She crossed the room without a word and pressed a small folded note into my hand. Her fingers were cold, her voice barely above a whisper.
The handwriting was rushed and uneven, as if written in a hurry.
“Pretend to faint. Now.”
A chill ran through me. My mother wasn’t someone who dramatized things. If she wrote something like that—during my wedding—there had to be a reason.
Walking Toward the Unknown
When the music began and the doors opened, I took a steadying breath and stepped forward. Guests rose on both sides of the aisle. Ryan stood at the front smiling warmly, unaware that something had shifted.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
Halfway down, everything inside me urged me to trust the one person who had protected me my whole life. I let my knees buckle. The room fell silent, then filled with gasps.
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