I Married My Childhood Friend Instead

Grayson tried to grab me to say something when I saw Edwin walking out to the event hall. I went straight up to him and got into his car in front of Grayson.

Grayson was forced to stop following me, but he roared at the car, "If you insist on being unreasonable, don't blame me for taking extreme measures, Ella!"

Edwin looked deeply at me through the rearview mirror when I got into the car. "Where do you want to go?"

I had no idea where I wanted to go. All I knew was that I wanted to stay away from Grayson, but I was also aware of how unscrupulous Grayson could be. If I wanted to cut all ties with him, I had to use extreme measures too.

"Let's head to the city hall right now." I blurted without thinking but quickly realized it was not appropriate. "I'm so sorry for making you play along with me, Edwin, but I… Can you help me to the very end with this? Don't worry. We'll get an annulment after some time…"

Edwin said nothing. All he did was drive directly toward the city hall.

That night, I was forced to return to the party because I had agreed to attend the yacht afterparty.

When I saw Grayson and Monica again, I noticed something had changed between them. Before, Monica would only hug Grayson's arm coquettishly, but now, she could not wait to press her body up against him. Both their necks were covered with bright, red hickeys.

Monica even shared intimate photos and videos of them. "I know the truth, Ella. Grayson is your boyfriend of four years. Too bad he's mine now. Grayson is incredible in bed. He kept wanting more and took me several times in bed this afternoon. He even said you're as boring as a grandmother when you make love."

When she shared the photos and videos with me, Monica kept scrutinizing my expression as if waiting for me to break down from what she said, but I had already given up on Grayson and could no longer feel anything about this.

Monica came closer to me when she saw that her little trick did not work. She leaned against the deck's railing.

"Aren't you happy with the present I got you, Ella? You dated Grayson for four years, and all I had to do was beckon at him, and he came with me. Do you think you can have everything just because you were born to such a good pair of parents? I'll take everything that belongs to you sooner or later!"

With that, she suddenly leaned backward and screamed as she fell off the boat. Everyone who witnessed what happened quickly called out for help and got the lifeguard to haul her up from the sea.

Grayson rushed over to put a coat over Monica, who was drenched, and hugged her tight.

"I know you like Grayson, Ella, but how could you push me into the water? You've always been taking everything that belonged to me since we were young. Can't you give in to me just this once?" Her words caused a huge commotion among the crowd.

My aunt stopped forward to slap me. "How dare you try to harm my daughter?! I'll kill you, you bitch!"

My uncle was also trembling with anger, and he kicked me in the calf. "If anything happens to my daughter, even your parents can't save you!"

It hurt so much that I fell to my knees on the ground. I glanced at Grayson out of habit but saw him hugging Monica tight without saying a word.

"Doesn't Ella have a boyfriend? Why would she want to snatch Monica's? That's so shameless of her!"

"She must've been lying earlier today. No couple would live in separate countries right after they get into a relationship. Edwin must've just been putting on an act with her. She's gone crazy from being jealous of Monica!"

"I'd never have thought her parents would have a daughter like her. They must be filled with so much regret…"

The crowd started pointing fingers at me, and some people close to Monica started throwing things at me. I held back the pain and took a deep breath after they finally stopped to slowly stand up.

That was when Grayson finally spoke up, "Ella, be a good girl and apologize to Monica right now. I might consider forgiving you."

All I did was sneer, then I proceeded to slap my aunt and then my uncle. Everyone exclaimed in shock. I took out a document from my pocket to show them my and Edwin's marriage certificate.

"Open your eyes wide and look at this. Edwin and I are married. Why would I care about a man like Grayson? As for me pushing Monica over the deck, well, there are surveillance cameras all over this yacht. I'll get permission to check the footage right now!"

Everyone started talking about this while Grayson rushed to me in a mad dash when he saw the document in my hand. "Marriage certificate? What are you talking about? Why would you and Edwin have such a document?"

I laughed coldly. "It's none of your business."

"Ella, there's a limit to losing your temper. Are you trying to trick everyone by printing a fake document? Do you think I'll believe you?"

I watched as he got worked up over this while staring at the stamp on the document. He roared, "Impossible! Why would Edwin be willing to marry you? You're nothing but a… But a…"

I smiled as I looked back at him. "What has it got to do with you that I'm marrying him? He's my boyfriend of four years, so who are you to question me? Why would you be so mad over this?"

My aunt was puzzled as well. "She's right. Why are you getting so worked up about Ella getting married? Ella and Edwin grew up together, and their families are of equal status. They're a compatible match and should have been married long ago."

Grayson was taken aback. "What are you talking about? Their families are of equal status?"

"That's right. Ella is the only child of our company's CEO, while Edwin will inherit his family business in the future too."

Grayson was dumbstruck at the news. He looked at me in disbelief and was almost jumping with rage. "It's because I'm the one who has been in a relationship with her for four years! I'm the one who should be marrying her!"