The Final Betrayal
A few days later, my parents asked me to come over. I thought they might want to comfort me. Instead, I walked into an ambush.
“We understand you’re upset,” my mom said, her voice unsettlingly calm.
“But Ethan and Lauren are in love,” my dad added. “You wouldn’t want to stand in the way of true love, would you?”
I stared at them in disbelief. “True love? Are you serious?”
Mom sighed. “Sweetheart, you’ve always been independent. You’ll move on. But Lauren… she needs stability. And Ethan makes her happy.”
I was dizzy with shock. “So, you’re just going to replace me with her? Pretend none of this ever happened?”
“We’re not taking sides,” my dad said, but they had already chosen.
And then came the gut punch.
“They’re still having the wedding,” my mom admitted. “Lauren will be the bride.”
I blinked, stunned. “You can’t be serious.”
“It’s already paid for,” she explained. “It would be a shame to waste all those plans.”
I pushed back my chair so violently it scraped across the floor. “Unbelievable.”
“We’d like you to be happy for them,” my dad said.
I laughed bitterly. “You actually expect me to celebrate this?”
I walked out and didn’t look back.
The Wedding Crasher
When the wedding day arrived, I wasn’t invited. But I wasn’t about to miss it.
I wasn’t going to cause a scene. I wasn’t planning to ruin the decorations. I just wanted to wait for the moment when the officiant asked if anyone objected. And when that moment came, I’d stand up and reveal exactly who the groom was marrying.
But when I got there, something felt off.
The hall was eerily silent. No music. No laughter. Just uncomfortable, awkward guests. And at the front? A group of uniformed officers.
Confused, I approached one of the officers. “What’s going on?”
Before he could answer, I saw her—Lauren, still in her wedding dress, mascara-streaked tears rolling down her cheeks. My parents sat frozen, looking like they had been hit by lightning.
But Ethan? He was nowhere to be found.
The officer turned to me. “Are you a guest?”
I hesitated, then nodded. “Sort of. I was supposed to be the bride today.”
He sighed. “We came to arrest the groom, but he wasn’t here. He was caught trying to flee at the bus station.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Flee?”
The officer gestured toward a group of detectives talking to the guests. “He’s a con artist. He’s done this before—to three other women. He never planned to marry anyone. He’s been stealing from them—wedding funds, savings, gifts. Your sister wasn’t his first victim. And she won’t be his last.”
I stood there, frozen in shock. The truth sank in like a cold wave.
Lauren, the woman who had betrayed me, was now abandoned at the altar. My parents, who had defended her, sat in stunned silence.
And me?
For the first time in weeks, I smiled.
Karma Served Cold
As the guests slowly left, an officer approached me. “I heard Officer James say you dodged a bullet.”
I exhaled deeply. “Yeah. I guess I did.”
He smiled slightly. “Would you like to grab coffee sometime? With someone who isn’t a criminal?”
I glanced at his name tag—Officer Matt.
For the first time in a long while, I felt something other than pain.
That was a year ago.
Tomorrow?
I’m marrying him.
Life really does have a funny way of working out.