But at that time, I couldn't listen to him at all.

Because I was going to marry Marcus, Lincoln had a big fight with me and we almost stopped talking to each other.

"Are you here just to see how miserable I am?"

"I'm not that idle."

After a brief silence, Lincoln spoke again, "If you don't want to marry Marcus anymore, I'll take you away right now!"

I remained silent.

"You wouldn't still want to marry him after all this, would you?"

I still said nothing.

Lincoln slammed the table hard but didn't say anything else.

Marcus and Lexi's wedding ceremony proceeded smoothly.

As the ceremony reached its climax, Lexi suddenly started crying and Marcus wiped away her tears.

The emcee announced in a loud voice, "The groom may now kiss the bride!"

Without hesitation, Marcus leaned in and kissed her.

Their lips and tongues intertwined for a long time before they finally parted.

When they did, several thin strands of saliva stretched between their lips.

My heart sank to the bottom at that moment and a wave of nausea rose in my stomach.

I drank a large glass of water to suppress the nausea.

Seeing my pale face, Lincoln grew anxious.

"Are you okay?"

I grabbed Lincoln's arm. "Take me away."

Without hesitation, Lincoln pulled me out of the banquet hall.

Sitting in the passenger seat of his car, the nausea in my stomach subsided slightly.

The bright red of the peony flowers before my eyes was particularly glaring, as if mocking how foolish I was.

"Do you have any clothes? I want to change out of this."

Lincoln casually grabbed a bag from the backseat. "These are freshly dry-cleaned."

"Thank you."

I started undressing right before him and Lincoln's ears instantly turned red.

He opened the car door to get out, but I pulled him back.

"There's no need to avoid it. When we were kids, we used to bathe together in the same tub."

"Is that the same thing?"

"Are you afraid that if you see me, I'll cling to you?"

Lincoln muttered softly, "I'd be delighted if you clung to me."

I changed into my clothes as quickly as possible. Although his clothes were much too big for me, I could manage by rolling up the sleeves and cuffs.

"Lincoln, you once said that not marrying me was the greatest regret of your life. So, are we going to get married now?"

Lincoln was overjoyed. "Are you serious?"

"Of course. If you don't want to go, it's fine."

"We have to go!"

He immediately started the car and drove me to the City Hall.

Lincoln and I ended up getting married for no apparent reason. When we left the City Hall, it felt like a dream.

"Am I Mrs. Swartz now?"

"Of course. Mrs. Swartz, I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you."

"Let's hurry back to the hotel now!"

Lincoln's face turned bright red. "What? But I haven't even held your hand yet and we're already at that step?"

"What are you thinking? I'm telling you to come back to the hotel where I'm having my wedding!"

"Now we're going to attend Marcus and Lexi's wedding as a married couple!"

"Oh, okay, let's go!"

I teased him. "Why do I feel like you're a little disappointed?"

Lincoln smiled. "No. We're married now anyway, so there's no rush for that kind of thing!"

We returned to the hotel. I casually took an envelope from the front desk and stuffed three dollars into it.

The banquet hadn't ended yet and Marcus was leading Lexi around the tables to toast everyone.

Lincoln and I found an inconspicuous spot to sit down. After waiting for a while, they finally came to our table.

When he came closer, Marcus recognized me.

"Natasha, what are you doing here? What are you wearing?"

"I'm not the bride anymore. Wouldn't it be ironic if I were still wearing that dress?"

"I told you, Lexi was only standing in for you to go through the ceremony. You've always been the real bride."

"I consulted a fortune teller. As long as Lexi completes the wedding formalities for you, we can deceive the gods and make them think I'm marrying Lexi. Only then will our marriage be happy and prosperous."

"Natasha, you don't want your actions to harm my health and fortune, do you?"

"Of course not. I understand."

Marcus's mother and sister also came over.

"Oh my goodness, Natasha, why are you wearing men's clothes? What's going on?"

"Natasha, I really don't want to scold you, but you're being so unreasonable. Marcus explained everything to you before the wedding, yet you still dressed like that and barged into the banquet hall. Aren't you just deliberately embarrassing him?"

"Luckily, everyone here today is our close relatives and friends. Otherwise, your outburst would have ruined the Grant Family's reputation!"

"You can't be so reckless anymore. This is the last time. If it happens again, even if Marcus protects you, I won't tolerate it!"

"Auntie, do you think I wanted to end up this messy? It's because Lexi found her best friend to cause trouble for me. Her best friend is the one who threw coffee all over me and pulled my hair into this mess."

Lexi immediately panicked and Marcus jumped to her defense.

"That's impossible! Lexi wouldn't possibly have instructed her best friend to cause trouble for you!"

"I know her best. She's so kind and innocent. How could she possibly instruct someone else to do such a thing?"

"Natasha, Lexi helped us out a lot today! If you're not going to be grateful, you shouldn't be slandering her!"

Lexi started tearing up, looking extremely wronged.

"Mr. Grant, thank goodness you trust me. Otherwise, I'd be unable to clear my name even if I jumped into the river."

"Don't worry, some people just like to make things up."

"Marcus, are you saying I deliberately framed her?"

"I just want you to know that Lexi helped you out today! You should be grateful to her, not causing trouble for her!"

"Apologize to Lexi right now. I was planning to arrange a private wedding for you. But if you refuse to apologize, forget about the wedding!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "My wedding doesn't need your help. My husband will take care of it."

"Hubby, when are we going to have the wedding?"

Lincoln leaned down and kissed my hair. "Whatever you say."

Marcus thought he was hearing things. "What did you call him?"

"Hubby, the legal kind!"

"Marcus, I sincerely thank you for not marrying me. Now I'm Mrs. Swartz."