My Marriage, Their Regret

I started calling my brother "Mr. Quinn" and my childhood friend "Mr. Webb".

They frown and ask why I'm being so formal with them.

I smile faintly in response. "Because I think you would rather be associated with Vanessa Quinn."

They scold me for being unreasonable. "Vanessa is about to marry a man in a coma for you, and her whole life will be ruined. The only reason we treat her so well is because you owe her."

But what they don't know is that the one marrying a man in a coma this time isn't Vanessa. It's me—Willow Quinn.

When my brother, Keith Quinn, and my childhood friend, John Webb, hinted once again that they couldn't bear to let Vanessa Quinn take my place, I wasn't nearly as shocked or upset as I had been the first time.

When I lowered my head and stayed silent, Keith took a long pause before forcing out an awkward smile. "Willow, I know Nathan is in a coma, but you never know. He could wake up any day now. And when he does, whoever's married to him will be the luckiest woman in all of Charleston."

I scoffed inwardly. If marrying a guy in a coma was such a great deal, why were they so reluctant to let Vanessa do it?

I didn't say a word. They assumed I was still in denial, and their expressions grew even more grim. But they were wrong. I had already made up my mind that I was going to marry Nathan Stone.

Out of basic courtesy, I visited the Stone family the next day.

When the Stones heard I was coming, they were over the moon. Nathan's mother, Mary Thatcher, held my hands as she wiped away her tears.

She said, "Everyone kept saying that, with Nathan like this, the Quinn family would definitely call off the wedding, but I always believed the Quinns would keep their word."

Mary then brought me into the room to see Nathan.

He was lying in bed and looked pale as a sheet. His eyes were slightly open, but there was no sign of life in him. Still, even like that, there was still this quiet elegance about him that made me space out for a moment.

The engagement between me and Nathan had been arranged by our grandfathers.

Six years ago, Nathan, the brilliant and promising heir of the Stones got into a car accident and ended up in a coma.

Keith and John felt sorry for me. They wanted to back out of the engagement, but they were afraid people would say the Quinns were cold and heartless.

So, they adopted an orphaned girl, planning to raise her until she turned 20 and have her take my place in the marriage. They named her Vanessa Quinn.

After Vanessa became part of the Quinn family, the Quinns gradually started developing feelings for her, even though they weren't supposed to. However, because she was meant to take my place,