“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.”
CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE.
