with John. The thought of John's betrayal made her feel as if she had swallowed a fly.

The man took the marriage certificate and told her his name was Michael Johonson. He specifically reassured her that she didn't need to worry about the wedding; he would handle everything.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Isabella brought him back to the hotel and gave herself to her legal husband.

The next second, the bus's announcement interrupted Isabella's thoughts.

At the hospital, Isabella saw Ella, whom she hadn't seen in over a month.

Ella's spirits lifted as she saw Isabella, and she started talking more, "Isabella, why are you here now? You should be preparing for the wedding."

Seeing how thin Ella had become, Isabella felt heartbroken. She held back her tears, leaned on Ella's knee, and pretended to be relaxed. "Everything's done."

Ella stroked Isabella's hair and murmured, "It's a pity I can't see you get married with my own eyes. After you get married, you must live a good life."

"Grandma, don't worry. He's very good to me." Isabella didn't want Ella to worry and promised with tears in her eyes.

After talking for a while, Ella got tired and fell into a deep sleep. Isabella stayed at the hospital for half the night before finally returning to the hotel.

As soon as she walked into the room, Bianca approached her with a sarcastic tone. "Isabella, you're back so late. Aren't you afraid of what others might think? Even though I know you went to see your Grandma, the styling team is already here. They couldn't find the bride and who knows what they're thinking now. Where does that leave the reputation of our family?"

"You're about to get married, and you stayed out all night? Good thing you're not getting married from home; you've really embarrassed the family," Sophia couldn't help but snark.

"Isabella, now that John doesn't want you, who's gonna pay them?" Bianca asked, making sure the styling team heard.