There they were.
Lori in my wedding gown. Nick beside her, arm through hers, like stars of some cruel show.
“Surprise!” Lori said brightly. “We’re getting married instead.”
Some gasped, some stared. Some looked at me, waiting for me to crumble.
My mother stood in the front pew and clapped.
“Well,” she said loudly, “this makes much more sense.”
I turned slowly, seeing 200 guests with expressions of horror and confusion. Then I smiled.
“I’m glad you’re all here. Because I have a surprise too.”
Nick frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I signaled the sound and video technician.
“Play it.”
The lights dimmed, and the screenshots I had taken of Lori, Nick, and Mom’s messages about the wedding and their affair flashed on the big screen.
Whispers erupted.
“Oh my God,” someone said.
“They’re stealing her wedding?” exclaimed another.
“Her own family did this to her?” someone else yelled.
Nick went pale. Lori let go of his arm.
“Turn that off,” she hissed.
“If you don’t like people knowing the truth, maybe you shouldn’t do such awful things behind my back.”
“Andrea, you’re making a scene!” Mom cried. “Your sister and Nick are in love. They didn’t know how to tell you, so—”
“Decided to hijack my wedding?”
Mom’s jaw dropped. No one supported her.
Nick stepped toward me. “So what? You found out. Congrats. But the wedding is happening anyway.”
Lori straightened. “You can’t stop it.”
I smiled. “Oh, I have no intention of stopping it.”
Nick and Lori exchanged confused looks.
I pulled out a folder. “If you want my wedding so badly, you can have it. I just wasn’t paying for any of it.”
He stared. “What?”
“You handled the vendor contracts, remember? You signed everything while I paid my share.”
His expression changed. The moment he realized hit better than any speech I could write.
“So the only person legally responsible for this wedding is you,” I said.
Right on cue, the wedding planner stepped forward.
“Excuse me,” she said carefully to Nick. “The final balances for today’s event are still outstanding.”
Nick turned to me. “You never paid anything?”
Whispers rippled through the church.
I folded my arms. “I told you it was handled whenever you asked. I never paid a cent.”
He stepped closer. “You lied?”
“Yes. You planned to humiliate me and steal my wedding. Did you expect me to foot the bill too?”
