He Got Married to Someone Else on My Wedding Day

1.

I had already decided to dump my ambitious lawyer boyfriend, and he was completely clueless.

He promised wed get married the second he made partner at his firm.

For that promise, I hid my identity as the Sinclair family heiress and wasted nearly five years with him in a shitty apartment in Queens.

But on the day we were supposed to go to City Hall, as I stood there all dressed up, I watched Liam Donovan lean down and kiss a woman in a wedding dress.

I pulled out my phone and saw the Instagram he had just postedDa photo of him and his childhood friend, Brielle Vance, holding a marriage certificate.

The caption read: "It's official. Congrats to us, everyone!"

I typed "Congrats" in the comments, then called my parents for the first time in nearly five years.

"Mom, Dad, I'm done. Liam and I are over."

...

After the call, I went back to the apartment we shared.

I tossed my things into suitcases. As for the furniture and appliances I couldnt take, I smashed them to pieces.

I had bought most of Liams things.

He graduated from a second-rate law school, and his relentless drive was what initially attracted meDhe was determined to break into the elite circles on his own merit.

To avoid wounding his pathetic pride, I kept my Sinclair background a secret and moved into this rental in Queens five years ago.

I surveyed the wreckage, then called a moving company to haul all my things away.

Next, I contacted the property manager of my building in midtown Manhattan and told him to get in touch with the buyers who had previously made offers.

The building was in a prime location in the financial district. I had bought it at a premium, intending to give it to Liam as a gift to start his own law firm. The interior renovations were almost complete.

Liam didn't want to work with partners or for someone else forever.

To avoid pressuring him, I bought the building without his knowledge and paid for the renovations, planning to surprise him after he made partner.

I was even so afraid of embarrassing him that I told him I had "pulled some strings" to "rent" the space for him at an incredibly low price as a temporary office.

Now that it was all over, I didn't need to protect his fragile ego anymore.

I told the property manager to have the crew rip out all the interior work. Id pay them double.

And the high-end office equipment that hadn't been installed yet? Donate it all to charity.

I had just caught my breath and was about to leave when Liam came home.

He froze in the doorway, his hand on the knob.

"What the fuck happened here?"

I shrugged, my voice casual.

"I did it."

Liam's face darkened instantly, and he snapped, "Chloe, what is your fucking problem? And I've been texting you all day, why didn't you answer?"

It was always like this. It was his fault, but his words always dripped with righteous accusation.

"Answer what? Should I have congratulated you on your new baby?"

"Liam, let's just call these five years a very expensive lesson. You chose to marry someone else, so from now on, there's nothing between us. Good luck."

I tried to walk past him, but he chased after me and blocked the door.

"Chloe, can you just calm down for a second? I've explained this to you a million timesDBrielle is my best friend. Today was meant to be a surprise for you, a grand gesture, that's all."

"That Instagram post was a joke, and the marriage certificate was fake, just a prop. Chloe, do you have to overreact like this?"

I stared at him and couldn't help but laugh.

The temperature had dropped today. When Brielle shivered, he immediately took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders, even wrapping the scarf I gave him around her neck.

I just watched, my heart aching. In five years, Liam had never once been that considerate to me.

I glanced at my watch and said, half-joking, "If that's the case, City Hall closes in half an hour. Let's go right now, how about it?"

A flicker of unease crossed Liam's eyes. He gently tugged at my sleeve, his voice low and coaxing.

"Chloe, getting registered at City Hall in New York is so lame. It's like waiting in line at the DMV, there's no feeling. Didn't you always want to go to Paris? Why don't we just fly there for our honeymoon? That would be romantic."

"As soon as I win one more big case, we'll have the money to go. By the way, doesn't your boss have that multi-million dollar case? You could put in a good word for me..."

No matter how well-mannered I was, at this moment, I saw him for what he was: a hopeless fucking idiot.

Just a moment ago, I was scrolling through TikTok in the living room when the algorithm served me Brielles new video.

It was filled with clips of Parisian streets.

The caption read: "Countdown to my honeymoon in Paris with my fianc ??"

To get that big case from me, Liam was dangling my dream city as bait.

His real plan was to earn that massive legal fee and take Brielle to Paris.

I let out a cold laugh, violently shaking his hand off and striding towards the door.

Liam yelled from behind me, "Chloe! I'm talking to you! I already promised to take you to Paris, what more do you want?"

I walked out the door, his voice still chasing me.

"If you walk out that door today, don't you dare expect me to come back for you!"

I smirked. All these years, he used my love for him to take and take, pushing me to give in again and again.

And I was stupid enough to think it was because he cared about me.

I stopped, turned around, and yelled with all my strength.

"Liam Donovan, we are completely and utterly done!"

Then, I walked away without looking back.

My phone buzzed. It was a notification that the deposit from the new buyer of the office building had arrived.

I looked at the long string of zeros added to my bank account and immediately hailed a cab to a top-tier spa on Fifth Avenue.

For five years, I had suppressed everything to fit his "started from the bottom" narrativeDmy identity, my spending habits, my contact with my family, everything.

But just as I stepped out of the spa, I got a frantic call from the property manager.

"Ms. Sinclair, can you come over right now? There's a woman here with a group of people causing a scene in your building, and she's live-streaming it!"

My heart sank. It had to be Brielle.

She was a local New York influencer with a decent following; live-streaming was her whole career.

After confirming it was her, I rushed over.

The property manager met me as I got out of the car in front of the building.

"Ms. Sinclair, thank God you're here!

The buyer brought their design team for measurements today, but they were blocked by that woman and her crew.

She was holding up her phone, live-streaming, and yelling that if anyone dared to touch anything in 'their law firm,'

she'd make sure they'd be ruined in New York's social scene.

The buyer got pissed and left on the spot, saying the property has a title dispute and demanding his deposit back!"

I frowned. "Didn't I tell you to handle it with the deed and my power of attorney?"

The manager looked helpless.

"Ms. Sinclair, I showed them a copy of the deed right away, but the woman didn't even look at it.

In front of thousands of viewers on her stream,

she accused me of forging documents and then ripped it to shreds!"

2.

I stormed upstairs and pushed open the office door. It was empty except for a voice coming from the innermost room.

I pushed that door open and saw Brielle, sitting at a desk and live-streaming to her phone. Behind her, the door to a lounge was open, and a Herms bag was tossed carelessly on the sofa.

I frozeDthis wasn't the design plan I had originally approved.

As I got closer, my heart sank like a stone.

That wasnt an office lounge area. It had been converted into a luxury apartment suite.

The suite was twice the size of the original plan; they had knocked down a wall to an adjacent office to expand it. It was filled with professional live-streaming equipment and signs of being lived in everywhere.

The bed was from a custom Italian luxury brandDa model I had been eyeing for years but never brought myself to buy.

No wonder the renovation crew said the furnishings were over budget and needed more funding.

To keep my parents from worrying, most of the money I'd saved these past few years came from selling my old jewelry and bags. Buying the building and paying for the renovations had nearly wiped me out.

I had initially refused the budget increase, but Liam convinced me. He said that only with proper rest could he work better, earn more money, and give me a better life.

And I believed him.

It turns out, all of it was for Brielle.

I was shaking with rage. I grabbed the nearest thing on the desk and started smashing everything I could get my hands on.

Brielle suddenly appeared behind me, pointing her phone at my face.

"Chloe, have you no shame? You've been mooching off Liam for years, living here for free, and now that he wants to break up with you, you come to his office to throw a tantrum?"

I shoved the camera away and pointed at her.

"Get the hell out of my property right now, or I'm calling the cops."

Brielle covered her mouth in a fake laugh. "Your property? Chloe, yesterday you were living in a rundown apartment in Queens, and today you're claiming a midtown Manhattan skyscraper is yours?"

She let out a few dramatic wails, drawing the attention of the friends she had brought with her.

"Brielle, don't be scared, Liam is on his way!"

"Liam wouldn't be where he is today without Brielle supporting him from behind the scenes! Women like you just know how to take advantage!"

The group became more aggressive, starting to shove me.

I took a step back and yelled, "The property deed is a legally binding document! You're trespassing on my property and assaulting me, aren't you afraid of getting sued?"

Their shoves became harder.

I finally snapped. I lunged forward and slapped Brielle across the face. Her phone went flying, the screen shattering on the floor.

And at that exact moment, Liam pushed the door open.

3.

It only took Brielle a second for tears to start streaming down her face as she clutched her cheek, sobbing quietly.

"Brielle!"

Liam shoved me aside and pulled Brielle into his arms, stroking her face tenderly.

"It's all red, it must hurt so much. Don't worry, I won't let the person who hurt you get away with it."

The concern in his eyes was real, and his words were deadly serious.

I saw clear as day how he felt about Brielle, and I heard the disgust he had for me in his voice.

Liam turned to me, a flicker of shock in his eyes.

I thought for a moment that seeing my disheveled hair, my torn collar, and the scratch marks on my neck and arms might soften him.

But the hesitation vanished in an instant, and his gaze turned to ice.

"Apologize to Brielle."

My heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand, the pain so intense I could barely breathe.

He hadn't asked a single question. He just declared me guilty.

I clamped my lips shut, staring daggers at him.

Brielle cried even more pitifully, pointing a finger at me. "Liam, she's the one who hit me! She also trashed your studio and smashed all the equipment you bought for me!"

"And she was waving around some fake property documents, saying this building is hers and that she's selling your law firm!"

Liam gently soothed her, a look of adoration on his face I had never seen before.

"Don't waste your time with a psycho. It breaks my heart to see you cry."

Brielle blushed instantly, burying her head in his chest and murmuring about how sweet he was in front of everyone.

The teasing from their friends made me dizzy, and I nearly lost my footing.

In five years together, I always thought Liam just wasn't the type to say sweet things. He told me he came from a humble background, worked his way through school, and didn't know how to charm girls, asking me to be patient with him.

Back then, I only saw his resilience and ambition and chose to understand.

But now I realized, it wasn't that he couldn't do it. He just wouldn't do it for me.

After calming Brielle down, Liam turned to me, his tone cold. "Chloe, are you okay? Your injuries don't look serious, but Brielle's face is swollen, so you should still apologize."

Brielle lifted her head from his chest, looking at me with a triumphant smirk.

I snorted.

"Liam, is this how you handle your cases? You don't even bother with the basic facts before delivering a verdict?"

Liam's face flushed with embarrassment.

"Chloe, are you not listening to me anymore? I already explained everything to you, so what are you doing causing a scene here?"

Seeing that I was no longer the obedient girl I used to be, he stepped closer and whispered in my ear.

"Chloe, this isn't the place to talk. Go home and wait for me, okay? I'll come back and explain everything."

He grabbed my wrist and tried to drag me out, but just then, his phone rang.

His face fell as he answered the call.

He grabbed me by the collar, his voice a low, furious hiss. "Someone just said this office was soldDwhat's going on? The firm is supposed to launch any day now, what am I supposed to do?"

Liam's eyes were bloodshot as he shook me back and forth.

"Chloe, you go contact that landlord right now. I don't care how you do it, you have to save this law firm!"

I pushed him away and gestured to the property manager outside the door.

The manager immediately stepped forward, holding out a tablet and several legal documents stamped with official seals to Liam.

"Mr. Donovan, these are the latest property records from the New York County Clerk's Office, along with the power of attorney signed by the Sinclair Family Trust."

I looked at him coldly. "I am the absolute owner of this building. Liam, now I'm asking you to take your people and get the hell off my property, or I will sue you for illegal commercial trespass."