Dad stood up slowly, his legs unsteady. For a moment, I was afraid he might collapse right there. But he straightened his shoulders and looked at me with something like pride.
«You’re braver than I ever was,» he said quietly.
«I learned from the best.» He offered me his arm, and together we walked toward the sanctuary doors. Through the glass panels, I could see the cathedral filled with guests—friends and family members who had traveled from across the country to celebrate with us. The altar was decorated with white roses and peonies, just as my mother had wanted.
The string quartet was playing Pachelbel’s Canon, filling the sacred space with soaring melody. Nathaniel stood at the altar in his perfectly tailored tuxedo, looking every inch the successful attorney and devoted bridegroom. His best man and groomsmen flanked him, all of them smiling in anticipation. In the front row, my mother sat, radiant in her emerald dress, dabbing at her eyes with a lace handkerchief. She looked like every mother of the bride should look—proud, elegant, overcome with emotion at her daughter’s happiness.
The wedding coordinator opened the doors, and the processional music began. My bridesmaids walked down the aisle in their soft pink dresses, smiling at guests and taking their places at the altar. Then the music swelled into the bridal march, and every person in that cathedral rose to their feet.
«Ready?» Dad whispered.
I squeezed his arm. «Ready.»
We stepped into the sanctuary, and I felt two hundred pairs of eyes turn toward us. Cameras flashed. People smiled and whispered about how beautiful I looked. Nathaniel’s face lit up when he saw me, his blue eyes warm with what looked like genuine love. My mother pressed her handkerchief to her eyes—the picture of maternal devotion. What incredible actors they both are, I thought. They should have been on Broadway instead of in my life.
We reached the altar, and Dad placed my hand in Nathaniel’s before taking his seat—the gesture that was supposed to symbolize one man giving his daughter to another. Instead, it felt like I was being handed over to my enemy. «Dearly beloved,» Pastor Jenkins began, his voice carrying easily through the cathedral’s sound system, «we are gathered here today to witness the union of Nathaniel William Reid and Celeste Marianne Darin in holy matrimony.»
I let him speak, following along with the traditional ceremony, waiting for my moment. Nathaniel squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. In the front row, my mother watched with glowing pride. They had no idea what was coming. «Marriage is not to be entered into lightly,» he continued, «but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God.» How appropriate, I thought. Let’s talk about reverence and God’s purposes.
«If there is anyone present who has just cause why these two should not be joined in marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.» This was it. The moment I’d been planning for. The moment when I could have spoken, could have revealed everything right then and there. Instead, I remained silent. I let Pastor Jenkins continue through the vows, the ring exchange, all of it. I wanted them to feel safe. I wanted them to think they’d won.
«Nathaniel,» Pastor Jenkins said, «do you take Celeste to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, forsaking all others, until death do you part?»
Nathaniel looked into my eyes, his voice strong and clear. «I do.» Forsaking all others. The lie was so brazen it almost made me laugh.
«Celeste, do you take Nathaniel to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, forsaking all others, until death do you part?» This was my moment. The moment to say, «I do,» and become complicit in my own deception, or the moment to burn their world down with the truth.
I looked out at the congregation, all these faces filled with expectation and joy. I looked at my father in the front row, his eyes encouraging me to be strong. I looked at my mother, still dabbing at her eyes with theatrical emotion.
«Actually,» I said, my voice carrying clearly through the cathedral’s sound system, «I have something to say first.» The cathedral fell into perfect silence. Even the string quartet stopped playing. Nathaniel’s hand tightened on mine, his smile faltering just slightly.
«Celeste?» Pastor Jenkins looked confused. «Is everything all right?»
«Everything is perfect,» I said, turning to face the congregation. Two hundred faces stared back at me, confusion replacing celebration in their expressions. «I just realized that before I make the biggest promise of my life, I should probably be completely honest. About everything.»
Nathaniel’s grip on my hand was almost painful now. «Celeste, what are you doing?»
I pulled my hand free and stepped slightly away from him, closer to the microphone. In the front row, my mother had gone very still, her handkerchief forgotten in her lap. «I want to thank everyone for being here today,» I began, my voice steady and clear. «It means everything to me that you would take time out of your lives to witness what you thought would be the beginning of my happily ever after.»
Murmurs began to ripple through the congregation. I could see Priya in the back, her camera discreetly positioned. «But I’ve learned recently that happy endings are built on truth, not on beautiful lies. And there’s something you all need to know before this ceremony continues.»
«Celeste!» Nathaniel reached for me, but I stepped further away. «Yesterday, I discovered that my fiancé and my mother have been having an affair.» The words hit the cathedral like a bomb. Gasps echoed off the stone walls. Someone dropped their program. In the front row, I watched the color drain from Judge Reid’s face as he stared at his son.
«I found my mother’s journal detailing their relationship,» I continued, my voice growing stronger with each word. «Three months of secret meetings, lies, and betrayals. Three months of them laughing at how easily they could deceive me.»
My mother stood up abruptly, her face flushed. «Celeste, stop this nonsense!»
«Sit down, Diana.» The sharp command came from my father, who had also risen from his seat. His voice carried the authority of thirty years of ministry, and my mother sank back into her pew as if she’d been struck.
Nathaniel was frantically trying to salvage the situation. «Everyone, please, there’s been some kind of misunderstanding…»
«Is it a misunderstanding that you spent last night at my parents’ house?» I asked loudly enough for everyone to hear. «While my father was at his meeting, planning your bachelor party?» The cathedral erupted in shocked whispers and gasps. Nathaniel’s face went white. «Is it a misunderstanding that you’ve been using our joint credit card to buy expensive wine for my mother? Wine that she specifically mentioned loving in her journal entries about your affair?»
Judge Reid was standing now, staring at his son with horror and rage. «Nathaniel, tell me this isn’t true.»
Nathaniel looked around the cathedral wildly, seeing his reputation, his career, his entire life crumbling in real time. «I—I can explain…»
«Oh, please do explain,» I said, my voice dripping with false sweetness. «Explain to your father, to your colleagues, to everyone who believed you were a man of honor, how you seduced your fiancée’s mother. Explain how you planned to marry me while continuing your affair with her.» The silence was deafening. Every person in that cathedral was staring at Nathaniel, waiting for his explanation, and he had nothing. No smooth attorney arguments, no charming deflections. Just the truth, finally exposed in all its ugliness.
In the front row, my mother was weeping—not the delicate tears of a proud mother, but harsh, ugly sobs of a woman whose life had just imploded. «Celeste,» she choked out, «please… you don’t understand…»
«I understand perfectly,» I said, turning to face her. «I understand that you decided your daughter’s happiness was a fair price to pay for feeling desired again. I understand that you looked at my fiancé and decided you deserved him more than I did.»
«That’s not—I never meant—»
«You never meant to get caught.» The truth of it hung in the air like smoke. My mother crumpled back into her seat, her emerald dress now looking gaudy and desperate instead of elegant. I looked out at the congregation again—family, friends, colleagues, people who had watched me grow up. Their faces showed everything from shock to sympathy to anger, but not one of them looked at me with pity. That was important. I refused to be pitied.
«I want you all to know that this isn’t about revenge,» I continued. «This is about truth. This is about refusing to build a life on someone else’s lies. And this is about choosing myself over people who chose each other over me.»
I began walking down the aisle, my cathedral train sweeping behind me like a queen’s robe. As I passed the front row, I stopped in front of my father. «Dad, I’m sorry you had to learn this way. But I’m not sorry that you learned it.»
He nodded, tears streaming down his face, but his eyes were filled with pride. «I love you, sweetheart. You did the right thing.»
I kissed his forehead, tasting salt and sorrow, then continued down the aisle. Behind me, chaos was erupting. Nathaniel was trying to explain himself to his furious father while guests stood and whispered and pointed. My mother was sobbing into her hands while Mrs. Chin from the flower committee stared at her with undisguised disgust. But I didn’t look back. I walked through those cathedral doors with my head held high, my wedding dress flowing behind me like a river of ivory silk.
The parking lot behind St. Michael’s Cathedral was my sanctuary. I stood beside my car, breathing in the crisp October air, feeling lighter than I had in months. The sounds of chaos from inside the cathedral drifted through the heavy wooden doors—raised voices, crying, the scraping of chairs as people stood and moved and tried to process what they’d just witnessed. My phone was already buzzing with calls and texts, but I ignored them all except one.
«Priya.»
«Holy shit, Celeste. Holy actual shit. Did you really just…?»
«Did you get it all?»
«Every second. My editor is going to lose his mind when he sees this footage. This is going to be everywhere by tonight.»
«Good. Are you okay? I mean, really okay?»
I considered the question, standing there in my wedding dress in an empty parking lot, having just destroyed two lives and possibly my own reputation. «I’m perfect,» I said and meant it.
