CHAPTER 6: The Wedding That Didn't Happen

For a few seconds, nobody moved.

My mother was still looking at me.

My sister was holding my hand.

And behind us, the wedding was continuing as if nothing had changed.

Someone laughed inside the ballroom.

A chair scraped against the floor.

Music played softly in the background.

It all sounded wrong.

My mother finally spoke.

“Does Darian know?”

I nodded.

“He knows something is wrong.”

“Something?”

I looked at her.

“He knows I found out about Vesper.”

My mother's face changed.

“Vesper?”

My sister looked at me sharply.

I hadn't told her everything yet.

She squeezed my hand.

“Mom, we need somewhere private.”

My mother nodded.

We walked toward a small sitting room beside the ballroom.

The moment the door closed behind us, my mother turned to me.

“What happened?”

I sat down.

My sister sat beside me.

I placed the blue folder on the table.

“I found out Darian has been hiding a company from me.”

My mother frowned.

“A company?”

“Aster Holdings.”

She looked at my sister.

Neither of them knew the name.

“He asked me to sign some documents six months ago,” I continued. “He told me it was for a friend's business.”

My mother stared at me.

“And it wasn't?”

“No.”

I opened the folder and showed them the document.

“He owns the company.”

My sister took the paper.

“What did you sign?”

“A personal guarantee.”

She looked up.

“For how much?”

“Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.”

My mother sat down slowly.

“Oh, Arielle.”

I swallowed.

“And our home was listed as security.”

My sister went silent.

My mother covered her mouth.

For a moment, I wished I hadn't told them.

Not because I wanted to protect Darian.

Because saying it aloud made it real.

My sister looked at me.

“Does he have access to the account?”

“Yes.”

“Then you need to call the bank.”

“I know.”

“And the solicitor?”

“I already called one.”

My mother looked at me.

“You've done all this alone?”

“I didn't know who else to tell.”

She reached across the table and took my hand.

“You should have called me.”

I looked down.

“I didn't know what I was dealing with.”

She squeezed my fingers.

“You don't have to deal with it alone now.”

My eyes burned.

I blinked quickly.

I wasn't going to fall apart.

Not here.

Not today.

A knock came at the door.

We all looked up.

A wedding coordinator stood outside.

“Mrs. Vale?”

I stood.

“Yes?”

“The ceremony is due to begin in forty-five minutes.”

I looked at her.

She was holding a clipboard.

“Are we still going ahead?”

There it was.

The question I had been avoiding.

I took a breath.

“No.”

She looked surprised.

“I'm sorry?”

“The wedding is cancelled.”

My mother's hand tightened around mine.

The coordinator's eyes moved between us.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

She nodded slowly.

“I'll inform the venue manager.”

She started to leave.

“Wait.”

She turned.

“Please don't announce anything yet.”

“Of course.”

“I need to speak to the guests myself.”

She nodded and closed the door.

My sister looked at me.

“You're going to tell everyone?”

“I don't know.”

“You don't have to.”

“I do.”

She frowned.

“Why?”

“Because they're here for me too.”

My mother shook her head.

“Sweetheart, you don't owe anyone an explanation.”

“I know.”

I looked at the folder.

“But I don't want them hearing a story from Darian before they hear the truth from me.”

My sister's expression hardened.

“Do you think he'll lie?”

I thought about the last seven years.

“Yes.”

A knock sounded again.

This time, the door opened before anyone answered.

Darian stood there.

His face was pale.

He looked at my mother.

Then my sister.

Then me.

“What did you tell them?”

My sister stood.

“You don't get to walk in here and ask that.”

“Please,” Darian said. “I need to speak to Arielle.”

“You've spoken enough,” my mother said.

He looked at her.

“Mrs. Vale—”

“Don't call me that.”

He stopped.

My mother had always loved Darian. She had treated him like a son long before today. Now she stood between us, her body angled toward me, her back to him. She didn't have to say anything. I understood.

Darian turned to me.

“Arielle, please.”

I didn't answer.

“The wedding doesn't have to be cancelled.”

I stared at him.

“It does.”

“No.”

His voice cracked.

“You're angry. I understand that. But we can fix this.”

“Fix what?”

“The company. The money. Everything.”

I shook my head.

“You still don't understand.”

“Then tell me.”

“I don't need you to fix the things you hid from me.”

He stepped closer.

“I made mistakes.”

“That's not the same thing.”

He stopped.

I continued.

“A mistake is forgetting an anniversary.”

His face tightened.

“A mistake is saying something you regret.”

I looked directly at him.

“You didn't make one mistake, Darian.”

“You made decisions.”

He said nothing.

“You decided to lie to Vesper. You decided to lie to me. You decided to use our money. You decided to let me sign a guarantee without telling me what it was.”

His eyes dropped.

“And you decided to put our home at risk.”

“I was going to fix it.”

“When?”

“After the wedding.”

I gave a small nod.

“Exactly.”

He looked at me.

“You were going to tell me after I married you.”

“I was going to tell you everything.”

“After I married you.”

He had no answer.

The silence between us felt final.

Darian took another step toward me.

“I love you.”

"I believed him. That was the worst part. Because I could see in his eyes that he meant it. And somehow, that made everything worse, that he could love me and still do all of this."

But love hadn't stopped him from lying.

It hadn't stopped him from risking my future.

It hadn't stopped him from building another life while asking me to stand beside him in ours.

“I know,” I said quietly.

His eyes filled with something I couldn't name.

“Then don't do this.”

I shook my head.

“Loving me isn't enough anymore.”

He looked at me for a long moment.

Then his shoulders dropped.

“Please don't humiliate me.”

I almost couldn't believe what I'd heard.

I looked at him.

“I'm the one whose wedding you're asking me to walk away from.”

“I know.”

“No, Darian.”

My voice stayed calm.

“You don't.”

He looked away.

"Sabine moved closer to me. 'I've known Darian for seven years,' she said quietly. 'I thought I knew him. But I didn't know any of this.' She looked at me. 'And you've been carrying it all alone.'"

Darian took a breath.

“If you cancel this, everyone will know.”

“They already know something is wrong.”

“People will talk.”

“They always do.”

“You'll regret this.”

I looked at him.

“I might.”

"He opened his mouth. Then closed it. For the first time, he had nothing to say."

He seemed surprised.

I continued.

“But I would rather regret ending this than spend another seven years wondering what else you were willing to hide.”

His eyes closed.

For once, he didn't argue.

He simply turned and walked out.

The door closed behind him.

I stood there for several seconds.

My mother looked at me. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

I looked toward the ballroom. "No. But I'm ready to stop hiding."

She waited.

I took a breath.

“But I'm sure I can't marry him today.”

My sister wrapped her arms around me.

And outside that room, the wedding guests were still waiting.

The flowers were still there.

The music was still playing.

The dress was still hanging upstairs.

But there would be no vows.

No first dance.

No photographs of us as husband and wife.

Just a room full of people waiting to find out why the bride had disappeared.

I wiped my face.

Then I stood.

“Let's go tell them.”