Cade and Wren. Any free link please

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He Chose My Sister on Our Wedding Day—So I Walked Away

Chapter 1

Grant had forgotten.

He'd once promised me a grand wedding, one where everyone would witness our happiness.

Instead, the reception hall was quieter than a funeral.

The air seemed to freeze.

Then Delaney stepped out from behind Grant. She wasn't wearing her bridesmaid dress.

"Maren, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

Grant frowned at me, plainly displeased.

"Maren, it's your wedding day. Don't throw a tantrum."

Mom raised her voice too.

"Delaney has a condition. You know that."

"Just give in this once, and we'll sort it out after the wedding. Okay?"

Here we go again.

Every time Delaney turned my life upside down, the answer was the same: I had to give in.

I had been giving in for twenty-six years.

Delaney pulled out a wet wipe and wiped her hands, taking her time.

Grant looked past me, straight at her.

"Don't worry, Delaney. Today's wedding will be spotless."

"There won't be a single hair on the tables. I've already had the favors taken away, the chocolates and the almonds."

My chest clenched.

I had packed those favors myself.

I'd folded the kraft-paper boxes over three nights and driven to three different shops to pick the candy.

The night my fingers went numb, I texted Grant that I was exhausted.

He answered two hours later, in two words: [Get rest.]

Delaney blinked.

"I only mentioned it last night in passing. Grant, honey, you really shouldn't have taken it to heart."

Grant smiled, his voice softer than I'd heard it in months.

"You couldn't sleep last night because you were so nervous. If I hadn't done this, I wouldn't have been able to relax."

My eyes stung. I pulled off my wedding gown and pushed it into Grant's arms.

He caught it on instinct and ended up holding the whole thing.

"You wanted a spotless wedding, didn't you?"

I forced out a bitter smile.

"I've sat on the hotel couch this morning. I've touched the hotel door. So I'm dirty too."

"There won't be a wedding."

Delaney shrank behind Grant.

"Maren, that's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I..."

Grant's brows knotted.

"Maren, don't talk to Delaney like that. She's your sister."

The relatives started in on me.

"Maren, stop being dramatic. Who runs out on her own wedding?"

"I'm not being dramatic."

The words burst out of me, and everyone in the room went still.

Delaney's tears spilled over.

"Maren, I really didn't mean to."

"It's just my germ thing, and Grant only looks out for me. If you don't like it, I'll put everything back..."

She scooped up the gown and tried to drape it over my shoulders.

"Let me help you put it on. We'll have the wedding like normal. Don't let it be because of me..."

Before her hand touched me, her legs buckled and she fell.

Grant dropped down beside her, past me, his voice tight.

"Where did you hit?"

She was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Don't worry about me. Go comfort Maren."

"I'll move out of the condo today. I'll never get in Maren's way again..."

Chapter 2

A sour ache rose in my chest.

Before the wedding, I'd wanted to move into our new condo and decorate it myself.

I'd moved my luggage in.

But Grant said he'd handle the decorating, and told me to rest.

Only now did I understand.

All those weeks, he'd been living there with Delaney.

A flicker of guilt crossed Grant's eyes.

"Delaney has a long commute, and staying at the condo saved her a lot of time."

"I was afraid you'd misunderstand, so I didn't mention it."

Mom was heartbroken that her precious daughter was on her knees on the floor because of me.

"Maren Whitlock! On your wedding day, you make your own sister get down on her knees. What more do you want?"

"You've ruined this wedding. Do you want the whole family to be humiliated?"

I laughed out of sheer disbelief.

"You all think I'm the one who ruined it?"

Grant and Mom answered in unison.

"Who else?"

The absurdity washed over me. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

Delaney suddenly pulled free of Grant, covered her mouth, and ran for the restroom.

Grant chased after her.

Mom shot me a vicious look, and the relatives followed.

I pushed open the ballroom doors.

The ninety-nine balloons I'd tied by hand into an arch had all been popped.

The centerpieces I'd chosen, the place cards I'd written out, the photos I'd pinned to the wall one by one, all of it lay in the trash.

The overhead lights fell on my white face.

So one offhand remark from Delaney could destroy everything I'd poured myself into.

I pulled out my phone, tore the monogram sign off the middle of the stage with my own hands, and sent a photo to the family group chat.

[The wedding is canceled.]

Grant was too busy comforting Delaney to reply.

Mom was furious.

[Maren Whitlock! If you walk out that door today, don't you ever come back!]

[Fine.]

For six years, I planned every move my husband made.

Tonight, five families crowned him king of the waterfront — with my strategy.

Then, in front of four hundred guests and a live-streaming camera, he kissed his consigliera and called her "the mind behind the empire."

His mother leaned over and whispered, "Pack your bags, dear. You were only ever the babysitter."

So I stood up, took my twins by the hands, walked out of the Cathedral Ballroom, and made the call I'd avoided for six years.

"Grandfather," I said. "It's Sera. I'm coming home. Send the car."

Because I wasn't Sera Rossi, the quiet little wife who packed lunches.

I was Serafina Castellani — sole heir to the Castellani family, which owned the docks his shipments crossed, the bank that washed his money, the judges who lost his files, and the ninety-year-old seat he'd just been handed like a party favor.

And the anonymous strategist the whole underworld called "the Confessor"? The ghost whose plans had never once failed in eleven years?

Her, too.

Let's see him rule without me.

Title: He moved his lover in, I moved my money out.

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