My Bridesmaid Shamed Me, so I Respawned

I thrust the microphone straight at my best friend Nicole Reed, right up to her lips.

She clearly hadn't expected me—the sweet, timid woman she'd always known—to stand up to her in front of hundreds of people at my wedding.

Nicole shrank back immediately, playing the frightened, helpless victim. "Mer, what are you doing? You scared me! You know me. I've always been blunt. I was just kidding! It's your wedding day. Can't you take a joke?"

But I gripped the microphone tightly and refused to back down.

"If it was a joke, then go ahead. Tell the whole story."

My voice cut through the ballroom, cold and unwavering. "Tell everyone exactly what you saw and heard at the gynecologist's. Let's give everyone here a good laugh."

A flash of triumph crossed Nicole's eyes. She thought I was only trying to scare her.

"Don't make me do this, Mer. Everyone's watching. I really didn't mean to mention that older guy with the huge belly."

She raised her voice, making sure everyone could hear. Then, she went on, "I swear! I did not see the older man pay for your procedure or sign the hospital paperwork for you!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she slapped a hand over it, her eyes widening as she feigned regret.

"Gosh! I really need to learn when to shut my mouth," Nicole said. "Theo, Mrs. Grant, don't believe a single word I just said, okay?

"That man was probably just some distant relative of Meredith's. Everyone, please don't jump to conclusions!"

Silence fell over the ballroom. Moments later, the guests broke into an uproar. Murmurs swept through the crowd, nearly drowning everything else out.

"What's there to guess? Obviously, she slept around behind her husband's back, got pregnant, and went to have an abortion," one commented.

Another said, "She looked so innocent. Who knew she was that kind of woman? What a disgrace for the Grant family."

My husband, Theodore Grant, whom I'd pushed away moments earlier, came storming toward me.

"Meredith Patterson! What the hell is this about?" he barked, his bloodshot eyes boring into me.

Seeing this, my usually poised mother-in-law, Alice Hill, was livid. She slammed her palm down on the marble tabletop, hard enough to send the champagne flutes toppling to the floor.

"Meredith! The Grants have always been a respectable family. We will not have some trashy woman like you marrying into this family! If you don't explain yourself right now, this wedding is over!"

I watched them make a spectacle of themselves, completely unfazed.

Then, I turned to the furious Theodore and asked calmly, "She makes one little joke, and you immediately take it as the truth, huh?"

I caught the smug, gleeful look on Nicole's face and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Theodore was so eager to take her word for it now. But once the truth came out, he'd be just as quick to turn against her.