The soft melody of the wedding march filled the air, a symphony of hope and love. Every step I took toward the altar seemed to carry a promise, a future I had built in my mind, a life I was about to start with the man I wanted to spend forever with. My heart raced with anticipation, every gaze from the guests feeling like a blessing, I knew they were all excited but no one could be as excited as me. The room was perfect, the flowers, the candles, the smiles of friends and the people that were now family. All of it was exactly how I had dreamed it would be.
But as I stood before him, as I looked into the eyes of the man I was in love with, something in the air shifted.
The words were supposed to be simple. "I do." But when the moment came, he stood there, silent. Staring at me.
My breath caught in my throat, panic creeping up my spine. The priest's voice became a distant hum, drowned out by the pounding of my heart. "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The question echoed in the room, but my world seemed to slow down.
And then it happened.
His lips parted, but the words that followed crushed me like a weight too heavy to bear. "I---I'm sorry, Elena. I can't."
The room fell silent. The guests, the friends, the family, everyone who had gathered to witness what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life stared at us in shock. I felt my stomach twist violently as the reality of his words sunk in. I could see his mom smirk in satisfaction as she had never really liked me.
My chest burned, and I could barely breathe as I tried to process what was happening.
His voice broke through the haze. "I can't marry you. I cannot marry someone who cannot have a child."
The words cut deeper than any physical wound. His betrayal wasn't just in his rejection, but in the emptiness of his eyes. He wasn't sorry, he wasn't hurt, he wasn't in love. There was no hesitation, no remorse. Just cold, flat words, stripping away everything I had thought I knew about him. About Us.
I stood frozen, the weight of his words pressing down on me like a suffocating blanket. The world around me spun, and I could hear my own pulse in my ears, loud and frantic. I wanted to scream, to ask him why, to demand an explanation, but all that came out was a strangled sob. My legs gave way, but before I could crumple to the ground, a hand, someone's hands shot out to steady me.
I didn't even look. I didn't want to see who was reaching for me. I didn't want to see anyone. Not as my world crumpled before my eyes.
The hand holding me let go, knowing i was stable enough not to fall and then i realized it was my best friend, Lily, her face a twisted mix of disbelief and fury. Without a word, she stormed up to Lucas and slapped him hard across the face. The sound of her hand connecting with his skin rang out, slicing through the silence like a whip. Lucas's head snapped back. As he slowly turned, rubbing his stinging cheek with fire in his eyes, a single, new figure that made me shake moved from the back pew and began walking, slow and purposeful, towards us at the altar.