They say your wedding day should be the happiest day of your life. Lies.
For six months, I planned every detail of this wedding. Six months of choosing flowers, picking out the perfect dress, tasting endless cake samples, and making sure everything was just right. I thought that today would be my reward. That for once, I’d get to breathe, to relax, to soak in the moment.
But no.
Instead, I was standing in my bedroom, pacing like a lunatic while gripping my phone so tight my fingers ached.
The florist wasn’t answering. Five calls. No voicemail. Nothing. The wedding was four hours away, and I had no flowers. The bouquets, the centerpieces, the decorations for the arch—gone. Just… vanished.
My pulse pounded in my ears. My jaw clenched so hard it hurt. I was ready to scream, throw my phone at the wall, maybe even flip my entire vanity table.
And then, a knock at my door.
I yanked it open, expecting to see my sister or one of my nosy little nephews.
But the hallway was empty.
I frowned. My family was all over the house, chatting, laughing, running around. The place was chaos.
I sighed and was about to shut the door when I saw it—an envelope, plain and white, lying on the floor.
My stomach twisted.
I bent down, picked it up, and stepped back inside, locking the door. My fingers trembled as I tore it open. Inside was a flash drive labeled in bold black letters: “WATCH ME.”
My breath hitched. My mind raced through possibilities. Was it a prank? Something romantic from Ted? A message from a wedding vendor?
I sat down, plugged the drive into my laptop, and clicked on the only file inside.
A video.
Title: “Are you sure you want to marry him?”
Cold fear slithered through my veins.
I hesitated for just a second, then pressed play.
The video began in a dimly lit limousine. Ted and his friends, already drunk, laughing, shouting.
“Last night of freedom!” Max’s voice rang out, holding his phone as he filmed the chaos.
Ted laughed, shaking his head. “I’m already taken, man.”
“You don’t get it!” Max grinned. “Tonight, anything goes!”
Ted hesitated. “But I love Tracy.”
Max rolled his eyes. “Your Tracy is a piece of work—she’s got you under her heel!”
The guys clinked their drinks together, laughing.
Ted frowned, gripping his glass. “That’s not true.”
“Then prove it,” Max pushed.
Ted exhaled. “Maybe tonight I’ll prove you wrong.”
My stomach turned to stone.
A knock on my door made me jump.
I quickly shut the laptop and took a shaky breath before answering.
Max stood there, smiling like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t just been caught on camera calling me controlling.
“Hey, Tracy,” he said casually.
I didn’t return his smile. “What do you want?”
“Ted can’t find his shoes. Think they might be in here?”
I clenched my jaw so tight I thought my teeth might crack. “I’ll look.”
I turned, grabbed the shoebox from the closet, and shoved it into his hands.
Max smirked. “If you’re worried, Ted isn’t planning to run from the wedding.”
“Why would I be worried?” I snapped.
He shrugged. “Just a joke. Relax.”
I shut the door in his face.
Heart pounding, I rushed back to my laptop and hit play again.
The video cut to a hotel room. Ted sat in a chair, blindfolded. The guys cheered as music started playing.
Then she walked in.
A woman, wearing a mask, dancing around him.
She ran her hands over his shoulders, whispering in his ear. Then, slowly, she removed his blindfold.
Sandy.
My hands clenched into fists.
Ted’s ex-fiancée. The one he swore he never spoke to anymore. The one he claimed to be completely over.
“I know you missed me,” she purred.
Before I could even process what was happening, she kissed him.
And he kissed her back.
“Tracy!” my mom’s voice rang from downstairs.
I gasped, slamming the laptop shut. My whole body shook.
I stormed down the stairs, barely seeing straight. My mom stood in front of the wedding cake, panic in her eyes.
Half of it had collapsed.
“The wedding is in three hours! What do we do?!” she cried.
I wanted to scream, “CANCEL THE DAMN WEDDING!” I wanted to throw something. Instead, I just stared.
“I… I don’t know,” I mumbled.
Melanie, my best friend, rushed in. “What’s wrong?”
I pointed at the cake. She gasped. “Oh. My. God.”
Mom turned to me. “Tracy?”
My heart pounded. Ted had kissed his ex. He had let her touch him.
I couldn’t marry him.
I turned and bolted upstairs, locking my door. My hands rested on my laptop, but I didn’t press play.
Instead, I opened the window.
It wasn’t that high. I had climbed out plenty of times as a teenager.
Without hesitation, I swung my legs over the edge, stepped onto the ledge, and climbed down.
My feet hit the ground, and I ran. I didn’t stop until I reached my car.
As I started the engine, my mom’s voice rang out. “Tracy! Where are you going?!”
I didn’t answer. I just drove. Away from the wedding. Away from the lies.
Away from him.
I stopped at a quiet park and just sat there, staring at nothing.
Then, a car pulled up.
Max.
He got out and walked over. “I knew you’d leave.”
I exhaled shakily. “You sent me the video, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you deserved to know the truth before you made the biggest mistake of your life.”
Tears stung my eyes. “Did Ted do this before?”
Max hesitated. “Yes.”
I looked away, my heart breaking all over again.
Max sighed. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”
I didn’t argue. As I got into his car, I whispered, “Thank you.”
And just like that, the day that was supposed to be my happiest turned into my worst.
But at least I found out the truth before it was too late.
