Chapter 2 – The Wedding That Never Happened
Chapter 2 – The Wedding That Never Happened
Ten minutes later, the music stopped.
Ethan, the groom, frowned.
"Where's Lily?"
No one knew.
His smile disappeared.
He searched every room.
"Lily!"
Guests exchanged nervous glances.
Finally, an elderly housekeeper pointed toward the upstairs hallway.
"I thought I heard knocking..."
Ethan sprinted upstairs.
He threw open the curtain.
His heart stopped.
Lily stood on the frozen balcony, trembling uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.
"Daddy..."
He yanked the glass door open and wrapped his white dinner jacket around her tiny shoulders.
She buried her face against him.
"I was scared."
"I'm so sorry," Ethan whispered.
"Who did this?"
Lily hesitated.
Then pointed toward Victoria.
The ballroom fell silent.
Every guest turned.
Victoria forced a laugh.
"It wasn't a big deal."
"She kept interrupting."
"I just needed a few quiet minutes."
Ethan stared at her.
"You locked my daughter outside."
"It was only ten minutes."
"It was freezing."
"You're overreacting."
Then Victoria leaned close enough for only Ethan to hear.
"If she keeps getting between us after we're married...I'll send her away for good."
Ethan stepped backward as if struck.
The words echoed inside his mind.
Send her away.
His daughter.
The child who had already lost her mother years earlier.
Without saying a word, Ethan reached into his pocket.
He unfolded the wedding vows he had written by hand.
Everyone watched.
Slowly...
He tore them in half.
Then again.
And again.
The pieces floated to the marble floor like falling snow.
"There will be no wedding," he said.
"I promised myself that anyone I married would love my daughter as fiercely as I do."
"You don't."
"And I will never ask my child to compete for love in her own home."
Victoria's smile vanished.
May you like
The guests remained completely silent.
Her perfect wedding had ended before she ever reached the altar.
