Chapter 4

4: 4

On the way to the dressing room, the emcee suddenly stopped Nigel.

Said he wanted to run through the stage cues one last time.

Nigel turned to give me a quick word, then followed him off.

That left Tania at my side, and the air between us shifted at once.

Her step was unusually light today, and she kept deliberately walking a pace ahead of me.

Her skirt sweeping the floor, every inch the lady of the house.

As if, somewhere underneath, she just wanted to stand over me.

Then, a few steps on, afraid I'd notice, she'd turn back and dig up something to smooth it over.

Nothing but old stories from grade school.

We'd known each other almost twenty years. She was the friend I'd kept the longest.

I'd given her my whole heart.

Whatever good thing came my way, I thought of her first.

And in the end it was her hand holding the knife, and she drove it in the deepest.

By the time we reached the dressing room, it was just the two of us.

She didn't even bother pretending anymore.

She reached for the backup wedding gown on the rack.

Threw it over herself in a couple of quick motions and turned a circle on the spot.

The lace hem lifted, and her eyes were full of a smugness she couldn't hide.

"Lena, do I look good in this?"

I lifted my eyes to her, and all I felt was how absurd it was.

Had she thrown out every last scrap of shame?

At my wedding, in my gown.

Who exactly had given her the nerve?

"Yes. You look good."

Her smile grew wider, and she checked herself in the mirror from every angle.

"I think so too. It fits pretty well, doesn't it."

She went on chattering to herself, never once looking back at me.

If she'd turned around just then, she'd have been startled.

The look I had fixed on her was cold.

Cold clear to the bone.

Just then, a knock came at the dressing room door.

My father called to me from outside. "Sweetheart, it's about time. You should get up on the stage."

I drew in a deep breath and went to open the door.

My father glanced at me, asked nothing, only held out his arm.

I slipped mine through it and we walked to the doors of the banquet hall.

The music started right on cue, and the red carpet ran all the way to the front of the stage.

My father and I walked forward, step by step.

Guests filled the seats on both sides, and the cameras all swung toward us at once.

I kept a proper smile on my face.

Stepping along the carpet, moving toward the stage.

Nigel stood up there, his smile gentle.

He held out his hand to me, his eyes like they held a whole sky of stars.

Everyone below was marveling, saying how perfectly matched we were.

Out of the corner of my eye, I swept across a quiet corner of the hall.

Tania stood right there, still in the wedding gown.

Her whole face lit with an excitement she couldn't hold down.

She was waiting. Waiting for Nigel to make good on last night's promise.

Waiting for the emcee to ask if anyone objected.

Waiting for the man she loved to walk out with her in front of everyone.

Too bad. That moment would never come for her.

The emcee stood in the center and smiled as he picked up the microphone.

First a few opening remarks.

When it came to the vows, he turned to Nigel first.

And held the microphone out to him.

"Mr. Gilbert, do you take Ms. Aileen Farley."

"To be your lawful wife, to walk through life hand in hand?"

Something vicious flashed at the bottom of Nigel's eyes.

He reached out for the microphone.

I knew what he was about to do.

I didn't give him the chance. I took the microphone first.

The room went suddenly still.

Everyone looked at me, puzzled.

Nigel froze too, confusion all over his face.

Gripping the microphone, I turned to face every guest below.

My voice carried clear across the entire hall.

"I'm sorry, everyone. This wedding, today."

"Ends right here."