Chapter 4
The emcee took the stage and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for joining us today to celebrate Zachary and Yvonne's wedding."
I stood beside Yvonne, holding her bouquet.
As her bridesmaid, it was my job to pass her the bouquet at the right moment.
"Now, let's hear from the groom," the emcee said.
Zachary looked at Yvonne with deep affection and began, "Yvonne, from the moment I first saw you two years ago, I knew you were the one for me.
"We've faced a lot of challenges over the past two years, but I've never once regretted falling in love with you. Today, I want to declare in front of everyone: I love you, and I promise to spend my life protecting and caring for you."
The irony was killing me.
Back when they first met, he was already my boyfriend.
A lot of challenges? I bet the hardest part was figuring out how to keep me in the dark.
"Now, let's hear from the bride," the emcee said.
Yvonne took the microphone, her voice a little shaky.
"Zachary, I know our love hasn't been easy, but I truly believe that real love can get us through anything," she smiled. "Today, I want to be your wife. No matter if we're rich or poor, healthy or sick, I'll always be by your side."
Real love conquered everything?
Did it include friendship or honesty?
"Now, I declare that you may exchange rings," the emcee said.
This was the moment I'd been waiting for.
I handed Yvonne her bouquet and pulled out my phone.
Just as Zachary was about to slide the ring onto Yvonne's finger, I hit record.
"Zachary," I spoke up, my voice ringing out across the whole church. "I want to ask you something."
Everyone froze, even the emcee.
"Winona..." Zachary turned to look at me, his eyes full of fear.
"Do you remember in what capacity you went to meet Yvonne that summer two years ago?" I asked.
The church fell dead silent.
Zachary's face turned pale. "Winona, please don't do this."
"You showed up at Yvonne's birthday party as my boyfriend, didn't you?" I pressed, my eyes locked on Zachary.
The guests started whispering among themselves.
Yvonne tried to stop me, but I just kept going.
"For two years, you kept telling me you loved me and wanted to marry me. At the same time, you were telling Yvonne the exact same thing," I paused, letting out a cold laugh. "Well, congratulations—you finally got what you wanted."
Zachary tried to say something, but I cut him off.
I turned to face the guests and raised my phone.
"Everyone," I began. "I'm not just the bridesmaid today—I'm also Zachary's fiancée. I'm sorry to interrupt your celebration, but I think you all deserve the truth."
The whole church blew up.
Everyone started whispering and gossiping.
"Wait, the groom has another fiancée?"
"What's going on here?"
"The bridesmaid is the groom's fiancée?"
Zachary tried to keep things under control. "Winona, are you crazy? Today is Yvonne's wedding."
"Yeah, it's Yvonne's wedding," I scoffed. "But it's also the wedding of my fiancé."
I held up my phone and opened my photo album, where there was every memory we'd shared.
Then I turned the phone screen toward the guests.
I said, "These are photos from the past three years—from our first date, to last year's Valentine's Day, to our engagement party last month.
"You can check the dates on these photos."
The reporters in the back already had their cameras out, snapping pictures and filming the whole thing.
Yvonne totally panicked. "Winona, stop it!"
"Why should I?" I looked right at her. "Didn't you say you two were truly in love? If that's the case, what are you so afraid of people knowing the truth?"
The emcee looked helpless, wanting to stop me.
But I just kept going. "Let me lay it all out for everyone. Three years ago, Zachary and I started dating. Two years ago, I brought him to my bestie Yvonne's birthday party. That day, they met and started their secret affair behind my back.
"For the past two years, Zachary has been stringing me along while secretly planning a wedding with Yvonne. And my so-called best friend? She's been taking my support and friendship, all while sneaking around with my fiancé."
The guests' faces changed—shock, disbelief, and even a little outrage rippled through the crowd.
I continued, "Today, they asked me to be their bridesmaid, hoping I'd stay clueless the whole time and let this wedding go off without a hitch.
"If I hadn't stumbled across the truth by accident, they probably would've waited until after the ceremony to tell me, 'Sorry, but we're in love.'"
Zachary tried to grab my phone, but I slipped out of his reach.
"Zachary, are you still going to keep up this act?" I shot at him. "Can you look everyone in the eye and say you never once promised to marry me?"
Zachary stood there, white as a sheet, not a single word coming out of his mouth.
Yvonne burst into tears. "Winona, we never wanted to hurt you."
"So what did you want, then?" I laughed out. "You wanted me to stand here as the bridesmaid at my fiancé's wedding to my best friend, all while being kept in the dark? And you call that not hurting me?"
"We..." Yvonne was at a loss for words.
Just then, someone in the audience stood up.
It was Zachary's mom, Selena.
"What the hell is going on here?" she snapped at Zachary, her eyes blazing. "And who is Winona?"
Zachary kept his head down, too scared to answer.
I answered for him, "Selena, I'm your son's fiancée. You were at our engagement party just last month."
Selena's face changed dramatically. "What? Engagement party? Zachary, what the hell have you done?"
"Mom..." Zachary tried to explain, but he didn't know where to start.
Yvonne's parents stood up as well.
"Yvonne, what is going on?" her father demanded. "Is what she said true?"
Yvonne cried even harder. "Dad, I..."
I pulled out my phone and played a recording.
It was Yvonne's voice, confessing in the dressing room. "We're really in love. Zachary said he'd end things with you. He said he'd come clean after the wedding."
The recording echoed through the church, every word crystal clear.
The crowd was in total shock.
Some people started yelling.
"This is way out of line. How could you do that to your friend?"
"You call this true love? This is nothing but betrayal."
"So shameless!"