Chapter 2
The wedding ceremony was set for eleven.
There was still an hour left.
I made an excuse that I needed to use the restroom and slipped out of the dressing room.
I had no intention of actually going to the restroom.
Instead, I headed straight for room 1808.
I'd been in such a rush earlier that I hadn't really had a chance to look around properly.
The room hadn't been checked out yet.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
This time, I headed straight for the bathroom.
There was something sitting in the trash can.
Housekeeping hadn't cleaned yet.
It was a pregnancy test.
It showed two lines.
It was a positive result.
Someone was pregnant.
I crouched on the bathroom floor, still in my white wedding dress, holding another woman's pregnancy test.
I took a deep breath.
I told myself that now was not the moment yet.
I put the test back where I found it and snapped a photo.
After leaving the bathroom, I pulled out my phone.
I logged into the hotel's member app. I'd set it up for Jonathan last year, with my birthday as the password.
I checked the check-in records.
Jonathan had booked room 1808 yesterday afternoon.
Check-in time was 8:57 PM last night.
Check-out time was 6:42 AM this morning.
He'd stayed the whole night.
He checked in last night at 8:57 PM.
At 9 PM, Jonathan texted me: [Just finished drinking with the guys.]
He sent that message right as he walked into room 1808.
I took a screenshot for proof.
I left the room.
As I walked down the hallway, I ran into someone.
It was my mother-in-law, Eliza Lewis.
She stepped out of the elevator and spotted me lingering outside room 1808.
Her expression instantly shifted.
"Elsie, what are you doing here?" Eliza asked, her voice tinged with surprise.
I met her gaze.
"Mom, whose room is 1808?" I asked.
Eliza's eyes flashed with something.
She recovered almost instantly.
"I asked Jonathan to book it. Isabella's here as a bridesmaid, and since she came all this way, I wanted her to stay close by," Eliza replied.
"But I already booked a room for the bridesmaids on the 16th floor," I said.
"The 16th floor is too far. Isabella is not feeling well right now. I feel better if she's close by," Eliza replied.
Eliza said that Isabella was not feeling well.
There was a pregnancy test in the bathroom.
It showed two lines.
"What do you mean, she's not quite well?" I pressed.
Eliza stayed silent.
Instead, she grabbed my arm.
"Don't stand here. Come on, let's go downstairs. The guests are already here," Eliza said.
She ushered me toward the elevator.
I trailed after her.
The elevator doors slid open, and we stepped inside.
As the doors were about to close, I caught a glimpse of Jonathan standing at the far end of the hallway, near the corner.
He locked eyes with me.
His face looked pale.
He wasn't panicking about being caught.
There was something deeper going on.
It was like when someone got busted for something shady, their first reaction wasn't fear, but a fleeting, uncontrollable relief.
He wasn't scared of me discovering the truth.
He'd been living in fear for way too long.
The elevator doors slid shut.
Eliza stood right next to me and pressed the button for the first floor.
She avoided my gaze.
She offered no explanation.
The only sound in the elevator was the faint swish of my wedding dress brushing the floor.
When we reached the first floor, Eliza walked out.
I trailed after her.
After a few steps, I stopped.
"Mom," I called out.
Eliza turned around.
"What do you mean, Isabella's not feeling well?" I pressed.
She gave a small, dismissive smile.
"You know how it is with girls. Sometimes they feel under the weather during their time of the month," Eliza said.
"I see," I replied.
I forced a smile.
But I knew she was lying.
Someone with a positive pregnancy test wasn't having a period.
She was pregnant.
Eliza knew.
Not only did she know about, but she also used that excuse to cover it up for Jonathan.
Back in the hall, guests were starting to trickle in.
Jonathan came over from the other side of the hall.
He was dressed in a sharp black suit, his hair slicked back neatly.
When he saw me, he flashed a smile.
"Hey, honey," he said.
He walked right up to me and reached out to fix my veil.
"Nervous?" Jonathan asked.
His hands didn't even tremble.
He smiled at me in a natural way.
It was like nothing had ever happened.
But I noticed something.
His tie was different.
He left this morning with a navy blue tie.
Now, it was dark gray.
It was because the navy blue one was still sitting in room 1808.
Isabella was wearing his white shirt. The navy blue tie was supposed to match that shirt.
He had no idea I'd catch something like that.
"I'm not nervous," I said.
I looked at him.
"What about you?" I asked.
"Me?" Jonathan said.
His smile grew even wider.
"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," he said.
I thought, 'Waiting for this day?
'Which day is he talking about?
'Is he talking about marrying me?
'Or is he using this wedding to bury all his secrets?'
"Jonathan," I called out.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Where were you last night?" I asked.
He kept smiling.
But his eyes flashed for a moment.
"I was out drinking with the guys. Didn't I tell you?" he replied.
"Where did you go?" I pressed.
"The usual barbecue restaurant," Jonathan replied.
"What time did you get back?" I asked.
"A little after eleven," he said.
"You didn't come back to the bridal suite," I said.
"Hey, you know I am not supposed to see the bride before the wedding," Jonathan replied.
He reached out and gave my cheek a playful pinch.
"What's wrong? Are you playing detective now?" he teased.
I didn't press him any further.
The ceremony was about to start.
The emcee took the stage, and the music started up.
Two hundred guests were waiting.
My parents were sitting in the front row.
My dad was wearing a brand-new suit.
My mom had on a dress, and she'd even gotten her hair done specially for today.
They were both smiling from ear to ear.
I watched them smile.
One thought kept running through my mind.
I couldn't let them be embarrassed in front of two hundred guests.
But I couldn't go through with this wedding, pretending everything was fine.
So I needed time.
I needed more evidence.
I needed the right moment.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was a message from my college roommate, Irene Gillespie.
It read: [Elsie, congratulations on your wedding! I'll be a little late tonight. I've got a case to wrap up.]
Irene was a lawyer.
Isabella and I shared a dorm with Irene for all four years of college.
After graduation, Irene passed the bar and started her own law firm.
I stared at her profile picture.
I paused for a few seconds, thinking.
Then I typed out a message: [Irene, I need your help with something.]
She replied: [What is it?]
I asked: [Can you help me find out what property someone owns?]
She asked: [Who?]
I replied: [Isabella.]
There was a five-second pause.
She asked: [What's going on?]
I replied: [Check it for me.]
Irene replied: [Alright. Send me her ID number.]
I sent it over.
I put my phone away.
Then, I steadied myself with a deep breath.
The music swelled.
Now it was my turn to walk down the aisle.