Chapter 2 Crazy, Changing the Groom Before the Wedding

The knocking on the door jolted Isabella awake, and she realized she was alone in bed.

At some point, Michael had left. It was like he was never there, except for the ache between her legs and the soreness in her body, reminding her of everything that went down last night.

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

"Isabella, did you get your marriage certificate withyesterday? 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.

"What about tomorrow's wedding? The invitations are already out." 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. The wedding will go on, but with a different groom."

Sophia shouted, "Isabella, you're being ridiculous! Changing the groom the day before the wedding? You must be out of your mind."

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? What about the house?" Sophia interrupted Bianca, asking urgently, "Who is this new person? 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. As for whether Michael would give a gift and how much, she didn't know and didn't want to ask.

"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! Anyway, the money given to me won't be returned. 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."

Although Isabella had anticipated that Sophia wouldn't return the gifts, hearing her say this still made her very angry.

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 only lets me look, not touch. Who knows what she really is! She can't compare to you, who is so soft, so 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, had sent her a message on WhatsApp half an hour earlier: [Isabella, I miss you.]

But now, in their marital home, he was disparaging her to please another woman.

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 couple 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 I can't touch you, I have to find someone else. If you had let me sleep with you earlier, I wouldn't have looked for someone else!"

Isabella laughed in anger. "So, according to you, 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 me, someone else will!" A tall, slender man walked in from outside.

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

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

"Come on. Let's get married." The man took her away.

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.

The man told Isabella his name was Michael and asked her to choose between him and John for the wedding.

Isabella chose Michael without hesitation. Because the wedding had to go on and she couldn't let Ella worry.

Because she was very particular about her emotions, John's betrayal made her feel disgusted.

Michael took her wedding materials and arranged everything for the wedding.

For Isabella, the most outrageous thing was that she brought Michael back to the hotel and slept with him.

The bus's announcement interrupted Isabella's thoughts.

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

Seeing Isabella, Ella's spirits lifted, 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. When Ella woke up, Isabella had dinner with her, helped the nurse bathe her, and stayed until midnight before leaving the hospital.