“That’s enough.”
Rosalie stepped away.
“No. It’s not.”
She looked at me.
“The music started. I took one step toward the doors. My maid of honor got a phone call.”
My stomach tightened.
“The groom was gone.”
Gasps rippled through the hallway.
“He left?”
Rosalie nodded.
“He left a note saying he couldn’t go through with it.”
She stared down at the bouquet.
“I never walked down the aisle.”
Silence settled over everyone.
Even Natalie lowered her eyes.
I turned to Corrine.
“So this…”
I gestured toward the ceremony.
“…was your idea.”
Tears filled Corrine’s eyes.
“She deserved that moment.”
“No.”
Rosalie shook her head.
“I deserved my own moment.”
She looked at her mother.
“Not hers.”
Corrine finally broke.
“You’ve never been the same.”
“You stopped dating.”
“You stopped celebrating birthdays.”
“You won’t even come to family weddings.”
“I just wanted…”
Her voice cracked.
“…to give you back one thing they stole.”
Rosalie wiped away her tears.
“You can’t.”
Corrine turned to me.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“I thought…”
She looked around helplessly.
“I thought if she could just walk down the aisle once, maybe she’d finally heal. I convinced myself borrowing your moment would give hers back.”
I believed she meant every word.
That almost made it worse.
She had convinced herself that taking my moment was an act of love.
I looked at Kevin.
“How long have you known?”
He swallowed.
“A few months.”
“A few?”
“Mom asked me after we booked the venue.”
I stared at him.
“You agreed?”
“I told her it was a bad idea. But I didn’t stop her.”
“You didn’t know how…”
I laughed softly.
“So instead you decided I’d be the one to sacrifice.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like that.”
“Then what was it supposed to be like?”
“I thought if we got through the ceremony, we could explain afterward.”
“Afterward?”
I shook my head.
“After everyone watched another woman make the bridal entrance at my wedding?”
He didn’t answer.
Rosalie looked horrified.
“You told him to keep it from her?”
Corrine nodded.
“I knew she’d refuse.”
Rosalie looked away.
“I refused too.”
Every head turned toward her.
“What?” Kevin asked.
She looked at me.
“I told Mom over and over that I didn’t want this.”
“I begged her to cancel it.”
“I even offered not to come.”
She looked at the bouquet.
“She had the coordinator hand me these five minutes ago.”
Corrine closed her eyes.
“I only wanted…”
“You wanted to rewrite my life.”
Rosalie’s voice was suddenly steady.
“You never asked what I wanted.”
She placed the bouquet on a nearby chair.
“I didn’t lose my wedding because I never walked down an aisle. I lost it because someone I loved made a choice for me.”
She looked at me.
“And now you’re doing the same thing to Jessica.”
Those words hit Corrine like a slap.
She slowly sank into a nearby chair.
“I thought I was helping.”
I’d heard that sentence before.
From Kevin.
I turned toward him.
“Do you know what hurts the most?”
He looked at me hopefully.
“What?”
“It isn’t your mother.”
His expression changed.
“It’s that you watched this happen.”
“You watched your mother plan it.”
“You watched the coordinator change the ceremony.”
“You watched your sister cry.”
“And you still never told me.”
“I didn’t want to upset anyone.”
“You mean your mother.”
He looked down.
“No.”
“Yes.”
I stepped closer.
“You were perfectly willing to upset me.”
“You just didn’t want to upset her.”
His silence gave me my answer.
Natalie quietly stood beside me.
My mother joined her.
For the first time that day, I didn’t feel alone.
I looked toward the ceremony doors.
Guests now filled every inch of the hallway.
No one cared that the ceremony was running late.
They were waiting.
Waiting to see what I would do.
The wedding coordinator approached carefully.
“Jessica…”
“Should we begin?”
I looked at Kevin.
He forced a weak smile.
“We can still fix this.”
I searched his face.
He believed that.
He thought the problem was the processional order.
He still didn’t understand the ceremony was no longer the issue.
Slowly, I removed my engagement ring.
His eyes widened.
“Jessica.”
I placed it in his hand.
“You spent three years proving you loved me.”
I closed his fingers around the ring.
“And a few months proving your mother would always come first.”
His shoulders sagged.
“I love you.”
“I know. And that’s what makes this so sad.”
I turned to Rosalie.
She stood quietly wiping away tears.
“I’m sorry.”
She immediately shook her head.
“No. I’m the one who’s sorry. You should never have been put in this position.”
Neither of us should have.
