Eight Years of Maybe One Day of I Do—Bride Swapped Deal With It novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Caspian checked his phone again.

His chat with Thea was still stuck on the last thing he’d sent.

[When you’re ready to be reasonable, I’ll come back.]

Something felt off.

He knew Thea.

Even during cold wars, her silence always had this “look at me” energy to it.

But he’d been gone five days now. She hadn’t even posted on Instagram.

“Yo, Caspian,” one of his boys shoved a phone in his face, voice full of awe.

“Dude. Your girl’s wedding photos… damn.”

Caspian snapped back to reality.

It was Briar’s post. Nine-photo grid.

Center photo: Thea in a wedding dress standing in front of floor-to-ceiling windows.

Sunlight pouring down, wrapping her in this soft glow.

Her head tilted slightly, eyes on her own hand as it brushed the satin fabric.

A faint smile on her lips.

Stunning.

A kind of beauty he hadn’t seen on her in forever.

No more anxiety. Just… peace.

The comments section was blowing up:

“Thea looks INSANE!”

“Caspian’s one lucky bastard!”

“Congrats!! Finally!!”

Briar always blocked him from her posts.

He couldn’t see them himself.

But he could peek into the excitement through other people’s phones.

And suddenly, he felt pissed.

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Eight Years of Maybe, One Day of I Do-Bride Swapped, Deal With It!

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She’s actually doing this?

And making such a big show of it?

“Tch. She’s really committing to the bit.” He smirked.

“Let her play around. I’m not showing up. Let’s see how she pulls this off solo.”

His friend laughed awkwardly. “Bro, come on…”

“Some things you can’t let slide.” Caspian cut him off. “Especially when someone’s in her ear stirring shit up. Once this is over-

He paused. Pointed.

“I’m gonna make sure she knows who to keep her distance from.”

In his mind, Briar was already filed under “bad influence” and had to be dealt with.

October 28th.

The day after that nine-photo grid dropped.

Caspian woke up early.

Earlier this year, Thea’s parents had come over for dinner.

The whole meal, they kept hinting-this was the best date left in the year.

After this? Gotta wait till next year.

He’d just smiled, served them food, said something like “no rush, we’ve got time.”

But in his head? He was thinking, “Marriage is too big to let some old calendar decide.”

He never expected Thea to actually take it seriously.

His boys started blowing up his phone.

“Bro, you really not going? We’re ready to roll. Just say the word!”

“Should we get a car convoy? We can still make it if we leave now.”

He scoffed and replied in the group chat.

“Relax. Let her wait.”

He pictured Thea right now-dressed in white, sitting in some decorated room, checking the time over and over, anxious, hopeful…

The satisfaction swelled in his chest.

She needed to feel what real panic was like. Then she’d stop pulling stunts.

Until someone dropped a screenshot in the chat. Fresh post from Briar.

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Eight Years of Maybe, One Day of I Do-Bride Swapped, Deal With It!

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The picture showed a warmly decorated bedroom.

Rose petals all over the bed.

Caption: [My girl must be happy! Groom, hurry up and get here!]

The group chat exploded.

“Holy shit, she actually set it all up!”

“This vibe… bro, I can’t watch this anymore if you don’t go!”

“CASPIAN! Man up and GO! Don’t actually blow this!”

“Address! Where is it?! We’re coming with you!”

The phone screen lit up his face.

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