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Ivy never expects to be left out of her best friend\u2019s wedding until she crashes it and learns the shocking truth. The groom? Someone she\u2019s known all her life. The betrayal? Unforgivable. As her past collides with her present, Ivy must decide: walk away for good or confront the groom.<\/p>\n
The first time someone mentioned Amber\u2019s wedding, I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait, Amber who?\u201d I asked, sipping my coffee and being completely distracted by the huge slice of cheesecake in front of me.<\/p>\n
The table went silent. Four pairs of eyes blinked at me like I\u2019d just confessed to murder.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you serious, Ivy?\u201d Lauren finally asked. \u201cAmber Amber. Our Amber.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dipped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, she would have told me. Surely! You guys are just making fun of me!\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack shifted uncomfortably, almost knocking his coffee over.<\/p>\n
\u201cIvy, she\u2026 she sent the invitations weeks ago. Like almost a month,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I nearly dropped my coffee.<\/p>\n
My invitation never came.<\/p>\n
At first, I told myself it was a mistake. Maybe it got lost in the mail? Or maybe she was waiting to tell me in person?<\/p>\n
But it didn\u2019t make sense! When we were growing up, we always spoke about being each other\u2019s bridesmaids\u2026 so what was this?<\/p>\n
The weeks passed. More invitations were sent. I saw some of my other friends posting on socials and tagging her, all excited that they were going to share Amber\u2019s big day with her.<\/p>\n
We can\u2019t wait to celebrate you!<\/p>\n
You\u2019re going to be the most beautiful bride, Amber!<\/p>\n
Bachelorette party!!<\/p>\n
Dresses were bought.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got this beautiful midnight blue dress, Ives,\u201d Lauren told me over the phone. \u201cAnd my grandmother\u2019s earrings will finish the look perfectly. Have you decided what you\u2019re going to wear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren, she still hasn\u2019t invited me,\u201d I said. \u201cSo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t ask Amber why. I waited. And I gave her every opportunity to tell me. But she never did. Not even when we went to get our nails done.<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure that I wanted to spend time with her, but I wanted to see if she would tell me the truth. Or anything about her wedding, for that matter. And if I\u2019m being honest, I was so surprised that she had agreed to come with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going with a neutral nail,\u201d Amber said, beaming at me.<\/p>\n
When I glanced down at her hand, she wasn\u2019t even wearing her engagement ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeautiful,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019m going with a fiery red.\u201d<\/p>\n
What had I done to her that she was willing to keep this big secret from me? Had I hurt her in any way?<\/p>\n
Did she think that I was going to stop her wedding and run off with her groom?<\/p>\n
What the hell?<\/p>\n
But something wasn\u2019t right, and I knew it deep down in my bones. Amber was avoiding me, and I needed to know why.<\/p>\n
So, on the day of the wedding, I crashed it.<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t spoken to Amber since that nail appointment, and not since the wedding talk was getting out of hand. She had even blocked me on socials, with Lauren sharing screenshots of her posts with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, Ives,\u201d she said one afternoon when we were sitting in the park and eating ice cream. \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s gotten into this girl. Have you tried talking to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got our nails done a few weeks ago,\u201d I confessed. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t straight-out ask her. She wasn\u2019t wearing a ring or anything. I guess she really just doesn\u2019t want me there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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But now, I was standing in front of the venue, watching guests file inside, laughter bubbling on their lips and happy chatter filling the air. I felt so out of place. I knew most of the people there. Amber and I had been friends for so long that her family was also close to me.<\/p>\n
She would have told me. She should have told me.<\/p>\n
But why didn\u2019t she?<\/p>\n
I thought back to the last time we had spoken before there was any mention of a wedding, whether from our friends or Amber\u2019s social media.<\/p>\n
We had been at her apartment, sitting on the floor, splitting a bottle of wine between us. Wedding magazines were spread out between us, and I had circled a dress that I knew she would love.<\/p>\n
She had been quiet that night. Tense. I had brushed it off, assuming she was stressed with work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you have so many wedding magazines, anyway?\u201d I had asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it\u2019s the next project I\u2019m working on,\u201d she said carefully. \u201cDesigning a wedding dress, and making it too. If I get this right, Ivy, I\u2019ll get more clients. I know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Had she been lying? Had she been planning her wedding then too?<\/p>\n
Now, I replayed her expression, her hands gripping her wine glass a little too tight when I asked her questions about her own dream wedding dress. It got even worse when I asked her about her dream groom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve grown up from wanting movie stars as our grooms,\u201d I laughed. \u201cSo, do you have a visual when you think about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou live in your head too much, Ivy,\u201d she said, brushing me off.<\/p>\n
I should have known then that something was wrong.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t sneak in like some dramatic movie scene. I just walked through the doors with an air of confidence, trying to make it seem like I was supposed to be there.<\/p>\n
Even when I was deciding what to wear, I didn\u2019t want to stand out. I wanted to blend in, to just look beautiful enough for the occasion, but not to draw any attention.<\/p>\n
The venue was stunning, all soft golden lights and elegant d\u00e9cor. It was perfect. It had Amber\u2019s stamp all over it. She had poured herself into her wedding.<\/p>\n
Guests milled around, listening to the soft and romantic music, champagne in hand as they made their way to their seats.<\/p>\n
And for a moment, I convinced myself that this was all some horrible misunderstanding.<\/p>\n
Until I stepped into the main hall where guests were already taking their seats.<\/p>\n
And guess what? The entire room went silent.<\/p>\n
People stared, some whispering, others giving me sympathetic looks. Like they\u2019d just witnessed something tragic.<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted with such force that I thought I\u2019d keel over.<\/p>\n
Keep breathing, Ivy, I thought to myself.<\/p>\n
But honestly, what the hell was going on?<\/p>\n
Then, I saw her.<\/p>\n
Amber stood at the front of the room, in a gorgeous white dress, looking like a deer caught in headlights.<\/p>\n
And then I saw him.<\/p>\n
Standing at the altar, in a sleek black tuxedo, his arm around Amber, was my father.<\/p>\n
The same father who abandoned me when I was ten years old. The same father I hadn\u2019t seen since.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, the world blurred. And I felt like the floor had completely disappeared beneath me. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.<\/p>\n
Amber knew.<\/p>\n
She had known this whole time. That\u2019s why I wasn\u2019t invited.<\/p>\n
She had been hiding this from me.<\/p>\n
I wished I could sink into the ground and disappear.<\/p>\n
Then, my father spoke.<\/p>\n
His voice was deeper than I remembered, but the moment he said my name, I was ten years old again, standing at the window, waiting for a man who never came back.<\/p>\n
But I wasn\u2019t that little girl anymore.<\/p>\n
And I wasn\u2019t going to let them pretend this was normal.<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath and stepped forward, my heels echoing against the polished floor.<\/p>\n
The guests were still frozen, their eyes darting between me, Amber, and my father.<\/p>\n
Amber.<\/p>\n
The girl who had been my best friend, my confidante, my sister in everything but blood, had been hiding this from me.<\/p>\n
I turned to my father. His face was unreadable.<\/p>\n
I searched for something, remorse, shame, anything, but all I saw was hesitation.<\/p>\n
Like he wasn\u2019t sure whether to acknowledge me at all.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t give him a choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d My voice was steady, but inside, my heart was a raging storm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to stand there like nothing happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
His Adam\u2019s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his fingers twitching at his sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 Ivy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, Amber rushed forward, stepping between us, her eyes pleading.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, I was going to tell you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen, Amber?\u201d I snapped. \u201cBefore or after the honeymoon? Or maybe when you were pregnant with my half-sibling?\u201d<\/p>\n
She winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know how to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow to what?\u201d My voice cracked. \u201cTell me that you were marrying my father? The man who left me when I was ten?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gasps rippled through the crowd, but I barely heard them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy now? After all these years, why Amber? Why her?\u201d<\/p>\n
My father let out a slow breath, rubbing his temples like this was just some inconvenient confrontation rather than the reckoning he deserved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I owe you an explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n
I scoffed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou owe me more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He exhaled, finally looking me in the eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI left because I had to, Ivy, not because I wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed loudly. It came out hollow and bitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let me think that you were dead or something. You let me believe that I wasn\u2019t worth a goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber was crying now, wiping at her eyes as if she was the one who had lost something.<\/p>\n
I turned to her, my voice sharp.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you? When exactly did you think it was a good idea to marry my missing father?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away, guilt shadowing her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, congratulations, I guess,\u201d I said. \u201cYou\u2019re officially family now. I hope it was worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned on my heel, heading straight for the exit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIvy, please. I don\u2019t want to lose you again, darling.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped, but I didn\u2019t turn around. My voice was cold and distant when I spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease, Philip,\u201d I said. \u201cYou lost me years ago. You just never cared enough to look.\u201d<\/p>\n
And with that, I walked out of my best friend\u2019s wedding. My father\u2019s wedding.<\/p>\n
And finally, I walked out of both of their lives.<\/p>\n
That night, I sat in my car, parked outside my house.<\/p>\n
My head was still spinning, and I couldn\u2019t get the image of Amber and my father out of my mind. There was a part of me that wanted to know more\u2026 Like how they had met and gotten together. But I also didn\u2019t care enough. I was too hurt.<\/p>\n
Amber had texted me.<\/p>\n
Ivy, I\u2019m so sorry. Please talk to me.<\/p>\n
I stared at the message, my hands shaking.<\/p>\n
Then, slowly, I deleted it.<\/p>\n
Outside, the streetlight flickered.<\/p>\n
For the first time in years, I felt like I had finally stopped waiting by the window.<\/p>\n
What was the point in waiting for this man? And waiting for Amber to realize how wrong she had been?<\/p>\n
No, thank you. I was done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ivy never expects to be left out of her best friend\u2019s wedding until she crashes it and learns the shocking truth. The groom? Someone she\u2019s known all… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n