Chapter 4

I didn't sleep all night.

Early in the morning, Mom knocked on my door.

There was a tiredness in her eyes she couldn't hide, and something hurt underneath it, but she still smiled as she tried to comfort me.

"Kaykay, don't dwell on it. A wedding only happens once in a lifetime. Be happy. I really don't feel wronged."

I looked at my mother, at the gray coming in at her temples.

My nose stung, and my eyes went red in an instant.

I took her hand gently, my voice breaking.

"Mom, it's my fault for being useless. I let you get treated like this."

She shook her head at once, reaching up to wipe the corners of my eyes.

"Silly girl. As long as you're happy from now on, a little hardship for me is nothing."

But Mom.

A marriage like this could never be happy.

Two hours before the ceremony began.

Teresa and her mother walked straight into the bride's dressing room.

Mrs. Swanson was wearing the couture gown that should have been my mother's, her makeup flawless.

Nothing like the shabby, pitiful woman I'd seen when I was a child.

She swept her eyes over the wedding accessories on the vanity, her tone displeased.

"These traditional pieces are too dated. They don't suit me, and they won't hold up to today's event. Change them. Neil, dear, brought me new ones."

The words were barely out of her mouth.

She waved for the staff to swap out the entire set of wedding-host accessories and lucky ornaments my mother had spent months preparing.

The ones Mom had picked out so carefully, planning to wear at the wedding.

I had asked Cornelius to buy the wedding-host jewelry and outfit for my mother.

He always said he was busy, that he had no time.

So it turned out it wasn't that he had no time.

It was that his time and his thought had gone to someone else instead.

And that wasn't all.

Mrs. Swanson also had the champagne roses I loved, the ones set out across the venue.

All swapped for the red roses Teresa liked best.

Even the cake and the bridal bouquet for the ceremony.

All changed to the flavors and styles Teresa favored.

I stayed rooted where I was, refusing to move, and said coldly.

"Who told you to change any of this?"

The staff member looked caught in the middle.

"It, it was the wedding host, but the groom agreed too. He said we should go along with whatever the host wanted..."

Teresa sidled up to me.

Covering her mouth as she laughed under her breath.

"Kay, it's just a few small details that don't matter. There's no need to be so aggressive. My mom's the wedding host, and her opinions are for your own good."

"You and your mother have outdated taste. Nobody likes it."

She still had the designer bag over her shoulder, the one I'd given her when she landed her first job.

Money I'd saved by scrimping for three months.

All because it broke my heart, seeing how hard things were for her.

I gave a mocking little laugh.

"Teresa, carrying that bag while you say that, don't you feel any shame at all?"

Teresa's face froze.

Then she flung the bag hard onto the floor.

"Kay Lyons! It's just a bag, and you bring it up every single day. Take it back! Neil already gave me a rare crocodile-leather one anyway!"

I looked past her.

There, in her spot, sat a beige luxury bag.

The new-marriage gift Cornelius had told me he was going to give me.

It felt like a stone slamming into my heart.

Pain and no air left to breathe.

When Cornelius arrived.

He looked at the wedding setup, changed beyond recognition.

He met my cold stare.

And he only spoke softly, coaxing.

"Mrs. Swanson is the wedding host. It's only right to listen to what she says. It's just a few flowers and a few accessories swapped out. These are small things. There's no need to split hairs over them."

That one sentence crushed the last scrap of hope left in me.

The wedding I'd spent half a year planning.

Every detail chosen by hand.

And in Cornelius's eyes, all of it was too trivial to mention.

Teresa stood off to the side, smiling faintly in agreement.

"Exactly, Kay. Red roses are more festive. Don't be upset."

Mom gripped my hand tight.

"Kaykay, whatever you want to do... I'm behind you."

I squeezed her hand back.

"Okay."

The ceremony officially began.

Every seat was full.

Mrs. Swanson stood in the wedding host's place, about to pull Teresa forward to speak.

As if it were her own daughter getting married today.

Then the music cut out.

I walked onstage with the microphone.

Holding up the USB drive in my hand.

"Hello, everyone. Today's wedding host, Ms. Swanson, and my best friend recorded a little message of blessing in the dressing room."

"Before the ceremony starts, I'd like to play it for you all."