Four

Three hours later, I stood outside the wedding venue in a dress I'd borrowed from Chloe's closet. It was sleek, black, and entirely inappropriate for a wedding guest or even the bride who was exceptionally late. 

Fortunately Dan was sweet enough to send us the footage from the hallway to the room Jace and his whore booked. The walls are thin to a fault so besides the footage of them shoving their tongues down each other's throat before they even made it to the room, there was also a recording of what he had said and the back and forth moans.

Chloe stood on one side of me, and our friend Mira on the other. Mira ran a local blog about city gossip since her senior year in high school. Since she couldn't bag a job as a journalist she decided to take the blog seriously, and the gleam in her eye told me she already knew exactly what kind of story this was about to become.

"You sure about this?" Mira asked quietly.

"I've never been more sure of anything. Jace will pay for ruining my life."

This was enough evidence to claim full custody of Lily, not like we were ever married. If he could cheat on his wife to be on the eve of their wedding he's no responsible husband or father.

The doors to the venue were closed. Inside, I could hear the murmur of voices, the warm-up strum of the guitarist. Any minute now, they'd realize the bride wasn't there and Jace will start to panic,. putting up a front. 

But knowing how cunning he is, I won't let him get to that part.

I pushed open the doors, and ignored the stares and shocked murmurs as I walked down the aisle like I'd practiced a hundred times, but this time my spine was straight and my eyes were fixed on the man at the altar. Jace stood there in his perfect suit, his face cycling through confusion, hope, and then a deep frown when he saw my expression and what I was wearing.

I stopped a few feet away from him. 

Jace forced a smile. "What are you wearing? It's a wedding, Eva, not a funeral.” He sighed, and shook his head. “But it's okay. You can wear whatever you want, what matters is that you're here, we can still—"

"Hmmm. I thought my dress might piss you off. Did I pick the wrong shade of black?” 

His smile flickered. He walked down the altar and grabbed my arm out of sight. "What are you doing?"

"What I should have done last night…” I raised my voice, “...when I found you in a hotel room with your business partner."

The orchestra stopped at once as the gasps echoed round the church, it would've been comical if I wasn't hurt. I turned to Chloe and exhaled when I saw her shut Lily's eyes and put a headphone over her ear.

I don't want my daughter watching her family fall apart.

“What is wrong with you?” Jace moved back, feigning hurt. “It's one thing if you're late and inappropriately dressed to our wedding Eva and I forgive that because I love you but I won't have you doubt my loyalty to you.” 

“Oh really? Do you not remember me walking into Marquette hotel last night? Do you not remember me spilling champagne on your mistress?”

Jace was stupid in certain ways and that helped me plan this out very well, rather than defending himself he'd try his best to shift all the blame on me. “Marquette hotel? Baby you know if there's any place I hate in this world is a rundown hotel with history of suicides, cheating, death.” He tried to reach for my hand but I moved back. 

“Well you must have a kink for that then—”

“Eva!” His mother interrupted me, shooting up. “What is all this nonsense!?” She walked out of the pew and to where we stood. “First you came late to your own wedding and now?! Now you accuse my son of cheating? What is wrong with you? If he wanted someone else he wouldn't have agreed to this wedding and that child.”

I almost scoffed. “That child? What child? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you mean his child. We're getting married because he’s taking responsibility for his actions. Are you teaching your son to not take responsibility for his mistakes and actions? Is that what this is? Make it look like he's doing me a favor.”

“You insolent child! After all we've done for you.” Her hand shot out, almost hitting me. “What were you doing at this hotel you claimed to catch my son with another woman in?”

Jace clutched his chest as if realizing something. “Di–were you cheating on me, Eva?”

The crowd erupted into another murmur, half of them looking at me in disgust.

“Oh, please. Like I'll stoop so low to your level. I got an anonymous text about you cheating on me and that was the address given to me.”

His mother chuckled. “Does that sound believable to you? I should've known when you came with that lie about being pregnant for my son that you'll be a problem. This wedding is over. Get out! Get out this instant, I never want to see you near my son again.”

"Oh right, I think I have proof." I reached into my clutch and pulled out my phone, almost jumping in satisfaction when Jace’s face fell.

“Leave, Eva! This wedding is over. I want nothing to do with you!”

"Why the rush? I'll leave okay, right after you explain to these people what you said about me and my daughter. About me and Lily being a package to impress your stepbrother? I believe so. About how after the wedding, you'd deal with me?"

The guests were in full uproar now. 

He suddenly stepped toward me, and desperately grabbed my arm. "What evidence? Stop this Eva, We can talk about this. Think about Lily—" He looked at the crowd. “No need to panic everyone, there's no evidence of anything and I've been loyal to my wife, she's just emotional after our fight last —”

"I am thinking about Lily." I yelled, pushing him away. "I'm thinking about how she deserves a father who doesn't see her as a prop. I'm thinking about how I deserve a partner who doesn't lie to my face for years. You don't get to marry me, Jace. You don't get to use me. You don't get anything from me ever again."

I shoved my phone with the footage playing into one of the other guests' hands after airdropping it into as many people's phones as I could find.

The woman closed her mouth as she watched, before passing it to Jace's mother. Whose face morphed into shock, surprise, embarrassment. 

I snatched my phone back and exhaled in satisfaction as everyone stared at their phone with shock, the mothers shutting their children's ears. 

“I'm sorry you all came here for a wedding that's supposed to be perfect today. But I'm not sorry for saving myself from a man who never loved me." I looked back at Jace one last time. "I hope she was worth it."

I turned around and walked back down the aisle, Chloe handing Lily to me. She looked up at me with her big dark eyes, so like Jace's it hurt, and kissed my cheeks, giggling.

She looked back at the altar, and giggled again. "Bye Daddy! See you at home! Mummy has cake for you.”

Jace doesn't deserve such an innocent child.