I Married My Enemy After the Groom Fled Novel – On her wedding day, Stella’s groom fled the ceremony to care for his suicidal ex-girlfriend. Stella promptly picked up the phone and called her enemy. “Ethan Powers, come and marry me now. This is your only chance for revenge.” “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Powers.” “It’s still early. We can reschedule the wedding for tomorrow. I’ve already called Daniel. He’ll inform the guests later. Don’t worry.” Hearing Aaron’s words, Stella found it ridiculous. “Aaron, I know Avery was admitted to the hospital last night. Are you at the hospital now?” Stella asked directly.
Aaron obviously didn’t expect her to know the reason for his trip to L.A. and remained silent for a moment. Stella’s eyes dimmed slightly, “So you’re at Avery’s apartment.” He spoke softly, “I’m sorry, Stella, for not telling you yesterday. I was afraid you’d misunderstand.” “Misunderstand? But look, even though you knew I might misunderstand, you still went there.” Her tone betrayed no emotion, adding a hint of irony. Aaron’s tone grew somewhat indifferent, “I know you have some bias against Avery, but she’s your cousin. She’s injured, and neither you nor I can turn a blind eye.” Aaron’s obvious defense of Avery caused Stella’s hand to tremble slightly.
She sighed deeply. “Yes, Avery is my cousin.” She was also Aaron’s ex-girlfriend, and more importantly, his childhood sweetheart. The Carlson and Malone families were close, and Avery moved in at the age of six with her mother, becoming Aaron’s true childhood friend. Earlier, when Hannah tried to make light of the situation, Stella remained silent because Aaron’s childhood affection didn’t belong to her. “How is she now?” she asked. The two had argued too much over Avery, so Aaron didn’t want to dwell on it now. He simply replied, “She’s been discharged from the hospital, nothing serious.” “Oh, I see.”
Though she had anticipated it, Stella still felt a bit relieved. If Avery had really been seriously injured, Stella’s grandfather, Thomas Carlson, who had been in poor health in recent years, probably wouldn’t be able to handle it. However, when Stella received those photos just now, she already understood that Avery probably wasn’t really in trouble. “Stella,” Aaron softened his tone, “My decision to come to L.A. before the wedding was not well thought out, but for now, we need to make sure tomorrow’s wedding is properly arranged, okay?” Because Avery was injured, he had to cancel last minute, so he wanted to postpone the wedding.
Stella was acutely aware, from the moment Aaron proposed to her, that the significance of this wedding in their hearts was different. She remained calm, silently gazing out the window. The city bustled with activity, towering skyscrapers dominating the skyline. Perhaps the air conditioning indoors was too strong. With one arm wrapped around herself, she stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the flowing traffic below, yet feeling no sense of reality. It was as if she had returned to the year she turned 16. After a long pause, she spoke again, “Aaron, do you remember when I first came back to the Carlson family, I lost the jade Buddha the dean gave me? I searched for it for a long time but couldn’t find it. I hid in the attic and cried alone. Then you found me in the attic, didn’t tell anyone, and secretly helped me find the jade Buddha.”
Her voice was ethereal and soft, causing Aaron to be drawn into reminiscence, softening his heart. Later, he chuckled softly, “At that time, I wondered why you would hide and cry just because you lost something. But seeing how sincerely you cried, I had to help you find it.” Stella smiled. Actually, she knew Aaron hadn’t found that jade Buddha. It was just his gentlemanly upbringing that compelled him to not ignore a crying girl and so he bought a similar-looking one. “Why bring that up all of a sudden?” Aaron asked. “I just suddenly felt that losing that jade Buddha wasn’t really worth being sad about.” With that said, most of the emotions in her heart dissipated. Initially, her tears were more about the overwhelming scrutiny she faced when she first returned to the Carlson family, suppressing too many emotions. Later, when she got into the Radiant Arts Institute, she heard plenty of flattery and praise from outsiders.
The jade Buddha Aaron bought for her was also lost, but she seemed to feel nothing about it. Time ultimately heals all wounds, and nothing is immutable. So what had she been holding onto all these years? It was as if she had pondered one thing for too long and finally made a decision in this moment. “Let’s put an end to this wedding,” she said. “Let’s break up.” The sudden words hit like a heavy stone thrown into calm waters. Both of them fell into a tense yet tumultuous silence, the atmosphere gradually becoming stifling.
After a moment of silence, the man’s deep voice carried a thinly veiled trace of anger that couldn’t be concealed, “I admit that I shouldn’t have missed the wedding. You misunderstood, and I’ll explain when I get back. But don’t throw around words like canceling the wedding and breaking up, you’re crossing a line.” Aaron’s words carried a hint of reproach, leaving Stella speechless for a moment. They had known each other for eight years and dated for three. In her memory, Aaron had always been gentle and polite. When they were at school, he treated her well, and at that time, she also believed they could make it to the end. Even during the few arguments after returning to the city, he had never lost his temper like this.
However, at this moment, Aaron, the groom whose ex-girlfriend had run away, blamed her for making a fuss about canceling the wedding and breaking up? Stella felt it was absurd, but she knew she wasn’t joking at all. She hadn’t denied Aaron opportunities, nor had she denied him trust, but she had accumulated too much disappointment from his repeated lies and favoritism towards another woman. Perhaps Aaron loved her too, but he couldn’t let go of his feelings for another woman. Stella couldn’t maintain her dignity in this relationship anymore. It was too exhausting. She let him go, and she let herself go too. But it was understandable that Aaron didn’t believe her; after all, she had liked him for eight years, always following him closely.
Even during the difficult two years when he had strained relations with the Malone family, she had been by his side. Anyone could see how much she liked Aaron, so suddenly giving up at the last moment was truly hard to believe. Stella was about to say something when a sweet voice on the other end of the phone abruptly interrupted her. “Aaron, can you pass me the water glass?” The woman’s familiar voice, dripping with intimacy, momentarily embarrassed Stella, who then hung up the phone with a cold laugh. She knew Avery had intentionally spoken up, but she didn’t want to engage in endless arguments anymore.
Recalling her decision just now, she even felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation. Lost in thought, Stella heard a knock on the door, and Aurora hesitantly walked in, asking, “Miss Carlson, Mr. Malone’s assistant called me and said the wedding is going to be postponed until tomorrow. Right?” The marriage between the Malone family and Carlson family was shattered when the groom ran away with his ex-girlfriend on the wedding day. Even if the wedding were postponed, it would only have been seen as a “compromise” under pressure by outsiders. Stella could imagine the kind of gossip the Carlson family would face after today.
She couldn’t bear to see the Carlson family’s reputation tarnished, especially with her grandfather’s failing health! With that in mind, she looked at Aurora and said, “The wedding won’t be postponed, continue with the preparations.” “The wedding indeed cannot be postponed. My grandfather’s health can’t withstand any shocks. I wanted to cancel, but since Avery is determined to embarrass me—” Stella suddenly paused, her eyelashes trembling slightly. “Then I’ll just have to find a new groom.” … Stella hesitated for a moment as she looked at the name in her contacts, then finally dialed the number. The dial tone dragged on, echoing repeatedly. The wait seemed unusually long, and just as Stella was about to give up, the call finally connected on the other end.
In that instant, the words she had prepared got stuck in her throat. Both of them remained silent, a strange silence lingering for ten seconds, before the phone was ruthlessly hung up by the other end. Having no other choice, Stella exhaled and composed herself, dialing the number again. This time, the call was answered much more quickly. She hesitated slightly and said, “Ethan, it’s me.” “Well, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Miss Carlson, how come you have time to call me when you’re about to be a bride?” The man’s lazy voice mixed with a hint of huskiness, still carrying the same nonchalant tone from their youth. It wasn’t surprising that Ethan Powers was caught off guard; he and Stella rarely contacted each other privately.
If it weren’t for necessary business interactions, based on their last encounter during the bidding in North City, they might have even blocked each other. Stella wasn’t surprised by Ethan’s arrogant attitude, but at this moment, she couldn’t help but sense a hint of sarcasm in it. She furrowed her brows lightly, her voice cold, “Are you making fun of me?” “I wouldn’t dare,” he chuckled lightly, his tone casual and concise. “What do you want?” Her tone almost commanding “Ethan, come and marry me now. This is your only chance for revenge.” On the other end, Ethan Powers raised an eyebrow as he gripped his phone. “Did the groom run away?” he asked. “My darling.” “What’s in it for me?” Stella gently bit her lip and got straight to the point. “I remember you were quite interested in the North City project.” “What? Are you willing to give up now? ” “The North City project will be yours.” “And you will be mine as well, Mrs. Powers.”