Not My Baby

One week before our wedding, my fiancee told me she wanted to have a baby with her childhood best friend.

When I said no, she looked at me as if I were the unreasonable one.

"It's just IVF," my fiancee said. "Nothing is going to happen between Logan and me. His parents have been pressuring him to get married so badly that he almost died in a car accident. Now they have finally agreed to back off as long as he has a child. We should help him."

I stared at her, my face drained of color. "We're getting married in a week, and you want to have another man's baby? Do you honestly think that's fair to me?"

Her expression softened, and she reached for my hand as if she were soothing a child.

"Daniel," she said gently, "after we're married, we'll have children of our own too."

In that moment, whatever love I had left for her died completely.

She was right about one thing: I would have children of my own someday, but not with her.

I turned around, opened my phone, and posted a status for everyone to see, 'I'm getting married in one week, but I'm missing a bride. Anyone interested?'

A Bride Who Answered

Not long after I posted the status, my phone rang.

The name on the screen made my breath catch: Olivia Hart.

I had not seen that name in a long time.

Olivia was my childhood friend, and also the person I had fought with for as long as I could remember. We grew up together, but we were never exactly sweet to each other.

Our relationship had always been loud, messy, and full of sparks.

After I started dating Vanessa Grant, Olivia seemed to disappear from my life overnight.

I answered the call, assuming she had heard about my failed relationship and had called to laugh at me.

Instead, the first thing she said was, "I heard you're looking for a new bride. What do you think of me?"

I froze for a second. "Are you serious?"

But if I really had to replace the bride at the last minute, there was no one more suitable than Olivia.

Our families were well-matched. We knew each other's backgrounds, habits, tempers, and preferences better than anyone else.

There would be no need for lengthy explanations, and no time wasted pretending.

Olivia's voice sounded a little tense. "Yes. I'm flying back today. I'll land tomorrow night and come to your house the morning after. We can talk about the wedding then."

The wedding still had to happen.

I couldn't let my entire family become a joke because of Vanessa.

So I agreed. "Okay."

After I hung up, Vanessa happened to push open the door and walk in. There was a faint nervousness on her face.

"Who were you talking to just now?" she asked.

I looked at her calmly. "The delivery guy."

Vanessa visibly relaxed.

Then she came over and held my hand.