Chapter 2
I watched Vanessa push the fountain.
There was no mistake.
No accident.
No possibility that she had simply lost her balance.
The recording showed her glancing over her shoulder to make sure nobody was watching.
Then she placed both hands against the heavy fountain and shoved.
Hard.
It tipped toward me.
Chocolate exploded across my gown.
And there, clearly visible on Evelyn's screen, was Vanessa's smile.
My whole body went cold.
"Oh my God," someone whispered.
Another guest covered her mouth.
Vanessa stepped backward.
"That video doesn't show everything."
Evelyn looked at her.
"What else could it possibly show?"
"I was trying to move the fountain."
"Toward Nia?"
"It was unstable!"
"Then why were you smiling?"
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
I stared at her.
All those months of comments, little insults, and carefully disguised cruelty suddenly made sense.
She hadn't been struggling to accept me.
She had been trying to hurt me.
"Why?" I asked.
My voice was barely audible.
Vanessa looked at me.
"Nia..."
"Why would you do that to me?"
She glanced around the room.
Every guest was watching.
Some people already had their phones out.
I felt another wave of humiliation.
This was supposed to be a celebration of love.
Instead, I was standing in a ruined dress while strangers recorded the worst moment of my life.
"Please stop filming," I whispered.
Evelyn immediately turned toward the guests.
"Put your phones away."
Her voice was firm.
"Every single one of you."
Most obeyed.
But I had already seen a woman near the door lower her phone too slowly.
The humiliation was spreading beyond this room.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
"Nia?"
I turned.
Isaiah had just walked through the ballroom doors.
He had been downstairs dealing with a parking problem for one of our guests.
He stopped when he saw me.
His eyes widened.
"What happened?"
I tried to speak.
But all I could do was cry.
He hurried across the room.
"Nia, sweetheart..."
He gently took my hands.
Then he looked at my dress.
"Are you hurt?"
I shook my head.
"Who did this?"
Nobody answered.
Vanessa moved forward.
"Isaiah, there was a terrible accident."
Evelyn turned the phone toward him.
"Watch."
Vanessa reached for his arm.
"Isaiah, please. Mom is making a scene."
He pulled away.
"Let me see."
I watched his expression change as the video played.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Then anger.
He slowly raised his eyes toward Vanessa.
"You pushed it?"
She began shaking her head.
"Isaiah, I didn't mean—"
"You pushed that thing onto Nia?"
His voice echoed through the ballroom.
Vanessa flinched.
"Stop shouting at me!"
"Then answer me!"
She pointed at the phone.
"Mom has always loved making me look bad!"
Isaiah stared at her.
"You're seriously blaming Mom?"
"She recorded me!"
"Because you were hurting my fiancée!"
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
But I didn't believe them.
Not anymore.
"You don't understand," she said.
"Then explain it."
She looked at me with sudden hatred.
"Fine."
The word sliced through the room.
"You want to know why?"
I tightened my grip on Isaiah's hand.
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"Because everyone has spent the last six months pretending this woman is some kind of princess."
Isaiah's jaw clenched.
"Watch your mouth."
"No! I'm tired of watching everyone worship her!"
She pointed at me.
"She comes into our family, and suddenly everything is about Nia."
Evelyn looked disgusted.
"Vanessa, enough."
But Vanessa kept going.
"Her dress. Her engagement. Her perfect little wedding. Her wonderful future."
She gave me a poisonous smile.
"And everybody expects me to stand there and applaud."
I felt something inside me sink.
"You're angry because I'm marrying your brother?"
"You're taking him away from his family!"
Isaiah stepped forward.
"Nobody is taking me anywhere."
Vanessa turned toward him.
"You used to listen to me."
"I used to trust you."
Her expression changed.
The words had hurt her.
Good, I thought.
Maybe now she understood what pain felt like.
Isaiah looked at the ruined gown again.
"You knew how important tonight was to her."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"It's a dress."
I gasped.
Isaiah's face hardened.
"Get out."
She blinked.
"What?"
"Leave."
"You can't throw me out of my own brother's engagement party!"
"I just did."
Vanessa looked toward Evelyn.
"Mom?"
Evelyn didn't hesitate.
"You heard him."
For several seconds, Vanessa stood perfectly still.
Then she grabbed her purse.
"You're all going to regret this."
She walked toward the doors.
But before she disappeared, she turned toward me.
Her expression was no longer embarrassed.
It was furious.
"You think you won, Nia?"
Isaiah stepped protectively in front of me.
"Go home, Vanessa."
She smiled strangely.
"You have no idea what's coming."
Then she left.
The doors closed behind her.
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, I felt afraid.
Isaiah wrapped his arms around me.
"I'm so sorry."
I pressed my face against his chest.
His jacket smelled like the cologne he had worn on our first date.
For a moment, I wanted to believe everything would be okay.
Evelyn approached us.
"Come with me, sweetheart. There's a private room upstairs."
I nodded.
She helped me gather the heavy skirt of my gown.
As we headed toward the elevator, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then I saw the message.
"Ask your fiancé what his sister knows about the wedding money."
I stopped walking.
My heart began pounding.
Another message appeared.
"Tonight was only supposed to be a distraction."
I looked at Isaiah.
He was still holding my hand.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
I couldn't answer.
Because the next message contained a photograph.
And in that photograph, Vanessa was sitting across from a man I had never seen before.
Between them lay a folder.
May you like
On the front were three words.
CARTER WEDDING ACCOUNT.
