Robert seized my wrist and crushed it in his grip. "What is this supposed to mean? You're calling off the wedding over a ring?"
Maya stoked the fire from the side. "Looks like Alma's determined to make a scene. Wasn't she just on the phone a minute ago, talking about crashing the wedding? She can't be serious."
Robert gave a contemptuous snort. "Her? Who'd bother crashing a wedding for her?"
"Does she actually think she's the heroine of some movie?"
"Alma, this playing-hard-to-get act won't work on me. Stop it. Finish the ceremony and I'll take you to buy a ring."
I didn't move.
"There are this many people watching. You really want to make a spectacle of yourself?"
I could see the guests below already murmuring, their eyes sweeping over our little group on the stage.
"What's going on with the bride and groom up there? Are they fighting? A second ago I saw the groom knock the bride down chasing after that other woman."
"If you ask me, the groom's in love with that woman. Maybe the bride finally saw the truth and wants to call it off."
"Marrying the bride when he's already got someone he loves? Isn't that just ruining her life?"
Even the officiant stepped in, wincing, trying to smooth it over.
"Why don't we move on with the ceremony? If the ring doesn't fit, let's skip that part for now."
Still I said nothing.
The whispers were swelling, and Robert's face was getting uglier by the second. He stared me down, color draining to a hard gray. "What is it going to take to get you to go on with this wedding?"
"That's easy enough."
Maya stepped forward and looked at me with disdain. "Alma's just using the wedding day to make demands and back you into a corner."
"I hereby renounce my no-marriage stance. So, Alma, are you still going to keep making trouble?"
Before I could say a word, Robert grabbed Maya's hand, his eyes burning with feeling. "Do you mean that?"
His groomsmen piled on. "There it is—what Robert's been wanting for years. No wonder he was so wasted last night he called Maya's name in his sleep till morning."
"Now that's a love story. Maya flies home just for Robert's wedding, and turns out it's her own. And hey, the ring still fits. Call it fate."
"Ha—Alma really stepped on her own rake there. Give it a minute, she'll be bawling."
So this was how much he loved Maya. No wonder he wouldn't bring me to the party last night. He'd told me to rest up, to be the most beautiful bride today, when really he was just afraid I'd get in the way of his good time.
I chased him for years, and he was always cool, always distant. It wasn't until Maya left the country six months ago that he agreed to marry me. I didn't let myself dwell on it then. Now I understood. His heart had been with Maya the whole time.
So the moment she came back yesterday, he changed all over again.
Maya looked at me, pleased with herself. "Well? Alma, are you still going to keep making a scene?"
I swallowed the bitterness rising in me, lifted a smile, and pressed the ring I'd been holding for Robert into her hand. "Then the two of you should exchange your rings. The guests are all waiting for the feast to start."
At that, Robert's hand shot out and clamped around my wrist again, his eyes vicious. "What is this supposed to mean? Still acting? You're not afraid I'll actually marry Maya?"
"No."
The flat certainty in my voice made him sneer. "Get down on your knees and beg me, and maybe I'll change my mind. Otherwise I'll wreck you in front of every last one of them."
I shot him a look, gathered up my skirts, and turned to step off the stage.
Maya caught my arm out of nowhere and stuck her tongue out at Robert, playful. "Let your old buddy handle this for you."
Then she turned back to me, and her eyes were full of threat. "Even the things I throw away aren't yours to touch. You overreached, Alma. That's on you."
