Gayle's face had gone red with fury.
Every time she came at me she got nothing out of it, yet she couldn't stay away, and after I threw a few words back at her she stormed off in tears.
Two minutes later, Peter came marching over to fight her battle for her.
"Maureen Chavez! What is wrong with you now? Did you make Gayle cry again? With all these people here, you're humiliating her on purpose, aren't you?"
I didn't have time for him. The message from the man I was marrying had already come through. All that was left was for the ceremony to start.
"Maureen Chavez, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?"
"I heard you. I was just thinking about what to say when I get up on that stage. How I'm going to apologize to Gayle."
That took half the heat out of him. He scolded me for another line or two, then left, probably to go report back to Gayle.
Half an hour later my makeup was done and I was in the wedding gown.
The guests were all seated. Grandpa had arrived too.
The host ran through the ceremony, and after he said, "Please welcome the bride," the spotlight landed on me.
A large hand closed around mine and led me slowly up onto the stage, and in an instant every eye in the room was on us.
We stepped up and edged Peter off to the side, leaving the guests dumbstruck, unable to tell which one was even the groom.
Grandpa was stunned too. He came toward the stage leaning on his cane, demanding an answer.
"Maureen, what are you doing? What is the meaning of this!"
"Getting married, Grandpa. Isn't that what you kept pushing me to do?"
"I told you to marry Peter. Who is this man you're holding on to?"
Grandpa pointed at the man beside me, his brows knotted up like a tangle of yarn.
"Oh, Grandpa, this is the man I'm marrying. His name is Lee Gilbert. Mom and Dad both know him. He's an old partner in the family business. The two of us joining forces is strength on strength, the icing on the cake."
"Nice to meet you, Grandpa. I'm Lee Gilbert, your grandson-in-law."
Lee gave a little wave, looking even more eager for the spotlight than I was, like he'd been dying for his moment.
Peter reeled, then rushed after Grandpa for justice.
"What is going on, Grandpa? Weren't you giving Maureen to me? How can she marry him?"
Grandpa got worked up too, jabbing his cane at the floor, demanding I explain myself.
"Maureen Chavez, what is this nonsense? Get this man out of here right now and go on with the wedding to Peter! Have you forgotten? Peter's grandfather saved my life—"
"He saved your life, is that it? I know, Grandpa. That's exactly why today I intend to repay his grandfather with a life."
The whole room froze.
The wedding hall went dead silent. Peter kept his eyes locked on me, terrified I was about to cause a scene.
He kept trying to block me, dropping his voice, telling me to give him a little face.
I moved to shove him away, furious, but Lee got there first and hauled him off to the side.
"Stand back. Don't get in the way of my wife's business."
That low, resonant voice of his startled me. I tugged at the hem of his jacket to signal him to keep it down.
Then I had someone bring up the big screen and played the slideshow Lee had put together for me the day before, right there for everyone to see.
"Take a look at the screen, Grandpa. The life I owe Peter's grandfather is right here."
Every eye fixed on the screen, and out of it came the sound of laughter. It was Peter and Gayle's faces.
Under the name of childhood friends the two of them had crossed every line there was, and all the flirty little videos they'd once posted had been cut together, playing out like a movie.
Every trending couple's challenge, they had filmed. Every reckless thing, they had marked as their own. They'd even had wedding photos taken in advance.
But the real bombshell was the handful of screenshots from hospital visits.
The whole screen was soaked in the smell of blood.
Gayle broke, the first to charge up and throw her body over the screen to cover it, but it was pure spectacle and did nothing at all.
"No, no more, stop playing it! Maureen Chavez, I'm begging you, stop playing it."
Watching Gayle cry, Peter couldn't bear it. He dropped to his knees and begged Grandpa to shut me down.
"Grandpa, today is my wedding day with Maureen. I'm begging you, don't let her keep making a scene like this. Make her stop!"
Grandpa fell silent, shaking with rage.
He looked at the screen and learned the truth, a truth that stunned him to the core...
