Before Corrine answered, Kevin walked toward us.
He smiled until he saw my face.
“What’s wrong?”
I looked directly at him.
“Please tell me you had nothing to do with this.”
His smile disappeared.
“What happened?”
“Your mother says Rosalie is walking down the aisle before me.”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
That tiny gesture told me everything.
“You knew.”
“Jess…”
“You knew.”
He sighed.
“Can we please not do this right now?”
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 glanced at 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.
One look at my face was enough.
“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.”
Our voices began echoing down the hallway.
Guests near the ceremony entrance started looking over.
The wedding coordinator hurried toward us, clearly uncomfortable.
“I’m so sorry.”
She turned to me.
“I was told everyone had agreed.”
“I certainly didn’t.”
Her eyes shifted to Corrine.
Then to Kevin.
No one said a word.
That silence answered another question.
The coordinator hadn’t made the decision.
Someone else had.
Moments later, my mother appeared.
“Jessica?”
She immediately knew 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.”
For the first time, Corrine looked uncomfortable.
“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 far end of the hallway, I finally noticed Rosalie.
She stood near the ceremony entrance.
She wore a pale blue dress.
Someone had placed a bouquet in her hands.
She wasn’t smiling.
She looked like someone waiting outside the principal’s office.
Natalie followed my gaze.
“Does she know about this?”
“I don’t know.”
Rosalie glanced toward us.
The instant our eyes met, she looked away.
She looked embarrassed.
Not excited.
Not triumphant.
Just deeply uncomfortable.
That wasn’t what I’d expected.
