Chapter 2 Bride Replacement

Kiara rose to her feet in a flash. "How can this even be happening?"

Darin looked equally rattled. "This can't be right. There's got to be an error."

Back in the day, the Jones family thrived off Elliana's biological mother Rita Marsh's brilliance-her medical genius and those rare formulas put them on the map. But after Rita's passing, the legacy began to wither. Tying themselves to the Evans family was their last safety net. They needed this marriage to work like their lives depended on it.

Sure, Elliana was also a daughter of the Jones family, but her marriage didn't carry the same weight as Paige's. Paige was the one they genuinely held dear.

Paige tried to play it cool, but her fists were tight enough to crack bone. Still, ever the performer, she put on her poised expression. "This doesn't make any sense. There has to be a mistake here."

"But the system shows Mr. Evans' marital status clearly," the City Hall staff member said firmly.

The crowd surged toward the laptop. Sure enough, the system displayed Cole and Elliana listed as husband and wife. The date went back two years, in another nation-Podgend, when Elliana was eighteen.

Darin and Kiara stood frozen.

Paige's polished mask cracked right then and there. She was at a loss, her elegant facade gone in an instant.

The room turned its focus on Cole. Ruben narrowed his eyes and asked sharply, "Care to explain, Cole?"

Cole maintained his poker face. "I'm just as confused as you are."

"Confused?" Ruben echoed, his voice climbing with fury, his mustache nearly twitching with rage. "You're standing there saying you signed off on a marriage and somehow have no idea how it happened?"

Cole's head slowly turned toward Elliana, his stare sharp enough to cut glass. She hadn't moved-still caught in disbelief.

The coldness in his eyes pulled everyone else's gaze to Elliana. Now she was the center of a storm she didn't see coming.

Elliana gave a slow blink, shrugged innocently, and said, "Beats me. I don't know either."

No one had any real reason to doubt her. She'd grown up invisible-tucked away in the back corner of the house, scraping through grade school, stuck in a storeroom no bigger than a closet, and constantly ridiculed for how she looked. The idea that she could've snuck off to Podgend and married Cole in secret sounded impossible.

"There's no way this is real! Someone had to mess with the registry!" Grinding her teeth in frustration, Kiara instructed, "Sort out the truth later. For now, divorce immediately and get Cole married to Paige today."

"Right, right, getting Cole and Paige married takes priority!" Darin chimed in.

"I'm afraid Cole couldn't marry Paige." Ruben exhaled slowly. "The Evans family has strict traditions. A man can only remarry if his wife has passed away. Divorce isn't even an option. The one walking down the aisle today has to be Elliana."

"You can't be serious!" Paige couldn't take it anymore. She jumped up, her composure crumbling, eyes glistening with rage. "Everyone in Ublento knows I'm the one meant to marry into the Evans family! And now you're swapping me out for Elliana like it's nothing? How am I supposed to show my face after this?"

Kiara didn't bother with the niceties anymore. Her voice turned sharp and poisonous. "Paige is meant to be Cole's rightful wife! That pathetic brat Elliana doesn't belong anywhere near him!"

Watching Kiara and Paige's meltdown was priceless. Elliana could barely hide her amusement-it was better than anything she could've planned. She had daydreamed about stealing Cole just to piss them off. But fate? It had gone further. It dropped the marriage in her lap without her lifting a finger. Ridiculous or not, she wasn't giving it up.

With a sugar-sweet smile, Elliana looked up at Cole and said, "Darling, sorry about all this drama."

This was like a slap to Paige's pride. "You bitch! He's mine! How dare you call him that!" she screamed, charging at Elliana in a blind fury.

Quick on her feet, Elliana ducked behind Cole and clutched his shoulders like a shield. With a teasing glint in her eye, she leaned to the side and said sweetly, "Take a breath, Paige. Where are those polished manners you take pride in?"

Paige stumbled past Elliana, fists clenched and trembling, ready for round two-until Elliana's words froze her mid-step.

Everything Paige had built-her pristine reputation, her status on Ublento's social scene-was slipping through her fingers. She'd clawed her way to the top, and one chaotic scene was going to ruin her years-long effort.

Everyone stared as Paige, who moments ago had been screaming like someone unhinged, suddenly slipped back into her gentle, wide-eyed act. "Cole, you can't leave me. No one loves you more than I do..."

Darin and Kiara turned to Cole, silently begging him to say something-anything-that could change the course of this disaster. Ruben's reputation was unshakable-he never bent the rules. Convincing him was a lost cause. If anything was going to change, it had to come from Cole.

Standing dead center in the storm of voices and tension, Cole looked like a statue-emotionless and untouchable.

After casting a glance over his shoulder at Elliana, still quietly holding onto him, Cole looked forward again. His voice cut through the air, steady and firm. "As an Evans, I'm expected to uphold my family's traditions. I won't be the one to tear them down."

The words hit like a thunderclap. Both Kiara and Paige paled, as if the floor had dropped beneath them.

Darin's gaze shot to Ruben, panic bubbling beneath the surface. "Ruben, surely there's-"

Elliana's overdone makeup earned a glance, but Ruben's focus lingered on Cole-steady, composed, unshaken. He exhaled, long and heavy.

"This is unfair to you, Cole. But our family's traditions leave no room for exceptions," Ruben muttered to himself.

Ruben stared directly at Darin. "Darin, I made a promise to your father, which is the only reason I agreed to this marriage alliance in the first place. But the engagement never stated exactly which of your daughters would be marrying into my family. Now that Elliana is Cole's wife, the deal still stands. Don't push me to go against the traditions my family has followed for generations!"

While Darin was reluctant to accept this, he didn't dare voice it since crossing Ruben wasn't an option. Swallowing his fury, he gave a stiff nod.

And with that, the switch in brides was sealed for good. Elliana stepped forward without hesitation, slipping into the gown that had been meant for Paige...