I stared at him.
“So it’s true.”
“I just don’t want today turning into a bigger scene.”
My chest tightened.
“A bigger scene? Your mother changed our wedding.”
He looked toward Corrine.
Then back at me.
“It means a lot to her.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“It should mean a lot to us.”
Natalie stepped out of the bridal suite.
She took one look at my face.
“What’s going on?”
I answered before anyone else could.
“They’ve changed the ceremony.”
Her expression hardened.
“What do you mean?”
“Corrine wants Rosalie to make the bridal entrance before me.”
Natalie’s mouth fell open.
“Absolutely not.”
Corrine folded her hands.
“This is a family matter.”
Natalie laughed.
“No.”
“This is the bride’s wedding.”
Voices were starting to carry down the hallway.
Guests lingered near the entrance to the ceremony space.
Several looked in our direction.
The wedding coordinator hurried over.
She looked deeply uncomfortable.
“I’m so sorry.”
She looked at me.
“I was told everyone had agreed.”
“I certainly didn’t.”
Her eyes shifted toward Corrine.
Then toward Kevin.
Nobody spoke.
That silence answered another question.
The coordinator hadn’t made this decision.
Someone else had.
My mother appeared moments later.
“Jessica?”
She immediately sensed something was wrong.
I took a slow breath.
“Apparently I’m no longer the first person walking down my own aisle.”
“What?”
Corrine stepped forward.
“We’re simply making a small adjustment.”
My mother frowned.
“Why?”
“It’s personal.”
“No.”
I folded my arms.
“If it’s personal enough to change my wedding, it’s personal enough to explain.”
Corrine looked uncomfortable for the first time.
“I’d rather not discuss it.”
“I would.”
Kevin stepped closer.
“Jessica.”
I looked at him.
“You’re really standing behind this?”
He hesitated.
“I’m asking you for one favor.”
I almost laughed.
“One favor?”
“I’ve spent 14 months planning this wedding.”
“I know.”
“And 20 minutes before it starts, your mother rewrites it.”
“I know.”
“And your solution is asking me not to react.”
He lowered his voice.
“We’ll talk afterward.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“We’re talking now.”
At the other end of the hallway, I finally saw Rosalie.
She stood near the entrance to the ceremony.
She wore a pale blue dress.
Someone had placed a bouquet in her hands.
She wasn’t smiling.
She looked like someone waiting outside a principal’s office.
Natalie followed my gaze.
“Does she know about this?”
“I don’t know.”
Rosalie looked toward us.
The moment our eyes met, she looked away.
She seemed… embarrassed.
Not excited.
Not triumphant.
Just deeply uncomfortable.
That didn’t fit the picture I’d built in my head.
If she’d wanted to steal my moment, why did she look like she wanted to disappear?
I walked toward her.
Kevin reached for my arm.
“Jess.”
I gently pulled away.
Rosalie looked up as I stopped in front of her.
“Did you ask for this?”
Her grip tightened around the bouquet.
She opened her mouth.
No sound came out.
Before she could answer, Corrine stepped between us.
“This isn’t the time.”
I looked around.
Nearly 30 guests had gathered near the hallway.
Whispers floated through the room.
Everyone knew something was happening.
Nobody knew what.
I looked back at Corrine.
“Actually…”
I smiled.
“I think now is the perfect time.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
She mistook my smile for surrender.
“So you understand?”
“I do.”
Relief spread across her face.
“Thank you.”
I nodded.
“Rosalie can absolutely walk before me.”
Kevin let out a breath.
“So we’re okay?”
I looked at him.
“No.”
Then I turned toward Corrine.
“I have one condition.”
Her smile wavered.
“What condition?”
I looked at Rosalie. Then back at Corrine.
“When those doors open, before she takes one step down that aisle…”
I raised my voice just enough for every nearby guest to hear.
“I want you to tell everyone exactly why she’s walking before the bride.”
The hallway fell silent.
Corrine’s smile disappeared.
She looked at Rosalie.
“Go ahead.”
Rosalie didn’t move.
Corrine’s voice became sharper.
“Tell them.”
Rosalie’s eyes filled with tears.
She whispered something I almost didn’t hear.
“I can’t.”
Corrine’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
She took a step closer.
“You can.”
