Chapter 3: The Secret Behind the Prank
The ceremony started twelve minutes late.
Nobody in the guest area knew why.
They thought the bride was having a normal wedding-day delay.
They didn’t know my sister had turned the bridal room into a crime scene.
They didn’t know I had spent those minutes watching strangers try to save the dress I had dreamed about wearing.
And they definitely didn’t know Chloe was hiding something bigger than a bottle of ink.
Olivia managed to remove enough of the stain that the gown was wearable.
It wasn’t perfect.
A faint shadow remained near the bottom of the skirt.
But somehow, standing there in front of the mirror, I realized something.
The dress was damaged.
But I wasn’t broken.
Sarah touched my shoulder.
“You’re ready.””
I looked at myself one last time.
Then I walked out.
The doors opened.
Everyone stood.
And there was Ethan.
His face changed the moment he saw me.
Not because of the dress.
Because he saw my eyes.
He knew something was wrong.
When I reached him, he whispered:
“What happened?””
I forced a small smile.
“I’ll tell you everything after.””
He squeezed my hand.
“Okay.””
That was Ethan.
No panic.
No accusations.
Just trust.
For the first time that day, I felt like I could breathe.
The ceremony was beautiful.
Not because it was perfect.
Because it survived something that should have ruined it.
Later that evening, after the guests left and the music faded, Ethan and I sat outside beneath the string lights.
I finally told him everything.
The ink.
The dress.
The email.
His expression hardened.
“I can’t believe she did that.””
“Neither can I.””
“Why?””
I looked at the empty field in front of us.
“I think she wanted to prove something.””
“To who?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I wasn’t sure.
The next morning, I found out.
My mother called me before breakfast.
Her voice was shaking.
“You need to come over.””
“What happened?””
“It’s Chloe.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did she do?””
A pause.
Then Mom said:
“She wasn’t alone.””
When I arrived at my parents’ house, Chloe was sitting at the kitchen table.
For the first time in my life, she looked small.
Not angry.
Not confident.
Just scared.
My mother placed a folder on the table.
“I found this in Chloe’s room.””
Inside were printed emails.
Messages.
Plans.
I picked up the first page.
And my heart sank.
It wasn’t just about the dress.
The messages were about my wedding.
About making me look foolish.
About embarrassing me in front of everyone.
One message made my hands shake.
“She’ll finally understand how it feels when nobody chooses her.””
I looked at Chloe.
“Who were you talking to?””
She stayed silent.
“Chloe.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I didn’t mean for it to go that far.””
“That’s not an answer.””
She wiped her face.
“I was angry.””
“Because I got married?””
“Because you always get the life I wanted.””
I stared at her.
“You never told me you wanted my life.””
She laughed sadly.
“You wouldn’t understand.””
“Try me.””
For a moment, she looked like she might tell the truth.
Then the front door opened.
A man walked into the kitchen.
I recognized him immediately.
It was Chloe’s fiancé.
The man she had told everyone was “too busy” to attend the wedding.
But he wasn’t looking at Chloe.
He was looking at the folder.
“I told you this would happen,” he said.
The room froze.
Chloe stood up.
“You weren’t supposed to come here.””
He looked at me.
“I think you deserve to know why she did this.””
My heart started pounding.
“Why?””
He reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone.
“I found out Chloe wasn’t trying to ruin your dress.””
He looked at my sister.
“She was trying to force you to pay for something else.””
I frowned.
“What are you talking about?””
He unlocked his phone.
And showed me a message from Chloe.
A message sent three days before my wedding.
A message that revealed the real reason she had targeted me.
May you like
She wasn’t jealous of my wedding.
She was terrified I would discover what she had done before I walked down the aisle.
