Chapter 8 - THE WEDDING DAY THAT WASN'T
Saturday morning arrived with a clear,
cruel blue sky.
The church was decorated with thousands of white roses.
The media was lined up outside.
The guests were arriving in their finest silk and wool.
I arrived in my tuxedo.
I walked into the vestry where my parents were waiting.
My mother was in a state of panic.
My father was ready to strike me.
"You will walk out there and you will marry Noelle," my father said.
"The papers are already signed."
"The merger is happening."
"I don't think so," I said.
I pulled out my laptop.
"I have the confession from Mrs. Gable."
"I have the emails."
"I have the proof of the forgery."
"If I walk out there, I'm going to the pulpit."
"And I'm going to read every single one of these emails to the press."
My mother turned white.
"Evan... we did it for you."
"You did it for yourselves," I said.
"You stole four years of my life."
"You stole a father from three children."
"Now, here's what's going to happen."
"You are going to walk out there and tell the guests the wedding is cancelled."
"You are going to tell them that I have found my real family."
"And you are going to sign over the trust fund for my children today."
My father stepped toward me,
his hand raised.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me, Dad."
"I have nothing to lose."
"I've already lost four years."
The silence in the room was absolute.
He saw the look in my eyes.
He knew he had lost.
He turned and walked out of the vestry.
My mother collapsed into a chair,
weeping.
I walked out of the side door.
I didn't look at the roses.
I didn't look at the cameras.
I got into my car and drove away.
The wedding of the century was over before it began.
May you like
And for the first time in my life,
I was free.
