Swapping Brides At Rehearsal? Enjoy Your Karma!

One week before our wedding, my fiancé demanded an early rehearsal. During the walk-through, he claimed looking at me made him too nervous, so he asked my best friend to step in for me. I believed him. We swapped spots—she played the bride, and I became the bridesmaid. Then I watched my supposedly nervous fiancé gaze at my best friend with pure, unfiltered adoration. I told myself I was overthinking. Until the rehearsal ended, and my best friend asked me to hold her purse while she ran to the restroom. While holding it, a folded piece of paper slipped out. It was a positive pregnancy report. There was only one week left until the wedding, but my fiancé, Ethan, suddenly insisted on doing a full dress rehearsal ahead of schedule. I thought it was unnecessary, but he was adamant, claiming he couldn't afford any mistakes on the big day. At the venue, the officiant had barely called places before Ethan grabbed my hand. "Vivian, I'm terrified. Every time I look into your eyes, my mind goes completely blank and I forget my vows." His cheeks flushed, and he quickly looked away. I was about to reassure him when he turned toward my college best friend and maid of honor, Chloe. "Chloe, why don't you stand in for Vivian and walk the steps with me first? Just to help me get used to the motions." Chloe paused, glancing over at me. It felt odd, but I nodded anyway. "Go ahead. Help him walk through it so he can shake off his nerves." Chloe smiled, gathered her skirt, and stepped onto the platform. The officiant began reciting the script. Ethan stood on stage, extending his hand toward his stand-in bride right on cue. Standing below, I stared at the man who had just claimed to be too paralyzed by anxiety to speak. Right now, the look in his eyes as he stared down at Chloe was dripping with tenderness. Even the slight curve of his lips carried an undisguised, possessive fondness. My heart dropped a beat. A cold, creeping sensation crawled up my spine. Was I paranoid? After all, one was the man I was about to marry, and the other was my closest friend. "The groom may kiss the bride's hand," the officiant announced. Ethan didn't hesitate for a single second. He cradled Chloe's hand, pressing his lips against her skin for so long that the officiant cleared his throat in awkward silence. I gripped my clutch tight, my fingernails digging hard into my palm. When the rehearsal finally wrapped up, Chloe walked down the steps, a faint, secret blush lingering on her cheeks. "Vivian, I'm running to the restroom real quick. Can you hold my bag?" Chloe handed me her purse and hurried down the corridor. Holding her bag, I sat on the lounge sofa, waiting. The strap was slippery. As I shifted it, the magnetic clasp popped open. A folded slip of paper fluttered out from the side pocket and landed right at my feet. I bent down to pick it up. As my eyes scanned the bold letters, my whole body froze. It was a clinic lab report. Printed clearly at the top: *Chloe Bennett. Female. Gestational Age: 8+ Weeks.* Eight weeks pregnant? My mind went completely blank, the blood draining from my face. Trembling, I pulled out my phone and checked my calendar. Eight weeks ago, Ethan had been away on a business trip. Chloe had claimed she was visiting family back in her hometown. I clutched that piece of paper so hard the veins on the back of my hand bulged. "Vivian, ready to go?" A familiar voice came from behind, making me jump. Ethan and Chloe were walking back side-by-side from the restroom hallway. They were laughing, and Ethan's arm was resting naturally over Chloe's shoulder. The second they caught me turning around, they jerked apart like they'd touched live wire. I took a deep, silent breath, shoved the lab report back into her bag, and zipped it shut. Ethan stepped forward, draping his arm around my shoulders. "Let's go home. You must be exhausted, Vivian." The moment his skin brushed against mine, I felt like a venomous snake had coiled around my neck. Every muscle in my body locked up. Fighting the suffocating suspicion rising in my throat, I forced a tight smile. "Yeah. Let's go home." On the way out, they walked ahead of me, their shoulders brushing with every step. Trailing behind them, watching their silhouettes, my heart went completely cold. One was my fiancé. The other was my best friend. Deep down, I desperately wanted to believe they wouldn't betray me like this. Maybe the baby wasn't Ethan's. Yet once the seed of doubt is planted, it never stops growing.Back at our shared apartment, Ethan walked straight into the kitchen. Less than half an hour later, he walked out with a piping hot plate of garlic butter shrimp. "Chloe, your stomach's been acting up lately. Eat more protein. It's good for you." As he spoke, he peeled a jumbo shrimp, dipped it in sauce, and held it directly up to Chloe's mouth. Chloe looked at me, making a half-hearted attempt to pull back. "Don't be shy. Vivian doesn't mind, right?" Ethan glanced at me casually, not even waiting for an answer before peeling a second one. Sitting across from them, watching their effortless intimacy, my stomach churned with nausea. "Ethan, could you get me a glass of water?" I asked quietly, testing the waters. "The pitcher's right there. Pour it yourself." He didn't even look up, his hands entirely focused on peeling shrimp for Chloe. I stared at the empty glass in front of me, then shifted my gaze to the growing pile of shells before Chloe. The dread in my gut sprouted like wild weeds. Looking back over the past six months, there had been far too many red flags. Every time Chloe complained of a stomach ache, Ethan immediately dashed out to buy medicine and brought it straight to her bedroom. Whenever I mentioned having a migraine after working overtime, he only ever texted, *"Drink some warm water."* Chloe had offhandedly mentioned craving organic strawberries, and the very next afternoon, an imported crate showed up on our doorstep. When I asked to go to the movies, he always claimed he was swamped and brushed it off with *"Maybe next week."* All those moments I chalked up to coincidence or his careless personality were calculated down to the millimeter. I forced down two bites of food, claimed I was exhausted, and retreated to my bedroom. Lying in bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling. Whose baby was it? I needed undeniable proof. The next afternoon, I clocked out early on purpose. The moment I unlocked the front door, stifled sobs drifted from the living room. Chloe was curled up on the sofa, burying her face in her hands, weeping pitifully. Ethan was half-kneeling before her, clutching one of her hands while gently rubbing her back. I froze in the entryway, my hands pausing mid-motion as I slipped off my shoes. "What's going on?" Both of them snapped their heads toward me. Chloe wiped her tears with frantic haste, looking conflicted. Ethan rose to his feet, wearing an intensely solemn expression. "Vivian... Chloe is pregnant." A bitter sneer rose in my throat, but I forced an expression of pure shock. "Pregnant? Who's the father?" Chloe bit her trembling lip, casting a tearful glance at Ethan before ducking her head. "It's... my ex-boyfriend's." Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with tears. "I reached out to him, but he denied it and blocked my number everywhere." She broke down into ragged sobs again, her shoulders trembling. Ethan immediately wrapped an arm around her, his tone vibrating with fury and protective warmth. "What an absolute piece of trash. Chloe, don't be scared. I'm handling this. All the way through." I stared at the two of them, unsure of what face to make. Chloe and her ex had broken up two months ago. The math was off by miles. Instead of calling her out, I played along. "So what do you plan to do?" Chloe looked up, her tear-filled eyes wide and helpless. "I don't know... I can't bring myself to terminate it, but I can't possibly afford to raise a child alone..." Ethan slapped his knee, his tone ringing with absolute conviction. "Chloe, keep the baby. I'll help you raise it." I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. I froze where I stood. "Ethan, what did you just say?" He looked at me, his face a picture of righteous indignation. "I said we'll help Chloe raise her baby. We're getting married and having kids eventually anyway. What's one more? We can just take care of it along the way." *Along the way?* Looking at his self-righteous, heroic posture, I found the entire scene painfully absurd. I hadn't even married him yet, and he was already playing dad to another woman's child. "Did you even think to ask my opinion?" I fought with every ounce of strength to keep the tremor out of my voice. Ethan's brows furrowed, his patience instantly vanishing. "What is there to ask?" "Chloe is your best friend. When she's in trouble, of course we step up and help! Isn't that basic decency?" "Besides, she's unmarried and completely alone. How can you be so heartless?" Chloe tugged on Ethan's sleeve from the side, whimpering softly. "Ethan, please don't fight with Vivian over me... It's all my fault..." "This has nothing to do with you. She's just being completely selfish." Ethan hurled the words at me, turning his back to continue comforting Chloe. Standing frozen in place, watching their perfectly synchronized routine, ice settled deep into my bones.Early the next morning, I got out of bed before sunrise. Ethan was frying eggs in the kitchen; Chloe hadn't emerged from her room yet. I leaned against the doorframe, trying to sound casual. "Ethan, I stayed up thinking about Chloe all night. We really need to talk this through." He didn't bother turning around, his tone flat. "There's nothing to discuss. I told you yesterday: we're helping her raise it, period." "She's an unmarried pregnant woman living under our roof. Once her belly starts showing, what are the neighbors going to think? What will your coworkers say?" I paused, keeping my voice low. "I think she either needs to terminate it, or move out into her own place." *CLANG.* Ethan slammed the spatula onto the stovetop with vicious force. He spun around, his face dark with fury. "Vivian Vance, how can you be so cold-blooded?" "She's your best friend! She has nowhere else to go, and you want her to get an abortion? You want to kick her onto the street?" "To think she kept telling me what an amazing person you were!" His sudden outburst took me aback for half a second, but I snapped back just as quickly. "I just don't think this arrangement is appropriate. An unwed pregnant woman living with an engaged couple—if word gets out—" "Gets out where?" He cut me off, his voice rising sharply. "My conscience is clean! What's wrong with helping a friend in need?" "Only someone with a twisted, petty mind would think something disgusting about it!" Right then, Chloe's bedroom door creaked open. She stepped out in her silk robe, her eyes red and swollen as if she'd been weeping all night. "Please, stop fighting. It's all my fault. I'll pack my bags and leave." Her voice shook, tears spilling down her cheeks in heavy drops. Ethan immediately rushed over to catch her arm. "You're not going anywhere! We split the lease on this apartment. Nobody has the right to throw you out!" Chloe lifted her tear-stained face, gazing up at Ethan, then glancing at me. "Vivian, I know you don't want me here. But Ethan is just a good person. He's only trying to help." "Can't you appreciate how kind-hearted he is? He's caught in the middle, and it's tearing him apart." Looking at her crying her eyes out, she suddenly felt like a total stranger. She was the one systematically dismantling my life, yet somehow I was the villain who failed to appreciate Ethan's "kindness"? "Chloe, I never said he couldn't help. But helping someone still requires boundaries." Chloe sniffled, sounding utterly wounded. "Vivian, we lived together in college for four years. I thought you understood me better than anyone." "Now that my life is falling apart, you won't even give me a roof over my head." She started sobbing harder. Ethan wrapped an arm around her shoulder, glaring at me as if I were a monster. "That's enough, Vivian!" "A vulnerable girl is pregnant and terrified, and you're trying to push her off a cliff?" "Do you have a shred of basic humanity left in you?" Standing in the hallway, looking at the pair of them, a wave of sheer absurdity washed over me. "Ethan, get one thing straight. That child in her belly isn't yours. Why are you so damn desperate?" The moment the words left my lips, the room fell dead silent. A flash of pure panic darted across Ethan's eyes, quickly swallowed by manufactured rage. "What are you implying? Are you accusing me of something?" "I'm not accusing you. I'm saying your reaction makes zero sense." "Vivian Vance!" He slammed his palm onto the kitchen counter, rattling the glassware. "I completely misjudged you. I thought you were sweet, caring, and supportive. Turns out you're just a selfish, vindictive bitch." "If you can't make room for Chloe, then maybe we shouldn't be getting married at all." Chloe tugged on his sleeve, whispering frantically, "Ethan, don't say that. Vivian didn't mean it..." "No, she meant every word." Ethan shook her off, pointing a shaking finger straight at my face. "You need to take a hard look in the mirror and think about what kind of person you are." With that, he grabbed his car keys off the table and led Chloe straight out the door. *SLAM.* The heavy front door shook the entire apartment. Left standing alone in the living room, a bone-chilling cold settled over me. Every dark suspicion I had harbored over the past twenty-four hours was completely validated. If the baby truly belonged to Chloe's ex, Ethan would never have lost his mind like that. The angrier he got, the more guilty he was. The more Chloe played the helpless victim, the harder she was acting. I walked back to my bedroom, leaning my back against the closed door as tears silently tracked down my face. No matter how hard I had fought to deny it, the truth stared me right in the face. They were sleeping together. They had betrayed me. And the sheer audacity of it all... To betray me, and then scheme to make me raise their bastard child? No. Not in this lifetime. I was going to drag them both straight down into the dirt.At two in the morning, muffled voices drifted from Chloe's room next door. I thought she was on a phone call and tried to ignore it. Then, I heard a man's low voice. Ethan. I didn't even notice when he had slipped out of our bed; his side was completely cold. Stepping quietly across the hardwood floor, I pressed my ear flush against the wall. The audio was muffled, but clear enough to make out almost every word. "You were brilliant today. She didn't suspect a thing, right?" That was Ethan's voice, laced with a smug, self-satisfied tone I had never heard from him before. "Relax. The moment I started crying, her face went totally pale. She totally bought the ex-boyfriend story." Chloe's voice sounded lazy, dripping with arrogance—completely stripped of the fragile persona she wore by daylight. "Though, honestly, your reaction was way too intense. You almost blew our cover." Ethan paused. "I was scared she'd shut it down. What else were we supposed to do with our baby?" Chloe chuckled softly. "As long as we keep her calm until after the wedding, she won't be able to do a damn thing even if she wants to." "Are you sure she'll really raise the kid for us?" Chloe asked, a hint of doubt creeping into her voice. "She's a soft-hearted pushover. As long as we keep up the act, she'll fall in line." "Besides, she's got plenty of savings stashed away. It's more than enough to raise a couple of kids. Might as well put her money to good use." I bit down hard on my lower lip, my body shaking violently from head to toe. All along, they weren't just targeting me. They were targeting every single dollar to my name. "What about the ceremony?" Chloe asked again. "What if she doesn't want me standing up there?" Ethan fell silent for a few seconds. "I've got a plan. I'll have the officiant call you up to bring out the wedding rings." "That way, you get to stand center stage and soak in the wedding blessings. We'll treat it as our real wedding." "When your belly starts showing later on, we'll just say the baby was a miracle blessed on our wedding day." Chloe let out a breathy giggle. "You're awful. But God, I love it." "What about Vivian, though? What if she figures out the baby is actually yours?" "So what if she does?" Ethan's sneer was so dismissive it turned my stomach. "By then, the kid will already be born. What's she gonna do about it?" "Women like her are terrified of the embarrassment of a divorce. She won't dare leave." "She'll throw a tantrum for a couple of days, and then she'll suck it up and accept her reality." Leaning against the wall in the dark, silent tears streamed down my cheeks. Two years of romance. Six years of friendship. It was all an elaborate, meticulously calculated scam. From the very beginning, they had mapped out my role: a live-in nanny with an open bank account. I clenched my fists until my knuckles popped, white-hot hatred burning away every shred of grief. They were betting that I was too weak to blow up my own life. Fine. I was going to show them exactly what kind of hell Vivian Vance could unleash. If they wanted to put on a show, I'd play along until the grand finale.