Chapter 2
288 Vouchers
Hearing my mom’s words, I sneered inwardly.
In my previous life, I had rushed onto the stage in a hurry, trying to argue with Xyla. My mother hadn’t even gotten a chance to blame me for making Xyla stand in for me.
It was only now that I understood why Xyla had dared to do it–because my parents were backing her.
No wonder they suddenly insisted on a different kind of ceremony and made me wear a veil the whole time. I hadn’t even been allowed to show my face.
They treated Xyla better because I’d only returned to the Yeager family two years ago. To them, she was their true daughter.
They thought raising her for 20 years mattered more than blood ties.
Xyla glanced at my mother, then walked over to drop to her knees with Zeke.
“Sir Ferguson, Mrs. Ferguson, Zeke and I love each other. My sister doesn’t even like him. I’m willing to take her place and be his wife-”
But before she could finish, Rebecca cut her off.
“Take her place? Absolutely not! You don’t have a shadow–bound body to protect Zeke!
“And you’re just a country girl adopted by the Yeager family. Do you think your background is good enough to marry him?”
Xyla’s eyes welled up, and Zeke looked heartbroken seeing her like that.
“Mom, times have changed. You shouldn’t cling to outdated ideas.”
He pulled Xyla to her feet and shot me an angry look.
“Whitney, your shadow–bound body is just a lie. You probably bribed someone to say it’s real.
“You can’t crash the wedding and expect me to go along with it. The only person I’ll marry is Nyla.”
Xyla wiped her tears and leaned into him, looking scared.
“You promised to help us, Whitney. That’s why I married in your place. Why are you trying to ruin everything now?”
They clearly set me up together but still tried to make it seem like I was the one at fault.
I smiled at them, raised my phone, and opened a text message.
“Xyla, Dad, Mom–didn’t you all text me yesterday saying the wedding was moved to the evening? So why did it go
0.0 %
22.04
Chapter 2
on as usual?”
1288 Vouchers
In my previous life, if I hadn’t stumbled on a photo of the wedding car posted online, I wouldn’t have even known the ceremony had already happened.
The cameraman zoomed in on my phone, and the message was shown clearly on the big screen.
Gasps and murmurs broke out among the guests.
“Looks like the Yeager family does favor Xyla.”
“Lots of socialites want to marry Zeke. If Mrs. Yeager adores Xyla, she’ll do whatever she can to make it happen.”
“Poor Whitney. She’s been away from her family for so long, only to come back and realize they don’t care about her.”
My father, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly flushed with anxiety.
“Don’t jump to conclusions! We didn’t favor Xyla. Whitney said she didn’t want to marry Zeke, and she begged Xyla to take her place.
“Thankfully, Zeke also had feelings for her, or things would’ve been awkward.”
I let out a cold laugh.
“When did I ever say I didn’t want the wedding? Why else would I show up here today?”
Right after I said that, my father slapped me hard.
“Stop stirring up trouble! You ran away from your responsibilities and made fake messages to frame us. Now you’re saying you still want the wedding? Do you think this is some kind of game?
“Zeke and Xyla are already married. It has nothing to do with you anymore!”
I wiped the blood off my lips.
“I’m fine with having another ceremony if Mr. Ferguson is still willing to marry me.”
Rebecca’s face lit up as soon as she heard that.
“Whitney, we only recognize you as our daughter–in–law. This wedding doesn’t count. We’ll redo it tonight and make sure it’s done right!”
Xyla started to panic and turned to my mother, looking for help.
My mother stopped the Ferguson family from walking off.
“In that case, I won’t keep it a secret anymore. We didn’t let Whitney marry Zeke because she’s not clean.
“She’s been sleeping around with different men for years, and she even contracted HIV!”
60.6 %
