Chapter 3: The Bride Who Didn’t Blink
The guests began to notice.
Whispers moved through the chairs like wind through dry grass.
“What’s happening?”
“Why is he carrying her?”
“Is that the flower girl?”
Vanessa finally stepped forward.
Slow.
Controlled.
Every inch of her dress untouched by panic.
“Daniel,” she called softly.
Her voice was careful. Measured.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
He stopped.
Not for her.
For Ellie, who tightened her grip when she heard Vanessa’s voice.
Daniel turned slightly.
“What did you do?”
Silence.
A long one.
Then Vanessa smiled again.
But it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
Ellie whispered into Daniel’s shoulder.
“She told me to stay there…”
That was enough.
Daniel looked at Vanessa like he was seeing her for the first time.
May you like
Not as a bride.
But as a question he should have asked earlier.
