I Married Another Man While My Uncle Lover Watched

Chapter 4

His eyes were rimmed red, veins visible beneath his skin. If he weren't in a wedding suit, I might've fallen for the performance again.

Whispers swirled around us like smoke. Everyone had seen. Everyone was talking.

Ethan crawled toward me, shaking with desperation.

"Sophia… please. Just once. Reconsider. That's all I ask."

My father had had enough.

He wrapped his tie around his fist and drove it into Ethan's face without a word.

Ethan collapsed, blood smearing his cheek as he struggled to push himself up.

"Go," my father ordered, his voice steel. "To the main hall. Now."

I stared at Ethan, on his knees, coughing blood, still reaching for me.

"Sophia," he whispered. "Just wait for me."

I clenched my fists.

I almost turned back, but Uncle Vincent stepped in front of me.

"If you go now, you'll only make things worse. Let your father handle it."

"But, "

Alexander's voice was calm but firm. "I'll take care of it."

He opened the car door, shielding me as I got in. Behind us, chaos still simmered, but I didn't look back again.

The air inside the car turned glacial.

I could feel my father's fury simmering just beneath the surface.

"Elder Brother," Ethan said, voice low but defiant, "is it true… that Sophia's married Alexander Cooper?"

"Yes."

Even after getting the confirmation he clearly already knew, Ethan didn't move.

"Move!" my father barked, his tone cutting through the tension like a blade.

Several uncles, visibly unsettled by the unfolding scene, rushed forward to pull Ethan aside.

"Today's your niece's wedding," one of them snapped. "You really want to ruin it? Step aside!"

"Ninth Brother," another added, "why aren't you in your car? Your wife's watching."

Reluctantly, Ethan was dragged back toward his vehicle, still glaring in my direction.

I kept my head down, avoiding his gaze.

He shouldn't have been at the Southshire wedding in the first place.

Today, he was supposed to be at the Williams ancestral hall, bringing Olivia Green for the family rites. A double celebration. Two weddings. Double happiness.

But now…

The Cooper estate sat halfway up the mountain, elegant and imposing.

The winding road leading to it was draped in red silk and lined with fireworks. The air still smelled faintly of smoke and celebration.

Despite it all, my nerves stayed frayed.

As I stepped out of the car, I glanced around, half-expecting… no, dreading… to see someone.

No wheelchair in sight.

Alexander Cooper had insisted on marrying me, yet at the moment I arrived, he wasn't even there to greet me.

"Looking for someone?" a voice said from above.

I looked up.

The man who'd opened my car door now stood holding a red umbrella over my head, shielding me from the midday sun.

The wedding matron gasped behind her hand, delighted. "The groom has come to welcome his bride!"

Amid the crackle of firecrackers, he gently took my hand and led me into the courtyard.

It wasn't until that moment that I realized, this was Alexander Cooper.

"What's got you so distracted?" he asked.

My eyes flicked to his legs. He was walking. Perfectly.

"You really thought I was crippled?" he asked, a small smile playing at his lips.

He handed me three incense sticks.

I took them, mirroring his movements as we stood in front of the ancestral hall to pay our respects.

"I… I thought you couldn't walk. I didn't expect you to be the one to fetch the bride."

"In the Cooper family," he said calmly, "it's tradition for the father to escort the bride, and for the groom to lead her into the ancestral hall. It symbolizes a harmonious union, a hundred years of peace."

He walked swiftly, and I had to quicken my steps just to keep up.

We bowed together before the altar, then stepped outside to offer incense.

"Besides," he added, turning slightly toward me, "if I really were crippled, I wouldn't have had the heart to force you into this marriage."

His words were nearly drowned out by the sound of fireworks bursting just beyond the courtyard.

After bowing to heaven and earth, I placed the incense into the burner.

"It's time for the tea ceremony," Alexander said, reaching for my hand once more.

Together, we walked forward.

Behind us, the elders looked on with quiet approval, the kind of silent blessing that spoke volumes.

Just as I knelt, holding the teacup in both hands, a voice rang out behind me, sharp and desperate.

"Sophia Williams!"