Chapter 2
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
Marcus's question hung over the ballroom.
"Who sold her home so you could have this wedding?"
Every guest seemed to turn toward Evelyn.
She lowered her head.
I wanted the marble floor to open beneath me.
"Marcus," I whispered, "please."
He shook his head.
"No, Nia. You've spent months telling everyone you paid for this wedding yourself."
I felt my face burning.
"That's not completely true."
He stared at me.
"Then tell them what's true."
I looked at Evelyn.
She was trying to stand.
Marcus immediately approached her.
"Please stay seated."
She touched his arm.
"Don't do this because of me."
His expression softened.
"Evelyn, somebody needs to defend you."
She shook her head.
"I don't want to ruin their wedding."
Those words nearly broke through my anger.
Nearly.
But humiliation was drowning everything else.
I could hear my cousin Tasha whispering behind me.
"Her stepmother paid for everything?"
Another guest murmured, "Didn't Nia say she got a huge promotion?"
I clenched my fists.
I had told people I earned enough from my marketing job to pay for the wedding.
That wasn't entirely a lie.
I had received a promotion.
My salary had increased.
But I hadn't saved nearly enough for the celebration I wanted.
When the wedding planner quoted seventy-five thousand dollars, I should have walked away.
Instead, I became obsessed.
I wanted the finest ballroom.
The most beautiful flowers.
The most expensive dress.
I told myself I deserved it.
Then Evelyn offered to help.
I remembered sitting in her small kitchen six months earlier.
She poured tea into two mismatched cups.
I showed her photographs of the venue.
She smiled.
"It's beautiful, baby."
I sighed.
"It's impossible."
She studied my face.
"How much do you need?"
I laughed bitterly.
"Too much."
She took my hand.
"Tell me."
I told her.
She didn't answer immediately.
Then she said, "Your father would have wanted you to have a beautiful wedding."
My father had died when I was twelve.
Evelyn married him when I was six.
After his death, she raised me alone.
She never remarried.
She worked two jobs.
She paid for school supplies, dance lessons, and college application fees.
And when I complained about our small apartment, she promised life would improve.
I had always believed she was trying to make up for the mother I'd lost.
But she wasn't my biological mother.
And over the years, I began treating that difference like a debt she could never repay.
At the ballroom, Marcus looked directly at me.
"How much did Evelyn give you?"
I swallowed.
"Marcus."
"How much?"
I stared at the floor.
"Fifty-eight thousand dollars."
A shocked murmur spread through the guests.
Marcus closed his eyes.
Evelyn began crying harder.
I wanted to disappear.
"She sold her house," Marcus said.
I nodded.
"Yes."
"And where is she living now?"
I didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
"Nia."
I whispered, "She's renting a room."
The ballroom fell silent again.
Marcus looked devastated.
"She sold the home your father left her?"
I nodded.
Tears filled my eyes.
"Yes."
I remembered the day Evelyn handed me the money.
She said she had found a smaller place and didn't mind downsizing.
I didn't ask enough questions.
I didn't ask whether she'd have money left for retirement.
I didn't ask whether she was frightened.
I only hugged her and thanked her.
Then I ordered the expensive flowers.
Marcus looked toward my gown.
"And your dress?"
I swallowed.
"Eight thousand."
His face tightened.
"The necklace?"
I touched the diamonds.
"Four thousand."
Evelyn whispered, "Marcus, please."
He looked at her.
She wiped her cheeks.
"I wanted to help her."
I stared at her.
Even now, she was defending me.
After I had grabbed her arm.
After I had publicly rejected her.
After I had treated her like something embarrassing.
Marcus looked toward the guests.
"The ceremony is canceled."
My heart stopped.
"No!"
He turned toward me.
"I'm not marrying you today."
I grabbed his hand.
"Marcus, please. We can talk privately."
He gently removed my fingers.
"We should have talked months ago."
My voice broke.
"I love you."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I love you too, Nia."
Hope rushed through me.
Then he continued.
"But love doesn't mean I have to ignore cruelty."
I shook my head.
"I'm sorry."
He looked toward Evelyn.
"Then apologize to the person you hurt."
I turned.
Evelyn was watching me.
Her expression wasn't angry.
It was worse.
She looked heartbroken.
I opened my mouth.
"I'm sorry."
The words sounded weak.
Small.
Almost meaningless.
Evelyn nodded.
"It's okay, sweetheart."
Marcus immediately shook his head.
"No, Evelyn. It isn't."
She looked at him.
He continued.
"You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt."
Evelyn began crying again.
I couldn't stand it.
I turned and hurried toward the bridal suite.
Behind me, Marcus called my name.
But I didn't stop.
I slammed the door and leaned against it.
My entire body shook.
I had spent eighteen months planning this wedding.
Now it was destroyed.
My reputation was destroyed.
And Marcus had abandoned me in front of everyone.
At least, that was how I wanted to see it.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from Tasha.
"Girl, everyone knows. People are talking about Evelyn selling her house."
I threw the phone onto the sofa.
Another message appeared.
This time from my wedding planner.
"Please contact me regarding outstanding vendor balances."
I stared at the screen.
Outstanding balances?
I had believed everything was paid.
I opened the message.
A remaining balance of seventeen thousand eight hundred dollars was due.
My heart began pounding.
That couldn't be right.
I immediately called the planner.
She sounded uncomfortable.
"Nia, your final payment was scheduled for yesterday."
"I thought it was paid."
"The payment was declined."
I felt dizzy.
"What payment?"
"The one authorized through the account listed under Evelyn Carter."
My stomach dropped.
Evelyn's account?
I stared at the wall.
I had given the planner Evelyn's banking information months earlier.
Evelyn had agreed to pay several deposits.
But I thought the final amount came from my own account.
The planner continued.
"There's also a question concerning a financing agreement."
My mouth went dry.
"What financing agreement?"
She hesitated.
"The one submitted using your stepmother's information."
I stopped breathing.
I had never asked Evelyn to sign a financing agreement.
Then the planner said something that made my heart pound.
"Nia, the lender says the signature belongs to Evelyn Carter."
I stared at the phone.
May you like
Because three weeks earlier, my cousin Tasha had offered to handle the remaining wedding payments.
And now I had no idea what she had done.
