I know it looks bad. I just didn’t want to make a scene at the wedding.”
I nodded, still processing. “I understand.
Thank you for telling me the truth.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked, looking worried. I took a deep breath, standing taller. “I need to talk to Thane.
We’ll figure it out together.”
After leaving Valthor, I went to find my new husband. He was laughing with some college friends, but his smile faded when he saw my face. “Peyton?
What’s wrong?” Thane asked, stepping away from the group. I pulled him aside. “We need to talk.
It’s about your mom.”
Thane’s brow furrowed. “What about her?”
I told him everything Valthor had shared. Thane’s face shifted from confusion to anger to hurt.
“I can’t believe she’d do something like that,” he said, shaking his head. “What should we do?” I asked, holding his hand tightly. “We can’t confront her here.
It’d ruin the wedding.”
I nodded. “Your dad already cleaned the silverware. Maybe we should just… act like we don’t know?”
“For now,” Thane agreed.
“But we’ll have to deal with this later.”
We rejoined the party, trying to act normal. But every time I looked at Sylvara, laughing and dancing, my stomach churned. As we mingled with guests, she came over to hug us both.
“I’m so thrilled for you two,” she said warmly. I forced a smile. “Thanks, Sylvara.”
She patted my arm.
“You’re going to have such a wonderful honeymoon. I can’t wait to hear all about it when you’re back.”
I caught Thane’s eye over her shoulder. He looked as uneasy as I felt.
“We’re really excited for it,” I said, my voice tight. As the night went on, I kept an eye on Sylvara. She seemed so cheerful, chatting with guests.
How could someone who seemed so kind do something so mean? At one point, she caught me by the bar. “Peyton, dear, have you opened any of your gifts yet?”
I shook my head.
“No, we’re waiting until after the honeymoon.”
“Oh, you must open mine,” she urged. “I picked out the prettiest silverware set. I know how much you love cooking.”
I swallowed hard.
“That’s so sweet. We’ll definitely use it when we get back.”
Sylvara beamed. “Wonderful!
I can’t wait to hear how you like it.”
As she walked away, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Valthor. “You okay?” he asked quietly.
I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks again for… you know.”
He squeezed my shoulder.
“Of course. I’m just glad I caught it in time.”
The rest of the reception passed in a haze. Thane and I danced, laughed with friends, and tried to act like everything was fine.
But there was a tension I couldn’t shake. As we were getting ready to leave, I saw Valthor slip back into the hall with a familiar box. He placed it carefully on the gift table, then blended back into the crowd.
Thane came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Ready to go?”
I leaned back against him. “More than ready.”
As we ran through the shower of rice and confetti to our waiting car, I caught one last glimpse of Sylvara.
She was waving and smiling, looking every bit the proud mother of the groom. I waved back, feeling a mix of anger and sadness. How were we supposed to move forward from this?
In the car, Thane took my hand. “Hey, you okay?”
I squeezed his fingers. “Yeah, just… trying to process it all.”
He nodded.
“We’ll figure it out together, okay? Whatever happens with my mom, we’re a team now.”
I smiled, feeling a wave of love for my new husband. “A team.
I like that.”
As we drove off into the night, I tried to focus on the good things. We were married. We had a beautiful wedding.
And thanks to Valthor’s quick thinking, our honeymoon was safe. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just the start of a bigger problem. How do you move forward when someone you’re supposed to love and trust tried to hurt you?
I didn’t have the answers yet. But as I looked at Thane, I knew we’d face whatever came next together. For better or for worse, right?
