Chapter 3 – The Wedding That Never Happened
Two hours later...
Guests remained inside the grand ballroom.
No one had eaten.
No one understood what had happened.
Then the ballroom doors opened.
Amy walked in alone.
Still wearing her wedding dress.
The quartet immediately stopped playing.
Three hundred people rose instinctively.
Amy stepped onto the small stage beneath the crystal chandeliers.
She accepted the microphone from Linda.
Her hands never shook.
"Thank you..."
"...for coming today."
She paused.
"I'm sorry there won't be a wedding."
A ripple of whispers spread across the room.
"My fiancé chose someone else."
Silence.
"I won't insult your intelligence by pretending otherwise."
Near the entrance, Maverick appeared with his parents.
He looked broken.
Amy saw him.
Ignored him.
Instead, she smiled gently at the guests.
"The flowers have already been paid for."
"So has the food."
"I hope you'll stay."
"Celebrate honesty instead."
Someone quietly began clapping.
Then another.
Soon the applause filled the ballroom.
Not for a marriage.
For dignity.
May you like
Maverick stood frozen as hundreds of people applauded the woman he had betrayed.
It was the last time he would ever stand beside her.
