She chose who would walk her down the aisle.

For several seconds, I couldn't understand what Darius had said.

"There is no trust?"

He rubbed his forehead.

"It was a figure of speech."

"You told the wedding planner there was a family trust."

"I said I was arranging financial support."

"No. You told me the money was ready."

He glanced around the reception hall.

People were pretending not to listen, but I could see their attention shifting toward us.

Darius lowered his voice.

"I was trying to give you the wedding you deserved."

"With money you didn't have?"

His expression hardened.

"I was going to figure it out."

Those words broke something inside me.

Not because he had failed to pay.

Because he had let me believe he had paid, knowing I would make decisions based on that belief.

He had allowed me to turn against Marcus.

He had watched me remove the boutonniere from the man who raised me and place it on his own tuxedo.

And he had said nothing.

"How much did you actually contribute?" I asked.

"I paid for your engagement dinner."

"That cost twelve hundred dollars."

"It was a generous gesture."

"The wedding costs more than eighty thousand."

He looked offended.

"I never agreed to pay for all of that."

I stared at him.

"Then why did you let everyone believe you had?"

He didn't answer.

My mother approached us.

"Darius, tell her the truth."

He turned sharply.

"Stay out of this, Renee."

"No," she said. "Not this time."

Her voice trembled, but she didn't back away.

"When you returned, you promised Nia that you wanted to rebuild your relationship slowly. Then you started criticizing Marcus. You said he was trying to keep you away from your daughter."

Darius crossed his arms.

"Because he was."

"Marcus invited you to dinner. He offered to help you get to know Nia. He even offered to let you share important moments with her."

I looked at my mother.

She had never told me that.

"Marcus did that?"

She nodded.

"He wanted you to have a relationship with your father. He just wanted it to be honest."

Darius laughed bitterly.

"You both always make me the villain."

"No," I whispered. "You do that yourself when you lie."

His face reddened.

"I made mistakes years ago. I admitted that. How long am I supposed to pay for them?"

I remembered the nights I had waited for him to call.

The birthdays when my mother said he was busy.

The school events where I scanned the crowd, hoping to see a familiar face.

I had spent years wondering whether I wasn't worth the effort.

When he returned, I had been so desperate to believe that I finally mattered to him that I overlooked every warning sign.

"You don't have to pay forever," I said. "But you do have to stop pretending the consequences of your choices are someone else's fault."

He stepped toward me.

"You need to be careful, Nia. I'm still your father."

I looked him straight in the eyes.

"And Marcus is still my dad."

For the first time, Darius seemed to have no response.

The wedding planner approached with another document.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to discuss the immediate arrangements."

I wiped my cheeks.

"What happens now?"

"The ceremony can proceed if the outstanding requirements are resolved. However, several vendors need confirmation before they can continue."

I looked around the room.

The guests had begun whispering openly.

My maid of honor, Tasha, hurried over and squeezed my hand.

"Do you want to cancel everything?" she asked quietly.

I looked toward the ceremony hall.

I had dreamed about my wedding since I was a little girl.

I had imagined walking down the aisle with a proud father beside me.

I had imagined my husband waiting at the altar, smiling when he saw me.

I had imagined the music, the flowers, and the promises.

But I had never imagined that the most important decision of my wedding day would be whether I could admit that I had made a terrible mistake.

"I need time," I whispered.

Tasha nodded.

"Then take it."

Darius immediately shook his head.

"You cannot cancel a wedding because of a misunderstanding."

I looked at him.

"This wasn't a misunderstanding. You lied."

"I was trying to help you."

"You were trying to look like the father who saved the day."

His silence answered me.

I turned toward Denise.

"Please tell the guests that the ceremony is delayed."

She nodded and hurried away.

Darius grabbed my wrist.

"You're going to regret humiliating me."

I pulled free.

"No. I'm regretting humiliating Marcus."

My mother stepped between us.

"Leave her alone."

Darius looked around as if expecting someone to defend him.

No one did.

He straightened his jacket and walked toward the exit.

I watched him go without following.

For years, I had been terrified that if I disappointed him, he would disappear again.

Now he was leaving, and I felt something unexpected.

Relief.

Then my phone rang.

The screen displayed Marcus's name.

I answered so quickly that I nearly dropped it.

"Marcus?"

His voice was calm.

"Nia, I need you to listen carefully. There is something in the house that belongs to you, and I think you should know about it before you make another decision."

My heart began pounding.

"What is it?"

"A letter your father sent when you were seven."

I froze.

"Darius?"

"Yes."

I gripped the phone.

"What letter?"