Ivy didn’t expect to be excluded from her best friend’s wedding—until she crashes it and learns the shocking truth. The groom? He’s someone she’s known forever… The betrayal? Unforgivable. As her past collides with her present, Ivy must make a decision: walk away for good or face the groom?
The first time someone mentioned Amber’s wedding, I laughed.
“Wait, Amber who?” I asked, sipping my coffee and completely distracted by the enormous slice of cheesecake in front of me.
A woman sitting in a cafe | Source: Midjourney
The table fell silent. Four pairs of eyes blinked at me as if I had just confessed to murder.
“Are you serious, Ivy?” Lauren finally asked. “Amber Amber. Our Amber.”
My stomach turned.
“No, she would have told me. Surely! You’re making fun of me!”
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
Jack shifted uncomfortably, nearly spilling his coffee.
“Ivy, she… she sent out the invitations several weeks ago. It’s been almost a month,” he said.
I almost dropped my coffee.
My invitation never arrived.
A man sitting in a cafe | Source: Midjourney
At first, I thought it was a mistake. Maybe the letter got lost in the mail? Or maybe she was waiting to tell me in person?
But it didn’t make any sense! Growing up, we’d always talked about being each other’s bridesmaids… so what did this situation even mean?
Weeks passed. More invitations were sent out. I saw some of my other friends posting on social media and tagging her, all excited to share Amber’s big day with her.
Two teenage girls sitting together | Source: Midjourney
We can’t wait to celebrate you!
You’ll be the most beautiful bride, Amber!
Bachelorette Party!!!
A beautiful wedding invitation | Source: Midjourney
The dresses have been purchased.
“I found this gorgeous midnight blue dress, Ives,” Lauren told me over the phone. “My grandmother’s earrings will complete the look perfectly. Have you chosen what you’re going to wear yet?”
“Lauren, she still hasn’t invited me,” I replied. “So…”
I didn’t 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.
A dress on a hanger | Source: Midjourney
I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend time with her, but I wanted to see if she’d tell me the truth. Or anything about her wedding, for that matter. And to be honest, I was so surprised she’d agreed to come with me.
“I’ll take a neutral nail,” Amber said, smiling at me.
When I glanced at her hand, she wasn’t even wearing her engagement ring.
The interior of a nail salon | Source: Midjourney
“Beautiful,” I said. “I’ll get a flaming red.”
What had I done to make her keep this big secret from me? Had I hurt her in some way?
Did she think I was going to interrupt her wedding and run off with her fiancé?
But what’s going on?
Something was wrong, and I knew it in my bones. Amber was avoiding me, and I had to know why.
A bottle of red nail polish | Source: Midjourney
So on the wedding day, I messed everything up.
I hadn’t spoken to Amber since that beautician appointment, nor since the wedding discussion spiraled out of control. She’d even blocked me on social media, with Lauren sharing screenshots of her posts with me.
“Sorry, Ives,” she said one afternoon as we sat in the park eating ice cream. “I don’t know what’s wrong with that girl. Have you tried talking to her?”
A woman holding an ice cream cone | Source: Midjourney
“We got our nails done a few weeks ago,” I confessed. “But I didn’t ask her directly. She wasn’t wearing a ring or anything. I guess she really doesn’t want me there.”
But now I stood at the front of the room, watching the guests file in, laughter bubbling on their lips and joyful conversation filling the air. I felt out of place. I knew most of the people there. Amber and I had been friends for so long that her family was close to me, too.
The exterior of a wedding venue | Source: Midjourney
She would have told me about it. She should have told me.
But why didn’t she do it?
I thought back to the last time we spoke before there was any talk of marriage, either from our friends or Amber’s social media.
A woman with a pensive look | Source: Midjourney
We were in her apartment, sitting on the floor, sharing a bottle of wine. Bridal magazines were spread out between us, and I had circled a dress I knew she would love.
She had remained silent that evening. Tense. I had brushed it off, assuming she was stressed about her work.
“Why do you have so many wedding magazines, anyway?” I asked him.
Wedding magazines on a carpet | Source: Midjourney
“Because that’s the next project I’m working on,” she’d said cautiously. “Designing a wedding dress, and making it too. If I can do that, Ivy, I’ll have more clients. I know it.”
Had she lied? Had she also planned her wedding at that time?
Now I can see her expression again, her hands gripping her wine glass a little too tightly when I asked her about her dream wedding dress. It got even worse when I asked her about her dream groom.
A woman sitting on a sofa | Source: Midjourney
“We’ve grown up wanting movie stars as our bride and groom,” I said, laughing. “So, do you have a visual when you think about it?”
“You live too much in your head, Ivy,” she said, brushing me off.
I should have known at that point that something was wrong.
I didn’t sneak around like something out of a dramatic movie. I just walked through the doors with a confident air, trying to make it look like I was meant to be there.
A woman standing outside a wedding venue | Source: Midjourney
Even when I was choosing my outfit, I didn’t want to stand out. I wanted to blend in, to be elegant enough for the occasion, but without attracting attention.
The venue was magnificent, all soft, golden lighting and elegant decor. It was perfect. It bore Amber’s imprint. She had poured her heart and soul into her wedding.
Guests strolled along, listening to the soft, romantic music, champagne in hand, and headed to their seats.
Wedding guests | Source: Midjourney
And for a moment, I convinced myself that it was all just a horrible misunderstanding.
Until I stepped into the main room where the guests were already taking their seats.
And guess what? The whole room went silent.
People stared at me, some whispered, others gave me sympathetic looks. As if they had just witnessed something tragic .
A woman standing at a wedding venue | Source: Midjourney
My stomach twisted so hard I thought I was going to fall over.
Keep breathing, Ivy, I told myself.
But honestly, what was going on?
Then I saw her .
Amber stood at the front of the room, in a gorgeous white dress, looking like a deer caught in headlights.
A shocked bride | Source: Midjourney
And then I saw it .
Standing at the altar, dressed in a smart black tuxedo with his arm around Amber, was my father.
The same father who abandoned me when I was ten. The same father I hadn’t seen since.
Suddenly, the world went blurry. And I felt like the ground had completely disappeared beneath my feet. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
A shocked groom | Source: Midjourney
Amber knew.
She always knew. That’s why I wasn’t invited.
She had hidden it from me.
I wanted to sink into the ground and disappear.
Then my father spoke.
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
His voice was deeper than I remembered, but as soon as he said my name, I found myself ten years old again, standing at the window, waiting for a man who never returned.
But I wasn’t that little girl anymore.
And I wasn’t going to let them pretend it was normal.
I took a deep breath and took a step forward, my heels clicking against the polished floor.
A little girl standing by a window | Source: Midjourney
The guests were still frozen, their eyes darting between me, Amber, and my dad.
Amber.
The girl who had been my best friend, my confidant, my sister in everything but blood, had kept this from me.
I turned to my father. His face was unreadable.
A devastated bride | Source: Midjourney
I looked for something, remorse, shame, anything, but all I saw was hesitation.
As if he wasn’t sure he should recognize me.
I didn’t give him a choice.
“You.” My voice was calm, but inside, my heart was a raging storm.
“Are you going to stay there as if nothing happened?”
A frowning groom | Source: Midjourney
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his fingers clenching at his sides.
“I… Ivy…”
That’s when Amber rushed in, stepping between us, her eyes pleading.
“Listen, I was going to tell you…”
“When, Amber?” I snapped. “Before or after the honeymoon? Or maybe when you were pregnant with my stepbrother?”
A distraught woman | Source: Midjourney
She grimaced.
“I didn’t know how…”
“How to do what?” My voice broke. “Tell me you were going to marry my father? The man who left me when I was ten?”
Gasps rippled through the crowd, but I barely heard them.
“Why now? After all these years, why Amber? Why her?”
My father let out a slow breath, rubbing his temples as if this were an awkward confrontation rather than the reckoning he deserved.
A bride looking down | Source: Midjourney
“I know I owe you an explanation.”
I’m making fun of you.
“You owe me more than that.”
He exhaled, finally looking me in the eyes.
“I left because I had to, Ivy, not because I wanted to.”
I laughed loudly. It came out hollow and bitter.
An upset and sullen woman | Source: Midjourney
“You made me think you were dead or something. You made me think I wasn’t worth a goodbye.”
Amber was crying now, wiping her eyes as if she were the one who had lost something.
I turned to her, my voice sharp.
“And you? When exactly did you think it was a good idea to marry my late father?”
She looked away, guilt clouding her face.
A devastated bride | Source: Midjourney
“Well, congratulations, I guess,” I said. “You’re officially family now. I hope it was worth it.”
I spun on my heel, heading straight for the exit.
“Ivy, please. I don’t want to lose you again, darling.”
I stopped, but I didn’t turn around. My voice was cold and distant when I spoke.
“Please, Philip,” I said. “You lost me years ago. You never cared enough to look at me.”
A woman who walks away | Source: Midjourney
And with that, I walked out of my best friend’s wedding. My father’s wedding.
And finally, I left both of their lives.
That evening, I sat in my car, parked in front of my house.
My head was still spinning, and I couldn’t get the image of Amber and my dad out of my mind. Part of me wanted to know more… Like how they’d met and gotten together. But I didn’t care enough. I was too hurt.
A woman sitting in a car | Source: Midjourney
Amber sent me a message.
Ivy, I’m so sorry. Please talk to me.
I stared at the message, my hands shaking.
Then, slowly, I erased it.
Outside, the streetlight was flickering.
A road at night | Source: Midjourney
For the first time in years, I felt like I had finally stopped waiting by the window.
What’s the point of waiting for this man? And waiting for Amber to realize how wrong she was?
No, thank you. I was done.
A woman sitting on the ground | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done?
If you liked this story, here’s another one for you |
When Davina promised her sister Clara $10,000 for her wedding, she didn’t expect her betrayal to cancel the ceremony. Yet, despite her involvement in the debacle, Clara still demands the promised sum. Davina then decides to teach her an unforgettable lesson about loyalty and the consequences of her actions.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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