“What’s in the bag, Vionna?” I asked, my pulse racing. She clutched her designer bag tightly, her face ashen. The room was deathly quiet, everyone staring.
My friends, once in on the prank, now looked as shaken as I felt. “This is ridiculous,” Vionna stammered, trying to sound confident. “You’re all falling for this charade.”
The fortune teller’s voice cut through.
“You’ve acted against someone close to you,” she said, calm but certain. “It involves a dress… a wedding dress.”
My heart stopped. My dress?
The one she’d mocked relentlessly? I stared at Vionna, her knuckles white around her bag’s strap. “You’re lying!” Vionna shouted, her voice cracking.
“I’d never—”
“Then open the bag,” the fortune teller said coolly. “If you’ve nothing to hide.”
Vionna stepped back, eyes darting for an escape. “I don’t owe you anything,” she hissed.
The tension was unbearable. I couldn’t take it anymore. “Show me,” I said, my voice trembling with anger and dread.
“What’s in the bag, Vionna?”
She hugged the bag tighter, but my friend Lyssia, standing nearby, reached out. In the struggle, the bag slipped, crashing to the floor. Its contents spilled out—a small sewing kit and, to my horror, a piece of lace.
My lace. The delicate trim from my wedding dress. Gasps echoed around the room.
I stared at the fabric, my mind reeling. How did she get it? Why?
“What did you do?” I whispered, my voice breaking as tears burned my eyes. Vionna’s face drained of color. She stumbled back, lips trembling.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” she murmured, tears welling. The silence was deafening. Everyone watched her, frozen.
“Tell me the truth,” I demanded, stepping closer, my heart pounding. “What did you do to my dress?”
She took a shaky breath, wiping her eyes. “I… I didn’t want you to marry Kael,” she admitted, her voice barely audible.
“I thought if I could ruin the wedding, he’d see you weren’t right for him.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks as her words sank in. My friends stood in stunned silence. How could she do this?
To me, to Kael, to our future? “I went to your fitting,” she continued, her voice quivering. “I snuck in after you left and cut some threads.
Just enough to make the dress fall apart when you walked down the aisle.”
A wave of nausea hit me. She’d planned to humiliate me on my wedding day, to unravel my dress—and my happiness—in front of everyone. All because she thought I wasn’t good enough.
“Why?” I choked out, my voice raw with hurt. “Why would you do something so cruel?”
Tears streamed down Vionna’s face as she sank into a chair. “I didn’t think it would go this far,” she sobbed.
“I just wanted Kael to see he could do better. I didn’t mean for this…”
I shook my head, the betrayal cutting deep. The woman who was supposed to be family had schemed to destroy my wedding.
And Kael wasn’t here to witness her confession, to stand by me. A hand touched my shoulder—my mother, Elowyn. She’d been silent, watching, but now her presence was a shield.
“How dare you,” she said, her voice steady but laced with fury, stepping in front of me. “How dare you try to sabotage my daughter’s wedding. Do you know how much Miren loves Kael?
How hard we’ve worked to include you?”
Vionna looked up, tears streaking her face. “I didn’t—”
“No,” Elowyn cut her off, her voice sharp. “You’ve made your feelings clear.
You don’t respect my daughter or this family.”
Vionna tried to speak, but Elowyn wasn’t done. “This wedding is about love, about building a family. If you can’t be part of that, you don’t belong here.”
The room was still, the weight of her words hanging heavy.
Vionna sat, sobbing, but Elowyn stood firm. “You’re going to fix this,” Elowyn said, her tone unyielding. “You’ll make this right, or you won’t be at the wedding.”
Vionna nodded, tears falling, knowing she had no choice.
I stood there, trembling, my mother’s words echoing in my mind. The betrayal burned, but Elowyn’s strength grounded me. I didn’t know what would happen next, but one thing was certain—everything had changed.
