“Absolutely not.”
Corrine folded her hands.
“This is a family matter.”
Natalie laughed.
“No.”
“This is the bride’s wedding.”
Our voices began echoing down the hallway.
Guests near the ceremony entrance started looking over.
The wedding coordinator hurried toward us, clearly uncomfortable.
“I’m so sorry.”
She turned to me.
“I was told everyone had agreed.”
“I certainly didn’t.”
Her eyes shifted to Corrine.
Then to Kevin.
No one said a word.
That silence answered another question.
The coordinator hadn’t made the decision.
Someone else had.
Moments later, my mother appeared.
“Jessica?”
She immediately knew something was wrong.
I took a slow breath.
“Apparently I’m no longer the first person walking down my own aisle.”
“What?”
Corrine stepped forward.
“We’re simply making a small adjustment.”
My mother frowned.
“Why?”
“It’s personal.”
“No.”
I folded my arms.
“If it’s personal enough to change my wedding, it’s personal enough to explain.”
For the first time, Corrine looked uncomfortable.
“I’d rather not discuss it.”
“I would.”
Kevin stepped closer.
“Jessica.”
I looked at him.
“You’re really standing behind this?”
He hesitated.
“I’m asking you for one favor.”
I almost laughed.
“One favor?”
“I’ve spent 14 months planning this wedding.”
“I know.”
“And 20 minutes before it starts, your mother rewrites it.”
“I know.”
“And your solution is asking me not to react.”
He lowered his voice.
“We’ll talk afterward.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“We’re talking now.”
At the far end of the hallway, I finally noticed Rosalie.
She stood near the ceremony entrance.
She wore a pale blue dress.
Someone had placed a bouquet in her hands.
She wasn’t smiling.
She looked like someone waiting outside the principal’s office.
Natalie followed my gaze.
“Does she know about this?”
“I don’t know.”
