My Groom's Brother Married Me

The carved double mahogany doors of the Grand Ballroom at the Grand Royal Valmont Hotel remained tightly shut.

Standing in the quiet private corridor behind them, Elina Rosswel smoothed the folds of her white silk wedding gown. Her hands trembled slightly as her fingers brushed the delicate French lace.

"Could you turn off your phone for a moment, Jeremy?" Elina whispered, looking at her fiancé standing beside her. "The doors will open in two minutes."

Jeremy Valmont did not even glance at her. His fingers moved rapidly across the screen of his phone.

"Just a second, Elina. Rachel hasn't replied to my messages for the past hour."

Elina froze at his words.

Once again, her fiancé was thinking about Rachel—his childhood friend.

"This is our wedding day," Elina said firmly, staring straight at the man in the black suit beside her. "Not the day to worry about your childhood friend, Jeremy."

In truth, Elina was exhausted. Every time, Jeremy chose Rachel over the woman who was supposed to become his lifelong partner. Yet no matter how upset she became, Jeremy never took her anger seriously.

"She's alone in her apartment," Jeremy replied impatiently. "She's sick, Elina. Can't you have a little compassion?"

"I've been patient for three years, Jeremy!" Elina cut in sharply. Her voice trembled as she struggled to contain her emotions. "Every date we had, every important family event, you always put her calls before me!"

The moment she finished speaking, Jeremy's phone rang, breaking the silence in the hallway.

Without the slightest hesitation, he answered the call and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Rachel? Where are you?" Jeremy asked anxiously.

Soft sobs mixed with frantic breathing came from the other end of the line.

"Jeremy... please help me..." the woman whispered weakly. "I'm... I'm in the emergency room. My nose is bleeding again... I'm scared..."

Jeremy's face immediately turned pale.

"It's bleeding again? You're there all by yourself?"

"Yes... My head hurts so much, Jer... The doctor said I need a family member to stay with me..."

"Wait for me! I'm coming right now!" Jeremy shouted in panic.

Elina's eyes widened in disbelief as she heard his response.

"Jeremy!"

She grabbed his arm with both hands, staring at him in shock.

"What are you doing? You can't leave. The opening music has already started!"

Jeremy roughly shook her hands away, forcing her to stumble backward.

"Rachel is bleeding again and she's at the hospital, Elina! She has no one else in this city except me!"

"What about me?" Elina demanded, her voice rising as her eyes burned with unshed tears. "I'm your bride! There are three hundred guests inside, my father, and the entire city's business media waiting for us!"

"You can wait! We can postpone the ceremony for a while!" Jeremy snapped, glaring at her with annoyance. "Rachel could die if no one takes care of her! Stop being so selfish!"

"Selfish?"

A bitter laugh escaped Elina's lips.

The pain squeezing her heart became almost unbearable.

"This is our wedding day, Jeremy! You're choosing to run to Rachel instead of standing beside me at the altar?"

"Don't start another argument, Elina!" Jeremy barked as he hurriedly straightened his suit collar. "I'll only be gone for an hour! Tell everyone the ceremony is delayed!"

His voice was completely indifferent.

"If you dare walk out of this hallway, Jeremy..."

Elina drew a shaky breath.

Her lips trembled violently as she looked into his eyes.

"...don't ever come back into my life."

Jeremy paused briefly.

He looked at her with cold impatience.

"Stop acting like a child. Rachel is in critical condition."

He truly did not care about Elina.

Without another word, he sprinted toward the emergency exit. His footsteps echoed down the corridor before disappearing as the heavy steel door slammed shut behind him.

A suffocating silence settled over Elina.

"Miss Rosswel?"

One of the event coordinators approached with a pale face.

"Mr. Valmont... where did he go? The main doors will open automatically in ten seconds!"

Elina stood frozen.

She stared at her cold, empty hands.

An overwhelming exhaustion suddenly spread throughout her body.

For years, she had understood.

For years, she had given in because of the excuse of a "childhood friend."

Today, the last thread of her patience finally snapped.

The hurt ran so deep that even tears refused to fall.

"He's not coming back," Elina murmured flatly, looking expressionlessly at the woman before her. "Cancel the wedding."

"What?! But Miss Rosswel, all the guests have already—"

**Click!**

The automatic locking mechanism released with a sharp metallic sound.

Before the staff could stop it, the massive mahogany doors slowly swung open.

The elegant melody of the *Bridal Chorus* filled the ballroom.

The enormous crystal chandeliers illuminated the entrance with dazzling light.

Three hundred pairs of eyes belonging to aristocrats and prominent business elites turned toward the doorway in unison.

At the end of the red carpet...

Elina stood alone.

Without a groom beside her.

An oppressive silence swept across the ballroom.

The orchestra came to an awkward stop, replaced by whispers that spread rapidly among the guests.

"Where's Jeremy Valmont?" a woman in an evening gown whispered from the front row.

"Look! The bride is standing there alone!" another guest exclaimed.

"I saw Jeremy running toward the back exit," someone else said quietly. "Maybe he went to see Rachel. Doesn't Jeremy care more about Rachel than Elina?"

"My goodness... Was she abandoned on her wedding day for another woman?"

"The Rosswel family has been completely humiliated today."

Every whisper pierced Elina's ears like sharp blades.

At the far end of the altar, Xavier Rosswel stood frozen.

The middle-aged man stared at his daughter in disbelief before hurrying toward the red carpet.

"Elina?"

His voice trembled as he stopped in front of her.

"Where's Jeremy? What happened?"

Elina looked at her father.

Her sorrowful gaze was filled with guilt and quiet resignation.

She gathered part of her wedding gown and prepared to announce the collapse of her future before everyone present.

"Father... I—"

Before she could finish speaking, a tall figure suddenly emerged from the side corridor.

A cold, commanding aura radiated from the man, causing everyone nearby to instinctively hold their breath.

Before Elina could react, a strong arm reached toward her.

The man gently took her cold hand and confidently slipped it through the crook of his arm beneath his impeccably tailored suit.

Elina gasped in surprise.

Her eyes widened as she turned to look at him.