Chapter 2

The elevator doors opened onto the ballroom floor.

Two hundred guests were taking their seats.

A string quartet played near the altar, and white petals covered the aisle I was supposed to walk down in twelve minutes.

No one knew the wedding was over.

The coordinator hurried toward me.

“Elena, we need you in position.”

“Cancel the ceremony,” I said. “Tell the guests there won’t be a wedding.”

Then she saw the torn veil in my arms.

My father stood beside the ballroom doors, waiting to walk me down the aisle. When he saw my face, he came to me.

Guests nearest the doors began to turn.

My best friend and maid of honor, Tessa, pushed through the gathering crowd with her phone clenched in one hand.

“Come with me.”

She guided my father and me into the bridal holding room beside the ballroom.

“My brother sent me something,” she said. “He was with the groomsmen last night.”

She pressed play.

Sloane’s voice filled the room.

“I’ll tie Elena’s precious veil around my thigh. Daniel won’t stop me.”

A man laughed. “What if she loses it?”

“Then everyone will see how controlling she is.”

“What if she cancels the wedding?”

“She won’t,” Sloane said. “Elena never leaves. She cries, and then she forgives him.”

The recording ended.

Tessa’s hand shook around the phone, but her voice remained steady.

“She chose your mother’s veil on purpose.”

“Save the recording,” I said. “Send me the original and make another copy.”

A knock struck the door.

Daniel entered before anyone answered.

His tie hung loose, and anger burned across his face.

“Have you finished making your point?”

My father stepped between us.

“Watch how you speak to her.”

Daniel barely looked at him.

“My mother is crying. Sloane locked herself in the restroom, and two hundred people are waiting for you.”

The quartet stopped outside.

Without the music, the guests’ whispers became impossible to ignore.

I held up Tessa’s phone.

“They know Sloane planned it.”

Daniel’s gaze moved to the torn veil. His anger disappeared.

“Elena, look at me.” His voice softened. “We can still fix this. Tell the coordinator you need more time, and we’ll talk at home.”

“You don’t want to talk. You want the guests to make the decision for me.”

“I’m trying to save our wedding.”

“There’s nothing left to save. The ceremony is already canceled.”

For the first time, he looked uncertain.

My father took the veil. Tessa took my hand, and we left the bridal holding room.

Guests watched as we crossed the ballroom foyer toward the hotel lobby.

Some looked concerned. Others raised their phones.

I kept walking.

We had just reached the hotel doors when Tessa’s phone vibrated.

“They’re continuing with the reception.”

“Open the livestream,” I said. “Record everything.”

The wedding livestream appeared on her screen.

Then the ballroom doors opened.

Sloane walked inside wearing my reception gown—the second wedding dress my mother had restored for me.

My bouquet rested in her hands.

A cluster of groomsmen cheered.

The band began playing the song I had chosen for our first dance.

Sloane held out her hand.

For a moment, Daniel only stared at her.

One of the groomsmen shouted, “Come on, man. Don’t let the whole night go to waste.”

Daniel glanced toward the ballroom doors, as if he still expected me to return.

Then he took Sloane’s hand.

Someone shouted, “Kiss her!”

He didn’t.

But he placed his hand on her waist and followed her onto the dance floor.

As they turned beneath the lights, Sloane looked directly into the livestream camera.

She lifted my bouquet and smiled.

“Guess I saved the wedding.”

Daniel heard her.

He kept dancing.

I saved the video.

Then I walked out of the hotel.