My phone would buzz with texts from her at odd hours. «Just thinking about you,» at 2 a.m. «Hope you’re having a good day,» right in the middle of my shift when she knew I couldn’t respond. Colton also became distant in the last few months before the wedding, with shorter conversations and less eye contact. When I asked if he was getting cold feet, he’d pull me close and say, «Never. I can’t wait to marry you, Anna.»
But there were other signs, too—ones that my trusting heart chose to interpret as pre-wedding jitters. The way he’d get nervous when his phone buzzed during dinner. How he started putting it face down on tables. How he’d step into the other room to take calls, claiming it was «work stuff,» even on weekends.
Then there were the mysterious charges on our joint credit card. Small amounts, nothing suspicious individually: coffee shops I’d never been to, a jewelry store purchase he claimed was «a surprise for later,» and gas stations on the other side of town when he said he’d been working late downtown.
Three weeks before the wedding, I found a pregnancy test in our bathroom trash—not used, just the empty box. When I asked Colton about it, he looked genuinely confused. «Maybe Sydney left it when she visited last weekend,» he suggested. I called my sister, and she laughed. «Girl, I’m not even dating anyone seriously. Must have been housekeeping. You know how those hotel maids sometimes dump their personal trash in guest bins.» It made no sense, but I believed it because I wanted to.
The night before the wedding, during the rehearsal dinner, Karen seemed different. She kept checking her phone and barely touched her food. When my aunt asked if she was feeling alright, she snapped, «I’m fine. Just tired from all the wedding planning.»
Colton was weird too. He kept staring at Karen when he thought no one was looking. When she got up to use the bathroom, he found an excuse to step outside for «fresh air» two minutes later.
«You okay, bro?» Tristan asked Colton during the toasts. «You look like you’re about to throw up.»
«Wedding nerves,» Colton laughed, but it sounded forced. «You know how it is.» But Tristan didn’t know how it was. He’d never been married. None of us had, except for my parents and aunts and uncles who’d been together so long they made love look easy.
That night, Colton and I followed tradition and stayed apart. He went to his best man’s hotel room while I stayed at my parents’ house with my bridesmaids. Karen was the last to leave after helping me hang my dress. «Anna,» she said at the door, her voice strange. «You know I love you, right?»
«Of course I do. I love you too.»
She hugged me tighter than usual. «Tomorrow is going to change everything.»
«I hope so,» I laughed. «That’s kind of the point of weddings.» But she wasn’t smiling when she pulled away.
I woke up at 6 a.m. on my wedding day with butterflies doing aerial acrobatics in my stomach. Good butterflies, though—the kind that come with Christmas morning excitement and the first day of vacation. The house was already buzzing with activity. Mom was in the kitchen making her famous breakfast burritos for me and my bridesmaids. Sydney was setting up the coffee station with military precision. The phone rang constantly with last-minute vendor confirmations and relatives asking for directions.
«Morning, beautiful bride!» Karen breezed through the front door at 7 sharp, carrying a tray of fancy coffee drinks. «Triple-shot vanilla latte for the blushing bride, because we need you caffeinated and gorgeous.»
She looked perfect, as always. Her hair was already done in loose Hollywood waves, her makeup was flawless, and she was wearing yoga pants that probably cost more than my monthly car payment. Even at 7 a.m., Karen looked like she was ready for a magazine photo shoot.
«You’re an angel,» I said, accepting the coffee gratefully. «I was so nervous I forgot to eat breakfast.»
«That’s what maids of honor are for.» She kissed my cheek. «To make sure you don’t faint at the altar from low blood sugar.»
The morning flew by in a blur of hair appointments, makeup touch-ups, and constant photo-taking. My cousin Maria documented everything with her professional camera: getting into my dress, a princess-style ballgown with hand-sewn pearls that took my mother and me eight months to save for; my grandmother fastening the family pearl necklace around my neck with shaking hands; my father crying when he saw me in full wedding regalia.
«Mija, you look like a queen,» he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
Karen helped with everything. She fluffed my train, fixed my veil when it got caught on doorways, and touched up my lipstick between photos. The perfect maid of honor. My best friend since forever. But looking back, she was also checking her phone constantly, with quick glances when she thought no one was looking. Her fingers were flying over the screen when she stepped into the bathroom or went to grab something from her car.
At one point, Sydney caught her. «Girl, who are you texting so much? Angelo’s at the golf course with the guys. It’s bad luck for the bridal party to talk to the groomsmen before the ceremony.»
Karen’s cheeks flushed pink. «Just work stuff. You know how it is with clients.»
«On a Saturday?» Sydney raised an eyebrow. My sister had built-in bullshit detectors that could spot lies from space.
«Financial markets never sleep,» Karen said smoothly. Too smoothly.
We arrived at the church at 2 p.m. for photos before the 4 p.m. ceremony. The photographer positioned us all over the grounds: me with my parents, me with my bridesmaids, me alone by the altar looking contemplative. Every shot was perfect. Colton and his groomsmen were getting ready in the church basement. Protocol said we weren’t supposed to see each other before the ceremony, but honestly? I was dying to catch a glimpse. After three years together, I still got excited just seeing his face.
«Can you check if they need anything downstairs?» I asked Karen during a break between photo sets. «Make sure Colton remembered his allergy medication. You know how his eyes get watery around all these flowers.»
«Of course,» she nodded quickly. «Back in five minutes.»
She was gone for twenty. When she came back, her lipstick was slightly smudged and her hair was less perfectly arranged, like someone had run their fingers through it.
«Everything okay down there?» I asked.
«Perfect,» she said, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes. «Colton says he can’t wait to see you.»
The ceremony was supposed to start at 4 p.m. By 3:45, guests were filing into the church, filling up the wooden pews. I peeked through the bridal suite window and saw aunts and uncles, college friends, co-workers, and neighbors—everyone who mattered in my life, gathered to witness my happy ending. Colton’s family took up the right side of the church, all old-money elegance in navy blue and pearls. My family claimed the left side with bright colors, loud laughter, and enough perfume to choke a horse.
At 3:55, the wedding coordinator knocked on our door. «Ladies, it’s time.»
My bridesmaids lined up: my college roommate, Ariel; my cousin, Anna; Colton’s sister, Rebecca; and Karen at the front as maid of honor. They all looked beautiful in their dusty rose dresses, carrying bouquets of white roses and baby’s breath.
Dad offered me his arm. «Ready, Mija?»
I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of roses, old wood, and the faint smell of my grandmother’s prayer candles. «Ready.»
The doors opened. The string quartet began the wedding march. Every face turned toward me, smiling and dabbing at tears. This was it—the moment I’d dreamed about since I was a little girl playing dress-up in my mother’s wedding gown. I walked down that aisle feeling like I was floating. The church was perfect. The music was perfect. Colton looked perfect standing at the altar in his black tuxedo with the white rose boutonnière. Everything was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
«I’m pregnant, Anna. And Colton is the father.» The words hung in the air like poison gas. I felt the entire congregation inhale collectively, then hold their breath, waiting to see what would happen next. My bouquet suddenly felt heavy in my hands. The church, which had been warm and golden just seconds before, now felt cold and stark. Every eye was on me, watching for my reaction, waiting for me to crumble.
But I didn’t crumble. Instead, something ice-cold settled in my chest—clarity as sharp as a blade.
Colton finally found his voice. «Karen, please don’t do this. Not here. Not now.»
«When else, Colton?» She stepped closer to him, her voice growing stronger, more confident. «When you’re on your honeymoon? When Anna’s already legally tied to you? When it’s too late for her to make an informed choice?»
She turned to face our guests, playing to the audience like an actress on stage. «I’m sorry, everyone. I know this is awkward. But Anna deserves to know the truth before she makes the biggest mistake of her life.»
My father’s face had gone from confused to murderous. He started to rise from his seat, but my mother grabbed his wrist. «Esteban, no,» she hissed. «Let Anna handle this.»
Karen looked back at me, and for a split second, I saw something that looked almost like regret flash across her face. But then her chin lifted, and the mask of righteous indignation slid back into place. «I didn’t plan for this to happen,» she continued, her voice carrying to every corner of the church. «Colton and I, we fought it for months. We both love you, Anna. But sometimes, love isn’t enough to stop… other kinds of love.»
The guests were starting to murmur now, whispers rippling through the pews like wind through wheat. I caught fragments: «Oh my god, did she just…?», «That poor girl…», «…at her own wedding…», «…the audacity.»
Colton looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor. Sweat had broken out on his forehead, and his hands were shaking. «Anna, I can explain.»
«Explain what?» Karen interrupted. «Explain how you told me you were having second thoughts about the wedding? Explain how you said you felt trapped? Explain how you whispered my name when we…»
«Enough!» My brother, Tristan, shot to his feet like a rocket, his face twisted with rage. He started toward the altar, but Sidney and my cousin Roberto grabbed his arms, holding him back.
«Let me go,» Tristan snarled. «I’m going to deal with him. I’m going to kill both of them.» The security guards Dad had hired for the reception moved forward, ready to intervene if my family decided to start a brawl in the house of God.
Karen seemed to feed off the chaos. Her eyes were bright, almost fevered. «Anna, you have to understand. I never meant for this to happen. But we can’t help who we fall in love with. And Colton, he loves me. He’s always loved me.» She placed both hands on her stomach in a gesture that was clearly meant to be protective and maternal. «This baby deserves to have its father. And Colton deserves to be with the woman he truly wants.»
Colton looked at her like she’d lost her mind. «Karen, stop talking. You’re making this worse.»
But she was on a roll now, drunk on the attention and drama. «Worse? Colton, hiding the truth is what made this worse. Living a lie is what made this worse.» She gestured toward me. «Look at her. Standing there in that ridiculous dress, thinking she’s about to marry the love of her life. Don’t you think she deserves better than a man who wishes he was marrying someone else?»
That’s when something snapped inside my chest. Not broke, but snapped, like a rubber band that had been stretched too tight. I smiled. It must have been quite a smile because Karen actually took a step backward.
«Oh, honey,» I said, my voice as soft and sweet as honey. «You sweet, stupid little girl.»
Her confident expression wavered. I reached into my bouquet, pulled out my phone, and with one smooth motion, activated the Bluetooth connection to the church’s sound system—the same system we’d installed to play our wedding music.
«Before we continue with this fascinating performance,» I announced, my voice now carrying clearly through the speakers, «I think everyone should hear something.»
Karen’s face went white. «Anna, what are you—?»
I pressed play. Karen’s own voice filled the church, crystal clear through the professional sound system. «God, Colton is such an idiot. He has no idea I’ve been sleeping with his brother and his best man. The pregnancy could be any of theirs, but Colton makes the most money, so obviously, he’s my best bet for child support.»
The congregation gasped in unison. But the recording wasn’t finished. «Anna’s so pathetically naive it’s almost sad. She actually thinks Colton loves her. Meanwhile, he can’t keep his hands off me every time she works late shifts. Last week he said he wishes he’d proposed to me instead.»
Colton’s face had gone from pale to green. He looked like he might actually vomit right there at the altar. But Karen’s voice continued, bright with laughter. «The best part is she’s paying for half the wedding, so technically she’s funding her own humiliation. God, I can’t wait to see her face when I tell everyone. It’s going to be so delicious.»
The church was dead silent except for the sound of my grandmother’s rosary beads clicking faster and faster as she prayed. The recording kept playing: Karen bragging about manipulating all three men, Karen laughing about how she’d planned to take «Anna’s pathetic little prince for everything he’s worth,» Karen discussing her backup plan if Colton didn’t leave me. «I’ll just claim he raped me. Who’s going to believe his word over mine?»
By the time I finally stopped the recording, Karen had collapsed onto her knees at the altar, her face buried in her hands, the dusty rose dress pooled around her like spilled wine. «Anna,» she whispered, her voice barely audible. «Please. I can explain. I was drunk when I said those things. I didn’t mean…»
«You didn’t mean to get caught,» I corrected, my voice still amplified by the speakers. «There’s a difference.» I turned to Colton, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. «Anything you’d like to add, honey? Or should I play the recording of you calling me a boring, clingy bitch while you were screwing my best friend in the apartment I pay half the rent for?»
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Opened it again. No words came out.
I looked out at the congregation. Two hundred faces stared back at me, expressions ranging from shocked to appalled to impressed to murderous—those were mostly my relatives. «Ladies and gentlemen,» I said calmly, «I apologize for the interruption. But as you can see, we have a slight issue with the groom and my maid of honor. Something about honesty, fidelity, and basic human decency.»
My father finally broke free from my mother’s grip and stood up. «Anna, Mija, do you want me to—?»
«No, Papa. I’ve got this.» And I did. For the first time in months, maybe years, I felt completely in control.
«You want to know the funny thing?» I said, my voice still carrying through the church speakers as I looked down at Karen, who was still on her knees at the altar. «I’ve known about you two for months.»