“I think so,” I said. “I mean… no. But also, kind of? I don’t know.”
We both looked toward the front again, where Oliver and Judy were still trying to scrub red paint out of their clothes. The guests had mostly dispersed — some shaking their heads, others hiding grins. The wedding cake stood untouched.
It was like watching a building collapse in slow motion, but knowing no one inside was worth saving.
Eventually, I walked outside into the cool night air. Misty followed me.
We stood near the edge of the parking lot in silence.
“You didn’t deserve any of this,” she said after a minute.
I glanced at her.
“I know,” I replied. “But for the first time in a long time, I feel like I can breathe again.”
The wedding, of course, was canceled. The florist came to collect the centerpieces. My parents tried to save face, but it was like salvaging a burning house with a garden hose.
Judy didn’t speak to any of us for weeks.
Oliver disappeared from the town rumor mill almost entirely. Some said he moved out of state. Others said he tried to patch things up with Lizzie, who apparently told him to lose her number.
As for me? I started therapy. I adopted a cat named Pumpkin, who liked to sleep on my belly, right where Emma used to kick. I went back to walking during my lunch breaks. I didn’t date, not right away. I needed to find myself first. But I smiled more.
Because even though it was messy and humiliating and hurt like hell, I knew something had shifted.
I was free.
Free of the lies. Free of guilt. And free from the version of myself who kept trying to be enough for people who never deserved me in the first place.
People always say karma takes its time and that sometimes, it never shows up at all.
But that night, watching Judy scream in her ruined dress and Oliver slip on paint in front of 200 guests?
