Chapter 3 - The Unraveling
My father stepped up beside me again. His hand was trembling with rage, but his voice was soft when he spoke to me.
"Emily," he whispered. "Look at me, baby."
I turned my head toward him.
"You don't have to prove anything to anyone," my father said, his eyes shining with tears he was trying desperately to hold back. "If you want to leave, we leave right now. I don't care about the money spent on the catering or the flowers. I will not stand here and watch my daughter be broken."
Daniel noticed my father speaking to me and walked back over, looking irritated.
"Emily, stop making that face," Daniel said loudly, crossing his arms. "You're going to ruin the photos later. Just go sit in your dad's car until two o'clock. It's really not a big deal."
I looked at Daniel. Really looked at him.
I saw the sleek watch on his wrist—a gift from me for his last birthday. I saw the Italian leather shoes he was wearing—bought with my card. I saw the self-righteous, arrogant smirk playing on his lips, convinced that I was too far in, too deeply in love, and too embarrassed by the public nature of the wedding to walk away.
He thought he had caught me in a trap.
"Daniel," I said quietly.
"What?" he snapped, checking his watch.
I reached up with both hands. I unpinned the long lace veil from my hair.
Then, without taking my eyes off him, I opened my hands. The bouquet of white peonies crashed onto the dirty asphalt at his feet.
Daniel frowned, staring down at the flowers. "What are you doing?"
I didn't answer him. Underneath my elaborate satin ballgown skirt, I had worn a simple, sleek silk sheath dress designed for the evening reception, connected by a heavy pearl-and-zipper mechanism at the waist. I reached behind my back, unzipped the heavy outer skirt, and let the massive tulle and satin dress collapse onto the ground around my ankles.
I stepped out of the heap of white fabric, wearing only the elegant slip dress beneath. My cousin Sarah immediately stepped forward and draped her wool trench coat over my shoulders.
Daniel’s face drained of every drop of color. "Emily... what on earth are you doing?"
I looked him straight in the eye, my voice perfectly steady, carrying across the quiet street.
"What I should have done the exact moment your mother chained that gate."
May you like
I turned away from him and faced my family, my friends, and the fifty guests who were standing on the sidewalk.
"Thank you all for coming today," I announced, my voice clear and ringing with absolute clarity. "I am sorry for the wasted trip. But there will be no wedding today. Or ever."
