The morning of her wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of Amara's life.
Her friends kept saying those words to her all week. You're so lucky, Amara. This is your big day. You're finally marrying the man you've loved for so long.
And she wanted to believe them.
The mirror in front of her showed a young woman dressed in white lace, her hair pinned with tiny silver stones that sparkled like dew. Her makeup was soft, nothing too heavy, just enough to highlight the nervous glow in her eyes. She looked like a bride. She was a bride.
But her heart wouldn't stop racing.
Her fingers twisted against each other as she sat in the small room behind the church hall. Her gown rustled every time she shifted on the chair. The sound made her more restless.
"Stop moving," her cousin Ada teased, leaning down to adjust the veil that had slipped to the side. "You're wrinkling the dress."
Amara forced a laugh, though it came out thin. "Sorry. I just… I don't know. I feel strange."
"Cold feet," Ada said with a grin. "Every bride feels it."
Maybe. But something about this morning felt different, heavier. Like the air itself didn't want to settle.
Still, Amara tried to calm her mind. This was Daniel. The man she had loved for years. The one she thought she'd grow old with. The one who held her hand in the rain and promised her forever.
Daniel.
The name alone softened her chest.
A knock came at the door, and Amara jumped. Her mother peeked in, her face glowing with pride. "It's time."
Amara's breath caught.
Her legs shook under the weight of her gown as she stood, Ada steadying her by the elbow. Step by step, she followed her mother out to the long aisle lined with flowers and white cloth. Music began to play, soft and sweet.
Every head turned toward her.
The sight should have filled her with joy, but instead her eyes darted to the man waiting at the altar. Daniel.
Tall, handsome, perfectly dressed in a dark suit that seemed to have been made just for him. He looked like a dream. But his face…
Something was wrong.
His jaw was tight, his shoulders stiff. He wouldn't even look at her.
Walking with her father down the aisle, Amara's steps faltered, but she forced herself to keep going, one shaky breath at a time, until she reached him.
The ceremony began. Words blurred. People smiled. Cameras flashed. Amara only heard the loud beat of her own heart.
When the pastor asked, "Do you, Daniel White , take Amara Williams to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?"
Amara turned her head slowly.
Daniel's lips parted, but nothing came out.
The pastor repeated the question.
And then, in front of everyone, Daniel said in a low, heavy voice, "I don't, I can't do this."
Gasps filled the hall.
Amara's world shattered.
Her knees wobbled, and if not for Ada catching her shoulder from behind, she would have collapsed right there.
"You what?" the pastor asked, clearly startled.
"I can't marry her," Daniel said louder this time, his voice shaking but firm. "I thought I could, but I can't."
Whispers spread across the room like wildfire.
Amara's throat burned. She stared at him, searching his eyes for a sign that this was some cruel joke, a test, anything. But all she saw was guilt.
"Daniel…" she whispered, tears pooling fast. "Why?"
He couldn't meet her gaze. "I'm sorry, Amara. I just… I can't."
The words struck like knives.
All the years of love, of waiting, of dreaming of this very day, crumbled in a single moment.
Her mother gasped loudly behind her. Her father's angry voice rang from the front row. People were standing, murmuring, recording, gossiping.
And Amara, the bride in white, stood broken, her heart laid bare for the whole world to see.
Daniel stepped back, shaking his head, then turned and walked down the aisle he was meant to walk with her. Alone.
The music had stopped. The silence was crushing.
Amara's tears blurred everything. She swayed where she stood, unable to breathe.
Then, suddenly, another figure moved to the front.
"Wait."
The voice was deep, steady, cutting through the noise.
It was Ethan.
Daniel's older brother.
He had been sitting at the side, watching, his sharp suit untouched, his expression unreadable. Now he stood tall, his presence filling the space Daniel had just abandoned.
Amara blinked, trying to process what was happening.
Ethan's dark eyes landed on her, holding her gaze without flinching. He was not smiling, not soft like Daniel had been. He was firm, certain, commanding.
"If Daniel won't marry her," Ethan said, his tone echoing across the hall, "then I will."
The entire room erupted.
Shouts. Gasps. Phones lifted higher to capture the scandal.
Amara's head spun.
Her heart, already broken, struggled to make sense of his words. Ethan? Daniel's brother? What was he saying?
Her father stepped forward, his face red with shock. "Ethan, this is madness!"
But Ethan didn't back down. His eyes stayed locked on Amara's trembling figure, as though daring anyone to pull him away.
"She doesn't deserve this humiliation," he said calmly, though there was a sharp edge in his voice. "I won't let her walk out of here ruined."
Amara's lips parted, but no words came. Her tears slid silently down her cheeks.
Marry Ethan? Was this real?
Her body felt too weak to move, her voice too small to fight. The world had shifted under her feet, and she had no ground to stand on.
The pastor, clearly at a loss, stammered, "This is highly irregular..."
But Etan interrupted, his voice cold and sure. "If she agrees, I'll marry her. Today. Now."
All eyes turned to Amara.
Her chest rose and fell, her breath shallow. The veil clung to her wet cheeks. She looked from Ethan to the empty aisle Daniel had walked down.
The man she had loved was gone.
And here stood another, his brother, offering her a lifeline in the middle of the storm.
She wanted to scream, to run, to vanish. But all she could do was stand frozen as the church waited for her answer.
Her mother touched her arm, whispering frantically, "Say yes, Amara. Don't let them destroy you like this."
Amara's lips trembled. She felt like a doll being moved by other people's hands.
She had dreamed of this day so many times, but never like this. Never standing beside Ethan, never being offered like a prize in front of strangers.
Her heart cried for Daniel, for what was lost. But her pride, her family's honor, screamed louder.
She swallowed hard, lifted her chin, and whispered the word that sealed her fate.
"Yes."