"No."
"This is the bride's wedding."
Voices were starting to carry down the hallway.
Guests lingered near the entrance to the ceremony space.
Several looked in our direction.
The wedding coordinator hurried over.
She looked deeply uncomfortable.
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"I'm so sorry."
She looked at me.
"I was told everyone had agreed."
"I certainly didn't."
Her eyes shifted toward Corrine.
Then toward Kevin.
Nobody spoke.
That silence answered another question.
The coordinator hadn't made this decision.
Someone else had.
My mother appeared moments later.
"Jessica?"
She immediately sensed something was wrong.
I took a slow breath.
"Apparently I'm no longer the first person walking down my own aisle."
"What?"
Corrine stepped forward.
"We're simply making a small adjustment."
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My mother frowned.
"Why?"
"It's personal."
"No."
I folded my arms.
"If it's personal enough to change my wedding, it's personal enough to explain."
Corrine looked uncomfortable for the first time.
"I'd rather not discuss it."
"I would."
Kevin stepped closer.
"Jessica."
I looked at him.
"You're really standing behind this?"
He hesitated.
"I'm asking you for one favor."
I almost laughed.
"One favor?"
"I've spent 14 months planning this wedding."
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"I know."
"And 20 minutes before it starts, your mother rewrites it."
"I know."
"And your solution is asking me not to react."
He lowered his voice.
"We'll talk afterward."
I shook my head.
"No."
"We're talking now."
At the other end of the hallway, I finally saw Rosalie.
She stood near the entrance to the ceremony.
She wore a pale blue dress.
Someone had placed a bouquet in her hands.
She wasn't smiling.
She looked like someone waiting outside a principal's office.
Natalie followed my gaze.
"Does she know about this?"
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"I don't know."
Rosalie looked toward us.
The moment our eyes met, she looked away.
She seemed... embarrassed.
Not excited.
Not triumphant.
Just deeply uncomfortable.
That didn't fit the picture I'd built in my head.
If she'd wanted to steal my moment, why did she look like she wanted to disappear?
I walked toward her.
Kevin reached for my arm.
"Jess."
I gently pulled away.
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