One Mistress for Him. Six Grooms for Me.

The night before my wedding, I drive forty miles to pick up my fiancé's mistress and bring her home myself. "Addie, let Cass have the wedding tomorrow. " When Julian sees us, he actually exhales in relief. "Addie, I promise you're still my wife, legally. Cass can't handle stress. She needs it. Once she's settled, I'll marry you properly." Julian takes my silence for a yes. He doesn't even look back as he leads Cassidy upstairs to pick out a wedding dress. I don't get angry. I just calmly pick up my phone and drop one line into a group chat. [I'm short a groom for tomorrow. Any takers?] My phone explodes. Every one of Julian's so-called best friends is in there, fighting to be the one to walk me down the aisle. I smile. See, Julian? If you won't marry me, plenty of men will. I mute the chat and set the phone down. "Miss Whitlock." Mr. Brennan, our butler, clears his throat. "Mr. Hayes is asking you to bring out the wedding gown." He pauses, then forces himself to finish. "He said you won't need it tomorrow. Let Miss Lane wear it." That gown. Six months of sketching. A year of flying around the world. Every stitch, hand-finished by me. No one knows better than Julian how much of me is sewn into that dress. And now — because Cassidy wants it — I'm supposed to just hand it over? "Tell him," I say evenly, "if he wants it, he can come down here and beg me for it himself." Thirty minutes later, the front door slams open. Julian walks in with a dozen bridal consultants trailing behind him, each holding two designer gowns. He drops onto the couch, lazily twirling a strand of my hair between his fingers. "Addie. Our wedding can wait. Cass likes your dress — just let her borrow it." He gestures at the consultants. "Pick one you like from these." "Or don't. After Cass is done with yours, you can wear it for our wedding. I don't mind." Cassidy bursts out laughing. She throws herself into Julian's lap. "Julian, you're awful. You're the one who told all of Manhattan Addie'd never wear secondhand. And now you want her in a dress I've already worn? She's going to hate me." Julian doesn't even blink. He smiles and pats her head. "She's not that petty. She's been with me ten years. Who else is she gonna marry?" I keep my eyes lowered. In the group chat, the men are still going at it, each posting Instagram Stories about the wedding tomorrow — captioned with photos of suits, cufflinks, custom shoes. Julian sees it too. He laughs under his breath. "I'm the one getting married tomorrow and these idiots are pulling all-nighters with their tailors. More dressed up than the groom." He casually drops a voice note into the groomsmen's chat: [Relax, boys. Tomorrow's casual. Eat, drink, have fun. Just one thing — make sure you call Cassidy by her name, with respect.] He doesn't notice that no one replies. He shifts Cassidy in his arms, then lazily reaches a hand toward me. "Addie, where the condoms? You know how clingy Cass is — she wants me every night. And if she doesn't get her way, she loses it." "But I promised you. My first child will come from you." I pull the corner of my mouth into something like a smile. That promise. He remembers only half of it. Ten years ago, under a sky full of fireworks, twenty-year-old Julian had sworn he would marry only me. That my wedding would be his first. That my child would be his first. Ten years later, everything has changed. I drop the smile quickly. Tell Mr. Brennan to go pick up a box of condoms for him. Pleased with my obedience, Julian scoops Cassidy up and heads for the stairs. "Oh, and Addie — sleep in the guest room tonight. Cass wants me all to herself. She's a nightmare in the morning, so have the MUA wait outside the door. She can start once Cass wakes." "Julian." He stops on the staircase, turning his head with a faint frown. Make it quick. I look him in the eye, one word at a time. "The wedding's still on tomorrow. If you won't be the groom — I'll find someone who will."

Julian doesn't believe me. He scoffs and shakes his head. "Addie, this isn't the time to fight for attention." "Let me handle Cass first. If she's in a good mood tomorrow, maybe she'll let you be a bridesmaid." In his arms, Cassidy pouts and tugs his sleeve. Julian doesn't look back. He heads upstairs. A minute later, the sounds start. Mr. Brennan opens his mouth several times before he finally speaks. "Miss Whitlock... for Mr. Hayes, there's never been another Mrs. Hayes. Only you." I glance at the box of condoms in his hands. Tilt my head toward the stairs. ... In the middle of the night, my phone rings. Brooke is screaming so loud my ear hurts. "Addie, what the hell? Why is Julian telling everyone the wedding is off?!" "You've been planning this for a year! The venue alone cost a couple million! Half of it is your designs! He can't just call it off!" I sit up, rubbing my ear. Sleep is gone. Before I can answer, she shrieks again. "Wait — wait. He just sent me a new invitation. Same wedding. Same time. Different bride — some girl named Cassidy. Says we better show up." "Who the hell is Cassidy?!" I close my eyes. Julian has always been like this. When he loves someone, he gives them the world. When he stops loving them — he takes everything back. "Brooke. Don't worry about any of it. Just come tomorrow. The wedding is still on." "He's swapping the bride. So tomorrow, I'm swapping the groom." Silence on the other end. Then Brooke pieces it together, and her voice goes raw with fury. "That son of a bitch. Swap him. Swap his sorry ass and don't look back." "He played the perfect fiancé for ten years. Twenty-eight countries for engagement photos. Renting out drones to announce your wedding to the whole city. And now he's cheating?! I knew it — men are bastards!" I laugh, helpless. I want to tell her — it's not that bad. My backup grooms are all impressive in their own right. But before I can speak, Mr. Brennan knocks. His face is pained. "Miss Whitlock... Mr. Hayes is asking for you in the master bedroom." I know if I don't go, he'll take it out on Mr. Brennan. I tell Brooke to put on her bridesmaid dress tomorrow and meet me at the venue. Then I head upstairs. The bedroom door is half-open. The room is a wreck. The smell hits me first. Julian's just stepped out of the shower, droplets running from his hair down the open collar of his robe — past a neck covered in marks. I dig my nails into my palm and force myself not to feel it. He sees me and lazily points at the floor. A bridesmaid dress. Crumpled. Stained. "Addie. I know you put a lot into this wedding. Wear that tomorrow. Be Cass's bridesmaid. Call it closure for the past year." Cassidy smiles, naked under the blanket. She leans up and whispers something sweet and venomous in Julian's ear. "Julian — Addie's the designer, right? The rings she makes must be stunning. I want one." My face stays blank. That ring — like the dress — is mine. Sketched by me. Flown around the world for. Hand-finished by me. Julian knows. He just raises an eyebrow. "Addie, it's just one ring. She wants it. Let her have it." "We're in no rush, Addie. You'll have plenty of time to design a new one." He says it like it costs him nothing. And just like that — the sharp, splintering ache in my chest disappears. I don't feel a thing anymore. I look him in the eye and say it again. "I told you. The wedding's still on tomorrow."

Julian freezes. Then he laughs — confident, certain. "The groom won't be there. Who exactly are you marrying?" "Come on, Addie. You're not the desperate type. I said I'd marry you, and I will. You just need a little more patience. Mm?" I waited ten years. I finally got to the wedding. Only to find out he'd been cheating for three. And now he wants me to wait again — wait for him to marry another woman, then come back to marry me like he's doing me a favor? I'm done waiting. Julian glances at the Rolex on his wrist, pulls Cassidy back into the bed, and tosses one last line at me without looking up. "Plenty of time for another round. Don't worry, Addie — the Hayes heir is still coming out of you." I lower my eyes. Nothing in them. I drop the bridesmaid dress on the floor and walk back to the guest room. ... The next morning, neither of them gets up. The MUA waits awkwardly outside the master bedroom. I walk over. "I'm the bride. You're doing my face." She's been working with me for months — the consultations, the fittings, all of it. She recognizes me instantly. By the time my makeup is almost done, the two of them finally come downstairs. Sunlight spills in through the windows, falling across me. Julian stops dead. The artist pins the last piece of veil into my hair. I gather my skirts and stand, turning to face him. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "Addie. I said I'd give you a wedding. Later." "For now, let Cass have it. Be a good girl and take that dress off — you're going to upset her." Then footsteps on the stairs. Cassidy comes running down. She grabs Julian's arm — and the second she sees my dress, she snaps. She jabs a finger at me. "Julian! I'm the one getting married today. Why is she in a wedding dress?!" Her eyes well up. "My own mother was a mistress. I swore I'd never become her. But for you, I was willing. Three years, Julian — and you'd make me share my wedding with another woman?!" Julian's face changes instantly. He bends close, voice soft, hands fluttering to comfort her. I let out a small laugh and toss a small pink notebook onto the floor. "Julian. I don't need this anymore. You can have it back." If he'd looked — really looked — he'd recognize it. The bucket list we made fifteen years ago. He'd said it himself: Once we finish all 100 wishes, we'll never be apart. Ten wishes left. I don't want to finish them with him anymore. "Addie, perfect timing." Julian picks up the notebook and hands it straight to Cassidy with a soft laugh. "It's a couple's bucket list, baby. We finish all 100, and we'll never be apart." "Don't cry. The dress is yours. The wedding is yours." Cassidy laughs through her tears. She leans into him and shoots me a look. "Julian. Make her take the dress off. She's a bridesmaid. Why does she get to wear it?" Julian crooks a finger. Maids swarm me from every side. "Addie. Take it off." The MUA looks around, stricken. She tries to speak — bodyguards drag her into a separate dressing room. The dress is heavy. Underneath it, I'm wearing nothing but my underwear. I glance around at the room. At every staring face. "Julian. You sure you want me to take it off — right here?"

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