Revenge at the Altar

An hour before our wedding, my fiancé, Ethan Carter, finally told me: “The dress came in the wrong size. It’s one size too small. Chloe’s slimmer than you, so it fits her perfectly. Just let her stand in for you at the ceremony.” I was about to stop them. But my best friend, Chloe Parker, was already wearing my wedding dress. Her eyes were red when she looked at me. “Claire, the dress is a size too small. You can barely walk in it. Besides, today is just the public ceremony. We aren’t getting legally married at the courthouse until tomorrow.” “Once the photos come out, we can use AI to put your face over mine.” “No need to explain.” Ethan took Chloe’s hand. “The wedding’s about to start. Everyone’s waiting.” I gave a furious laugh. “Ethan, do you even understand what a wedding means?” His expression stayed calm. “Of course I do. You’re still the one coming with me tomorrow to make the marriage legal.” I tried to stop them. But Ethan’s mother, Diane Carter, held me back. “Chloe just wants to go through the ceremony with Ethan once. Do you really have to be so cruel and turn this into a fight?” I watched Ethan put his arm around Chloe and walk away with her. Then I gave a bitter laugh and made a call. “I’m not marrying Ethan anymore.” “You once told me that if I ever changed my mind, you’d come get me.” “Does that offer still stand?” ... “If the dress is the wrong size, it’s the wrong size. We can fix the photos with AI afterward. They’ll look the same.” By the time Ethan said that, Chloe was already in my wedding dress. She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Claire, you’re taller than I am. You can barely walk in this dress now.” “I’m the closest to your size here, so I’m the only one who can fill in.” “If the wrong dress was delivered, can’t they send the right one?” I smiled. “Call the studio. Tell them to bring my wedding dress here right now.” “Stop making a scene.” Ethan frowned. “The ceremony starts in half an hour.” “Then everyone can wait.” I pulled out a chair and sat down. “We start when my dress gets here.” “I’ll cover the extra venue and photography fees, along with any other costs caused by the delay.” Everyone froze. Chloe’s eyes instantly filled with tears. “Claire, do you really have to do this?” I had no idea why she was crying. It was my wedding. All I had done was say that I wanted to wait for my own wedding dress. Yet there she stood, wearing a dress made from my design, hiding her face as she burst into tears. “Why aren’t you ready yet?” The wedding planner hurried over, visibly anxious. Several guests followed behind her. “Mr. Carter, the photographers and press are ready. You need to come out now!” “It’s not that we don’t want to go.” Chloe spoke before I could. “Claire insists that the studio bring another wedding dress.” Several people immediately turned to look at me. The Bennett and Carter families had been business partners for years. Since our engagement, Seattle’s tech industry had viewed the wedding as a sign of a deeper alliance between our families. But I had always kept a low profile. A professional management team handled Bennett Technologies’ day-to-day operations. I rarely spoke to entertainment reporters and had no public social media accounts. So while most guests knew Ethan Carter was marrying the Bennett heiress, many had never seen me. At a wedding, everyone would naturally assume the woman in the gown beside Ethan was the bride. “This is supposed to be your wedding day. Look how many people are waiting out there. How can you hold up the entire ceremony over one dress?” “Exactly. Keep this up and we’ll have to rearrange the whole schedule.” Someone even frowned at me. “Who are you, anyway? Why do you keep interfering with someone else’s wedding?” “Sorry, everyone.” Ethan was already smiling as he took Chloe’s white-gloved hand. “We’re coming out now.” The groomsmen crowded around the doorway. “Hurry up. Wait any longer and the reception will be delayed too!” Chloe blushed and laughed. “Ethan!” I stopped them. “And the wedding photos the press takes today? Can you fix those with AI too?” “You never liked showing your face in public anyway.” Ethan looked back at me. “We’ll retake the official photos later. Does it really matter whose wide shots the press uses today?” “This is my wedding.” “I’m just going through the public ceremony with Chloe.” “Ethan, if you walk out there with her, I’m canceling the wedding.” Ethan froze.

Still holding Chloe’s hand, he turned back. “When we were dating, you threatened to break up with me. Now that we’re getting married, you threaten to cancel the wedding.” “Claire, can’t you come up with something new?” Chloe smiled too. “Claire, I’m only filling in. None of us expected a problem with the dress.” “This was supposed to be your happy day. Don’t joke about canceling it.” I looked at the gown on her body—the silhouette I had personally designed. The idea that it was a delivery mistake was absurd. This gown had been custom-made. Over the past three months, I had gone to the studio for three fittings. Five days ago, during the final fitting, it had fit me perfectly. And now, suddenly, it was one size too small. Either someone had contacted the studio beforehand. Or Chloe’s dress had been made to her measurements from the beginning. One of the groomsmen whistled. “Claire, it’s supposed to be a happy day. Can you stop saying things that kill the mood?” “Come on, we know you. Every time you and Ethan ‘broke up,’ weren’t you the one who ended up miserable?” “And wasn’t Ethan always the one who had to make it up to you?” Ethan laughed. “All right. Let’s go.” “Come on! Let’s send Ethan and the bride out!” The groomsmen crowded around Ethan and Chloe and ushered them away, cheering. I tightened my grip on my phone. A message from Adrian Hayes popped up. [I’m on my way. If you change your mind, I’m stealing you away and marrying you myself.] I looked down and replied. [You’d better mean it.] I locked my phone. Then I stared in the direction Ethan and the others had gone and smiled coldly. This time, Ethan was wrong. When I was little, my mother had always taught me that couples fought while dating. They broke up and got back together. Going through that a few times didn’t necessarily mean anything. But marriage had to be taken seriously. If they were still wearing each other down by the time they were ready to marry, he wasn’t the man for her. My only regret was the wedding dress I had spent three months designing and repeatedly altering. In the end, I never even got to wear it. I decided to step outside for some air. As I passed the lounge next door, I suddenly heard one of the groomsmen speaking inside. “Ethan, what if Claire finds out there was no delivery mistake? You had the studio remake the dress in Chloe’s size so she could have a wedding with you. You really think she won’t blow up?” I stopped walking. Ethan laughed. “She won’t.” “Maybe not. Did you forget what her temper was like when you two were dating? We used to invite you out for drinks, and she’d march straight into the bar and drag you home.” “That was when we were dating.” Ethan’s voice was calm. “Once we’re married, she won’t dare.” “Why not?” “Because her parents are dead.” My hands curled into fists. “Sure, all the Bennett shares and assets are in her name now, but she has no real family left to back her up.” “She’s alone in Seattle. What would she gain by calling off the engagement?” “Besides...” Ethan laughed softly. “She can’t live without me.” “She’s all talk.” Someone whistled. “Damn. You really know her.” “We always thought Claire had a temper. Turns out you figured her out years ago.” “And this setup is genius.” “Claire is still the one going to the courthouse with you.” “And Chloe gets the wedding she’s always dreamed of.” “Nobody loses.” Ethan smiled. “Chloe never really had anyone looking out for her growing up.” “When her father was alive, he gambled, tricked her into co-signing several loans, and even opened credit lines in her name.” “After he died, the debts in her name were still hers to repay.” “She’s always believed she might never have a decent wedding in her entire life.” “Walking down the aisle with me has always been one of her dreams.” “I couldn’t deny her something so small.” “As for Claire...” He paused. “I have the rest of my life with her.” “I’ll make it up to her later.” The room filled with teasing cheers. I stood outside the door with a bitter smile. Ethan thought he could bully me because I had no parents. But the Carter family had been built with my parents’ help. Diane and my mother, Eleanor Bennett, had been best friends when they were young. Ethan’s father died early. When Carter Systems ran into financial trouble years ago, my parents had been the ones who stepped in. My father, Richard Bennett, had overseen Bennett Technologies’ hardware and supply chain operations. My mother had been one of the industry’s top game-interaction designers, holding a large portfolio of patents related to control technology and feedback systems. Back then, to help Diane, my father had opened Bennett’s supply chain to Carter. My mother had also licensed several key patents to Carter Systems for almost nothing. Before my parents died, Mom even told me that Diane had spent years running the company alone and that it hadn’t been easy. The two families had known each other for so long. If I could help, I should keep helping. So for years, Carter had remained one of my highest-priority business partners. Everyone assumed Bennett and Carter were two powerful companies joining forces. Only I knew the truth. Many of Carter’s core technologies carried annual licensing fees so low they were practically free. Some of the high-end equipment in their factories didn’t even belong to Carter. It was leased long-term from several major suppliers. For years, Bennett had made up the difference between market rates and what Carter paid under our partnership agreements. Whenever suppliers complained that Carter’s rates were too low, I had Bennett cover the rest. All I asked was that they keep the supply stable. They had risen because of my parents’ support. And now they were bullying me because my parents were gone. I pulled up this year’s patent licensing renewals on my phone and gave a humorless laugh. The new licenses hadn’t been signed yet. Then I was done with this losing deal too. By then, they had reached the exchange of vows. Today’s ceremony wouldn’t make us legally married. Under the original plan, Ethan and I were supposed to complete the civil marriage paperwork in King County the next day. But to everyone in attendance—and to every camera present—this ceremony was the wedding. “At this special moment...” Onstage, Ethan smiled at Chloe. “I also want to give the person standing beside me a gift today.” An agreement to transfer patent rights appeared on the screen. “Adaptive Motion Response System.” “From today on, all future royalty income from this technology goes to my wife.” I shot to my feet. Adaptive motion-response gaming technology... Wasn’t that one of the designs my mother had left me?

“Isn’t that the patent that won an international gaming technology award?” “Carter is giving the bride the income from that technology?” “That’s one of the most important technologies in their next-generation products.” Camera flashes went off around Ethan and Chloe. Chloe covered her mouth and stared at him, her eyes red. Ethan lowered his gaze with a smile. “With the income from this technology in your name, you’ll be able to support yourself no matter what happens.” “Ethan...” Chloe’s voice trembled. “No one has ever given me anything this valuable.” Ethan handed her the document. “You deserve it.” “Ethan Carter!” My voice drew everyone’s attention. He froze. I strode forward. Chloe looked frightened at once. “Claire, why did you come out here?” Diane frowned. “Claire, don’t make a scene.” I ignored her. I looked only at Ethan. “That patent doesn’t belong to Carter, does it?” “I already took care of the assignment for you.” “I never agreed to it.” I stared at him coldly. “Adaptive Motion Response System belongs to Bennett IP Holdings.” “Without formal company approval, no one has the authority to transfer it.” Chloe clutched the agreement and instinctively moved behind Ethan. “Really?” Ethan pulled out a tablet. A patent assignment agreement appeared on the screen. At the bottom was my electronic signature. I stared at the document. Then I looked up, unable to believe what I was seeing. “You used the authorization for my digital signature?” “I used the authorization we had on file from our previous joint projects.” Ethan’s tone remained calm. “I just made the process more efficient.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You used my electronic signature without permission?” “It was just an authorization document.” “You never asked me!” I stared at him. “That patent was my mother’s.” Diane’s expression changed at the mention of my mother. Ethan only frowned. “Why do you have to make this sound so serious?” “Chloe’s father tricked her into co-signing several loans and used her information to open credit accounts.” “The debts in her name still haven’t been paid off.” “If we don’t do something...” “She could spend years trying to crawl out of that hole.” “Then use your own money to help her.” “Claire...” Ethan looked disappointed. “Do you really have to count every penny?” “She’s your best friend.” “She’s going through all this, and you still want to keep score?” Chloe’s eyes grew red too. Her voice shook with hurt. “Claire...” “If Aunt Eleanor were still alive, I’m sure she would’ve helped me too.” “Excuse me!” A reporter below the stage finally spoke up. “What exactly is happening here?” The reporters were too far from the stage to hear our argument. All they could see was Chloe in a wedding dress with tears in her eyes. Ethan stood protectively in front of her. And then I had stormed onto the stage. Someone recognized me as the woman who had demanded a delay earlier. “I remember her.” “She’s the one who insisted on delaying the wedding until another dress arrived.” “Then who is she?” “Why is she stopping Mr. Carter from giving the bride a gift now?” “Wait. Did she just say the patent belonged to her mother?” Every camera swung toward me. People started searching on their phones. Others pushed closer to the stage. “Ma’am, may we have your name?” “What is your relationship with Mr. Carter?” “Is the woman onstage actually Claire Bennett?” Diane glanced toward the security team. Carter’s private security, which had been keeping the press back, stepped aside as if on cue. Photographers and reporters immediately crowded around me. Microphones were thrust almost into my face. Camera flashes were so bright I could barely keep my eyes open. “Do you have a personal relationship with Mr. Carter?” “Why were you trying to stop the ceremony before it began?” “What did you mean when you said the patent belonged to your family?” I raised an arm to shield my face as the crowd forced me backward. Someone blocked my path. In the chaos, someone slammed into my shoulder. I had no choice but to retreat into the side lounge. Before the door shut, Ethan’s voice carried in from outside. “Please don’t let a minor interruption spoil today’s wedding.” “This agreement will not change.” “Once the paperwork is complete...” “Chloe will receive the royalties from this patent.” I locked myself in the room. I listened to the voices and camera shutters outside and slowly clenched my fists. I opened my phone. Typed a message. And sent it. Soon, every media outlet and industry subscriber at the wedding received an emergency statement from Bennett Technologies. [BENNETT TECHNOLOGIES STATEMENT—] [Bennett Technologies has never approved any transfer of rights associated with the Adaptive Motion Response System or any related patents.] [The assignment agreement presented today was not signed with company authorization.] [The credentials used to apply Claire Bennett’s electronic signature were accessed without authorization. The relevant permissions have been frozen, and outside counsel has been retained to investigate.] [Any transfer of patent rights not formally approved by the company’s directors and authorized representatives does not reflect the intent of Bennett IP Holdings.] [The company reserves the right to pursue legal action against any person responsible for the unauthorized use of electronic signatures and related documents.]