The substitute bride

Chapter 1

It was an exciting night at the nightclub, and friends Bryan and Logan were sitting at the bar chatting animatedly when Bryan brought up the subject of his wedding scheduled for next month.

Logan got excited and asked how the preparations were going, but he noticed that Bryan seemed a bit down. He asked if everything was okay, and Bryan looked at him worried.

— I don't know, Logan, I'm starting to think that my fiancée’s father is trying to trick me, — said Bryan.

Logan was surprised and asked what he meant by that. Bryan explained that he had a bad feeling, and he trusted his instincts. Bryan didn’t trust his fiancée’s father; despite the marriage being contractual, which would benefit both of them, he knew he had to be on guard, he couldn’t trust anyone, and he needed to stay wary.

— My fiancée’s father isn’t reliable; he was accused of trying to deceive some companies a few years ago. Of course, he was acquitted, but that’s enough reason not to trust him completely. Besides, he’s starting to act strangely. Anton, the father of Emma, my fiancée, came to talk to me about having the wedding before the scheduled date. He even suggested that I get married in two weeks, and when I said I wasn’t going to do that, he had an irritated expression and then left without saying anything. I need to be careful with this guy.

Logan furrowed his brow as he listened to the story. He tried to shed some light on the subject and asked if there was any possibility that it was just a misunderstanding, but of course, he told his friend not to let his guard down.

— Of course, misunderstandings can happen; he might be having some personal issues, — said Bryan. — But I think it’s more than that. He has been evasive when I ask him why he wants to speed up the wedding; he always comes up with some excuse or says he just wants to see his daughter married. He doesn’t seem to me like the kind of father who wants his daughter to get married unless he’s going to gain something from it; he’s greedy and only thinks of himself.

Logan agreed that this did seem suspicious, but argued that maybe Bryan was just suffering from pre-wedding anxiety.

— Maybe you’re looking for problems where there aren’t any, — he said. — It can be hard to trust others when you’re responsible for a large amount of money, but maybe it’s better to try to put aside that distrust.

Bryan seemed relieved to talk about his fears with Logan. He thanked his friend and decided to follow his advice and try not to worry so much.

— You’re right; maybe I am being paranoid, — he said. — I’ll try not to worry too much, and if something is wrong, I’ll find out in time.

Logan smiled and raised his drink.

— That’s it, buddy. Let’s drink to the success of your wedding, and to the benefits that come with it, and may everything go according to plan, — he said.

The two friends then toasted and enjoyed themselves for the rest of the night at the nightclub, putting their worries aside and enjoying each other’s company.

. . .

It was early morning when Bryan was driving his car along the deserted road, returning home after leaving the nightclub where he had been with his friend Logan, where they had drunk too much. He was so drunk that he could barely keep his eyes open. He stumbled over his words as he tried to sing along to a song on the radio, hardly realizing that the road was starting to become winding.

Suddenly, Bryan’s car veered into the opposite lane and collided violently with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction. The impact was so strong that the tires of Bryan’s car flew off, and the vehicle began to roll over several times until it finally came to a stop upside down at the roadside.

The sound of the collision reverberated through the surroundings, and the driver of the other car emerged from the vehicle, still dazed from the accident. He approached Bryan’s completely destroyed car and realized that the driver was unconscious. His eyes were closed, and his body was trapped by the seatbelt.

The driver of the other car immediately called emergency services, and within minutes, a team of paramedics arrived at the scene. They managed to remove Bryan from the car, taking him straight to the nearest hospital.

Fortunately, Bryan survived the accident, but he was seriously injured and needed to undergo several surgeries. His condition was complicated; he had to have back surgery, which might have some consequences, and he could potentially be left paraplegic—one of the possibilities. Additionally, he fell into a coma; he hit his head during the crash and had to undergo multiple X-rays to check for any damage from the impacts. Fortunately, nothing happened, but this left him in a coma.

Bryan's family learned of the incident and rushed to the hospital; news of the accident spread throughout the city. All news channels and websites were talking about the crash. He was receiving various criticisms for driving while intoxicated and endangering other people’s lives. This could be the end of his good-guy reputation, and perhaps even his career as a businessman. Knowing this, Bryan’s mother came up with the idea to marry her son as soon as possible. Perhaps the news of the wedding and the merger of the Martínez and Miller companies would be enough to cover up, or at least divert attention from the accident news and stop it from gaining traction.

However, Rebekah’s plans fell through when Emma, Bryan’s fiancée, said she would no longer marry him. She learned that her fiancé might be left paraplegic, and according to her, she didn’t want to spend her life pushing a wheelchair or appearing in front of cameras and at fancy parties with a man who couldn’t walk.

Rebekah was furious. Emma’s father, knowing what his daughter had done, apologized and said that Bryan could marry his younger daughter, Petra. He also mentioned that she is a well-behaved girl and would be an obedient wife. Even though Rebekah was angry at Emma’s words, she accepted the arrangement but insisted that Petra had to marry as soon as possible, even with Bryan still in a coma.