Tyler stepped forward.
“And if we say no?”
I smiled.
“Then the wedding’s canled. Every vendor gets notified. Every dollar refunded except for the cancellation fees which you’ll owe. The dress gets repossessed. The catering vanishes. And good luck finding another venue this late in the season. You’ll spend double what I spent and still end up with a garden party in someone’s backyard.”
They stared at me for a long time.
Then Brooke hissed.
“This is blackmail.”
“No,” I said. “This is a choice.”
Tyler was the first to break.
He looked tired.
Really tired.
Like the weight of everything had finally settled on him.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Well do it.”
Brooke glared at him.
“Tyler.”
He turned to her.
“We don’t have a choice.”
She looked like she wanted to scream, but she swallowed it.
She didn’t want to be embarrassed.
Not now.
Not yet.
“Good,” I said, standing. “Well finalize the program next week.”
The day of the wedding was perfect.
Warm sunlight filtered through the trees, and the Palisade estate looked like something out of a movie.
Guests arrived on time.
The ceremony ran smoothly.
The food was excellent.
People smiled, laughed, took pictures under twinkling lights.
And the guest list?
Oh, it was glorious.
My godmother hugged me with tears in her eyes.
Jen arrived with her husband, who Tyler awkwardly pretended to remember.
A retired teacher from our childhood, who had once helped me through a rough patch, was seated front and center.
I watched Brooke try to smile through it all, clearly confused by half the people in the room and too proud to admit it.
But the real moment came during the reception speeches.