I always thought the night before my wedding would be magical—full of excitement and butterflies. Instead, I lay awake, heart pounding, overwhelmed with anxiety. Nothing I tried calmed my nerves. I was getting married in the morning, but instead of joy, I felt dread.
Desperate for aspirin, I crept downstairs, careful not to wake my parents. But as I reached the bottom, I froze. I heard whispers—my mother’s voice… and Zachary’s.
He wasn’t supposed to be here.
Hiding around the corner, I listened in horror as my mother begged him not to show up at the wedding. She offered him $20,000 to disappear. She didn’t think he could give me the future I deserved. Zachary, stunned at first, eventually agreed.
I ran back to my room, devastated. Moments later, he followed and gently admitted he knew I overheard everything. Then he said, “I’m not leaving you. I’m playing them.”
Zachary planned to take the money and vanish—just not in the way they expected. We’d leave together.
The next morning, I stood in my wedding dress, perfect but meaningless now. When it was time to walk down the aisle, I did—but not toward a groom. Instead, I stopped and addressed the stunned guests. I exposed what my parents had done, how they tried to control my life, and how Zachary had been paid off.
Gasps filled the church. My mother looked pale. My father tried to stop me. But I finished with: “You got what you wanted. Zachary’s gone. And now? So am I.”
I dropped my bouquet and walked out.
Zachary was waiting outside in his suit, smiling. I ran to him without hesitation, leaving behind the expectations, the lies, and the arranged future.
As we drove off, I found the envelope with the $20,000 on the seat. Zachary just grinned and said, “Well, at least your parents bought us a nice honeymoon.”
And for the first time in a long time, I felt truly free.
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