Those words hurt worse than anything else he’d said.
For three years, I’d believed Seth respected my opinion. Even when we disagreed.
We’d argued about money. About how he always offered to help his family on weekends without checking with me first.
I thought those were normal couple things.
Now I wondered how many of his decisions had been built on the idea that I’d eventually just give in.
“Did you promise Heather a year of daycare because you thought I’d agree?” I said. “Or because you thought I couldn’t say no once we were married?”
He stared at me.
“You’re making me sound like some kind of monster.”
“I asked you a question.”
“I love you.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He stepped closer.
“Look. We can compromise. Maybe you keep working part-time. Maybe Heather finds somebody else for a couple of days a week.”
“She canceled their daycare because you promised her I’d do it.”
“Then we’ll have to help her for a little while.”
“We?”
He threw up both hands.
“Do you have to pick apart every single word I say?”
My eyes filled.
Not because he raised his voice. Because I was finally seeing things I’d refused to see for three years.
There was a knock at the door.
“Natalie?”
It was Paige.
“Give us another minute,” Seth called.
Paige didn’t move.
“Reverend Thomas wants to know if he should start. Everybody’s sitting down.”
Seth turned back to me.
“Please. There are seventy people out there. My parents have been saving up for their part of this. Your mom’s cousins drove three hours from Cincinnati.”
I knew all of that. I made the seating chart. I called the caterer twice that week. I folded every one of those programs myself.
His voice went soft.
“Let’s just get married. And tomorrow we’ll sit down and figure out the daycare thing.”
I looked down at my dress.
I bought it eight months earlier. It wasn’t fancy by wedding standards. But it was the most expensive thing I’ve ever owned.
My mom cried when I tried it on.
That very morning, I’d pictured Seth’s face when he saw me walking down the aisle.
I still loved him.
That’s what made it so hard.
I wanted the man I thought he was.
But I couldn’t marry him just because seventy people were waiting in the pews.
There was another knock.
Seth leaned in close and lowered his voice.
“Don’t embarrass me in front of everybody.”
I looked up at him.
And that one sentence made everything clear.
He hadn’t apologized. He hadn’t asked what I wanted.
He just wanted me to protect him from what he’d done.
I opened the door.
Paige was standing there holding three safety pins. Her smile faded the second she saw my face.
“Natalie?”
“Please go get Reverend Thomas,” I said.
Seth stepped forward.
“What are you doing?”
I kept looking at Paige.
“Tell him I’m not going through with the wedding.”
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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