She Joked About Runaway Marriage, I Meant It

The bridesmaids froze mid-laugh. Guests started whispering.

Victoria Langley grabbed my wrist, her face tight. "Spencer was just messing around. Do you really have to do this?"

She kept her voice low. "Stop making a scene, okay? This is the wedding you've been looking forward to for so long. Grandma is still waiting to see our wedding video."

The night before, my grandmother had one of her rare lucid moments. Her hands trembled as she joined my hand with Victoria's. Victoria knelt at the side of her hospital bed and promised she'd stand by me for the rest of her life.

Then she turned around and spent her bachelorette party all over Spencer Calloway.

My eyes stung. I raised my voice. "Burying your face in his chest and sleeping in the same bed is just messing around?"

The words carried across the entire venue. Every guest swiveled between Victoria and Spencer, gossip written all over their faces.

A flash of embarrassed anger crossed Victoria's face. She snatched the microphone out of my hand and dropped her voice to a warning. "Shut up. Are you trying to destroy this wedding?"

Spencer took the microphone, his tone light. "Sleeping in the same bed? We used to take baths together when we were two, butt naked.

"It's kind of late for the groom to start getting jealous, don't you think?"

It only took him a couple of lines to make the whole thing disappear. I was the one who looked petty.

Victoria's father, Richard Langley, gave Spencer an approving pat on the shoulder, then shot me a contemptuous look. "Spencer's the kind of son-in-law I always wanted. He has a good family, good manners, and knows how to carry himself.

"Not like some people, who have no sense of occasion and reek of poverty."

"Dad!" Victoria cut him off sharply. "Stop it."

She watched my face nervously, her eyes full of guilt and concern. The color drained from my face, and the bitterness in my chest kept spreading.

Ten years ago, my parents went to the coast to celebrate their anniversary. They found Victoria caught in a riptide and went in after her.

Neither of them came back. If they were still alive, I wouldn't be standing here swallowing this.

Spencer folded his arms and curled his lip at me. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're actually upset."

He clicked his tongue. "If there was really something going on between us, you think you'd have even gotten a chance with her? Fine, fine. It's all my fault. I'll leave. Happy?"

Victoria's expression changed instantly. She rushed after him, caught him by the waist, then turned back to me with a frown. Her voice was sharp with accusation.

"Spencer flew all the way back from overseas for our wedding. If you can't appreciate that, fine, but what gives you the right to chase him off?"

I looked up and saw Spencer's taunting smile. Suddenly, the whole thing just felt pointless. I pulled the wedding band off my ring finger and threw it at her.

"He doesn't have to leave. I will.

"You want to steal the groom's spot? The ring's all yours."

Victoria's fingers closed tight around the band, and her eyes blazed with fury. "Caleb Mercer, aren't you generous!

"You walk out that door today, and I swear this wedding will have a new groom on the spot!"