I'm Just Replacing the Groom

My fiancé, Julian Vance, and I were supposed to get married at The Plaza Hotel in two weeks.

But he wanted to postpone the wedding—again—because his stepsister, Sienna Croft, was on the verge of a breakdown.

Sienna was sobbing, begging Julian to whisk her away to a top-tier wellness retreat in Big Sur, and Julian was about to agree.

After two years of planning, I was done with the endless postponements.

I made a decision: if Julian didn't want this wedding, I'd find a groom who did.

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1

Inside a bespoke tailor shop in SoHo, Julian Vance shrugged out of the tuxedo he was trying on and snatched his phone to book the next flight to Big Sur.

“Let’s postpone the wedding for a few more days. You can explain it to your parents.”

We had been together for six years, but I’d lost count of how many times Julian had dropped everything for Sienna Croft.

Just moments ago, I’d been lost in a daydream of our wedding. Now, the fantasy shattered.

Because of Sienna, our wedding had been pushed back so many times I'd become a running joke among my friends and family.

Frustration suffocated me. I fought back tears, but they burned behind my eyes.

After booking the flight, Julian turned and saw the unshed tears. He flinched, a flicker of guilt in his voice.

“You know how Sienna is with her borderline personality disorder. If we don’t give her what she wants, she’ll hurt herself. I can’t just leave her.”

Before I could say anything, his phone rang.

It was Sienna, urging him to hurry.

Julian’s voice dropped to that soothing murmur he never used with me. “The flight’s booked,” he cooed. “I’ll be there to get you soon. Start packing.”

When he hung up and looked at me again, the guilt was gone, replaced by impatience.

“I have to go, or I’ll miss my flight. You'll have to finish the fitting yourself. Just Uber home.”

Watching Julian stride away without a backward glance, my hands clenched into fists.

In college, Julian was the campus legend—proud, distant, and trailed by a flock of hopeful girls.

I chased him for two years before he finally gave in.

I treasured our hard-won relationship, always handling him with care, never making a scene or demanding too much.

But no matter how hard I tried, Julian always kept me at arm's length.

We were a couple, but an unbridgeable chasm always separated us.

I used to tell myself that was just Julian's nature. But then I saw the raw panic in his eyes whenever Sienna was upset, and I realized he wasn't a cold person at all.

Everyone knew Sienna was in love with Julian. But because of their blended family, Julian's father would never approve.

So Sienna used her illness as a weapon, a shield to stand between us. And every time, Julian would placate her in that soft, quiet voice he never used with me.

Sometimes, I felt like a pawn in their twisted game. The thought made me sick.

Over the past six years, I’d thought about leaving more times than I could count. But whenever I was on the verge of walking away, Julian would offer just enough of a compromise to pull me back from the brink.

That cycle repeated so many times that my heart had long ago hollowed out, my passion worn down to a quiet, lonely despair.

I wasn't always this person. I used to be the most dazzling debutante on the Upper East Side, a budding architect—bright, vivacious, and full of life.

Now, I was irritable and short-tempered, drowning in misery and self-pity.

My endless compromises had eroded the woman I used to be. The reflection in the mirror was a stranger—brittle and pathetic.

I refused to waste another minute on Julian. If he didn't value our relationship, then I'd find a new groom before the wedding.