PART 2
The DJ cleared his throat and smiled like he had no idea he was holding a match over a room full of gasoline.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “before Ethan and Vanessa begin their first dance, the bride asked me to share a little timeline of their love story.”
A giant screen behind them lit up.
At first, it was normal wedding stuff.
Photos of Vanessa laughing. Ethan holding her hand. A picture of them at a restaurant. Another at a beach. Then a caption appeared across the screen:
“THE NIGHT IT ALL BEGAN — MARCH 14.”
The room went still.
My smile froze.
March 14.
I was eight months pregnant with twins on March 14.
I remembered that exact night because Ethan had told me he was working late. I had been swollen, exhausted, sitting on our couch alone, eating cold soup because I couldn’t stand long enough to cook.
Maya’s hand slowly found mine under the table.
The DJ kept talking, completely unaware.
“And here we have their first weekend getaway together…”
Another photo appeared.
Ethan and Vanessa in a hotel lobby, her arms around his neck, his face pressed against her cheek.
The date at the bottom read:
APRIL 3.
My twins were born April 6.
A gasp moved through the room like wind.
Someone dropped a glass.
Vanessa’s father stood up halfway from his chair, staring at the screen as if he couldn’t understand what he was seeing.
Ethan’s face went white.
“Turn it off,” he snapped.
But the DJ had already clicked to the next slide.
A short video began playing.
Vanessa was laughing into the camera, holding up her hand with no ring yet.
“Can you believe he’s finally leaving her?” she said. “Once the babies are born, he’s mine for real.”
This time, nobody gasped.
Nobody moved.
The silence was worse.
I looked across the room at the people who had told me “the heart wants what it wants.”
Their faces had changed.
Vanessa lunged toward the DJ booth, screaming, “Stop it! Stop it right now!”
But it was too late.
Everyone had heard her.
Ethan turned toward me, panic in his eyes, like he expected me to fall apart.
But I didn’t.
I stood up slowly, smoothed my dress, and looked straight at him.
Then I said loud enough for half the room to hear:
“Don’t worry, Ethan. The twins are asleep at home. They don’t have to watch their father embarrass himself twice.”
And for the first time that night, I walked out smiling.
