His City Hall Bride, His Cathedral Wedding

On the night before the wedding, New York was washed in cold rain.

The rehearsal at St. Patrick's Cathedral had been set for seven o'clock. Under the vaulted ceiling, the white roses, black satin bows, and silver candelabras had all been arranged exactly the way I wanted.

But by the time the rehearsal ended, he still hadn't shown up.

At 11:17 that night, I finally got a message from him.

[Sophia is pregnant. Although the baby isn’t mine, I can’t let her child be born carrying the name of an illegitimate child.]

[I went to City Hall with her tonight and made it legal.]

[The wedding is still happening tomorrow.]

[That piece of paper is just a formality. The person standing at the altar will still be you.]

[Don't let outsiders know too much. And don't ruin her reputation.]

I stared at those lines for a long time.

In the end, I replied with a single word.

[Okay.]

I don't want the wedding and you.

Almost at the same moment, Sophia Rossi posted a photo on Instagram.

In it, two hands were clasped together. The man's hand wore the black-and-gold Moretti signet ring. On the woman's ring finger was a diamond band. Framed by the shape of their interlocked hands were a seven-week ultrasound and a freshly stamped marriage certificate.

The caption was only one sentence:

[He said he'd give us a home.]

The comments exploded almost instantly.

"Finally happened, Mrs. Moretti."

"See you tomorrow. Got your wedding gift ready."

"You two were always meant to end up together."

Not one person mentioned me.

As if the woman standing in the church tomorrow had never been meant to be me at all.

I looked at the picture and, to my own surprise, smiled. Then I tapped the heart, left a comment, and wrote:

[Wishing you a lifetime of happiness.]

It disappeared in under ten seconds.

Right after that, Luca called.

The second I answered, I heard the edge in his voice. "Evelyn, what the hell are you doing?"

I leaned against one of the stone columns outside the cathedral and listened to rain hammer the steps below. "What do you mean?"

"You leave a comment like that under her post on purpose, and now you want everyone laughing at her?"

I went quiet for a beat.

"I genuinely wish you both a lifetime of happiness."

He let out a short, cold laugh. "You think I don't know when you're being fake? Everybody knows you're supposed to be the bride tomorrow. And you choose tonight of all nights to say that under Sophia's post? What else is that supposed to look like except you trying to make people think she stole your place?"

I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. "Didn't she?"

That shut him up for half a second. Then he lowered his voice, impatient and hard. "I already explained this. The City Hall certificate was just to shield her from some bad publicity. The wedding stays the same.