I Don't Want a Secondhand Marriage

Wendy's POV

I felt like I could barely breathe.

Back in the room, I tore off my wedding dress and pulled the veil from my hair. When Zach Lewis walked in and saw me, he froze.

"Wendy, why aren't you dressed? They said we can start the wedding soon."

I was already frantically wiping off my makeup.

"Cancel it."

His phone rang before he heard me.

All through the delay, I'd been afraid someone would suddenly tell us it was time to start, so I'd kept touching up my makeup, still hoping Zach and I could have a beautiful wedding to remember.

Then I'd looked out the window and seen his car pull up. I thought everything had finally been sorted out.

Worried that my parents might give him a hard time, I'd even gone downstairs specifically to tell him what to say.

On the way, I was still rehearsing the best way to explain things while trying to convince my parents not to be too upset with him. After all, I'd thought the delay was beyond his control.

I never imagined all that effort had been for the sake of attending my own secondhand wedding.

I'd only caught pieces of their conversation.

Zach turned to me and apologized. "The hotel says they need a little more time."

Yet the voice that came through from the other end was unmistakably Zoe Xavier's.

"Some of my friends are still having fun. Can you give us a little longer? They really love that wine your future father-in-law brought. No wonder it tastes so good after being aged for so long. Can you get us some more?"

Zach laughed as he headed toward the balcony.

"I'll ask if there's any left. If there is, I'll bring you some."

I went to check on my parents and asked my brother to take them out for a proper meal.

They had come here expecting to enjoy their daughter's wedding banquet. Instead, they'd spent the entire day stuck at the hotel with me, afraid we'd miss the ceremony if we left, eating nothing but bread.

My eyes stung at the thought as I walked back to my room.

Dad had brought several jars of wine he'd been aging for years specifically for my wedding.

"I've been saving the good stuff all this time for today."

Dad had never been especially generous, and making that much wine had taken years of time and effort. This time, though, he'd brought it all for me. He hadn't even let himself taste it first.

And Zach had handed it out to other people as if it meant nothing, without sparing a single thought for how Dad might feel.

I looked over at Zach, who had returned to the couch.

His phone rang again. This time, it really was the hotel.

I snatched it from him and put the call on speaker.

"Mr. Lewis," the hotel employee said, "we've finished resetting everything, though naturally it won't look quite as perfect as it did for the first ceremony. The alcohol you brought yourselves is all gone. Should we save the wine you ordered through the hotel for the next ceremony?"

My nails dug into my palms.

"No. Cancel it."

My voice was steady.

"There won't be another ceremony."