A wedding to remember: Betrayed by blood

I spent weeks locked in my apartment, drowning in a sea of betrayal. My sister, Emma, had stolen the man I had once believed was my soulmate.

And my parents—my own flesh and blood—stood by her, acting as if it were normal, as if I had simply been in the way of their "true love."

I replayed every moment in my head. The night I walked into my fiancé’s apartment to surprise him, only to find him wrapped around Emma like she was the one he had promised forever to.

The way they barely looked guilty, how they admitted it so easily, as if they had been waiting for me to find out. My parents’ words still echoed in my mind.

"Sweetheart, you’ll understand one day," my mother had said, placing a hand on my shoulder like she was comforting a child.

"Emma and Daniel were meant to be. It just happened," my father had added with a shrug, as if that made it acceptable.

I had walked away that night without another word. But I knew one thing—I wasn’t going to let them forget what they did to me.

The wedding was extravagant, just as I had planned for my own. The grand ballroom was filled with familiar faces, all pretending they hadn’t witnessed what had happened. I wasn’t invited, but that didn’t matter. I stepped inside, my heart pounding but my resolve firm.

The music stopped when people noticed me. Some gasped, some whispered. Emma turned, her white dress cascading like a princess in a fairy tale. But her face drained of color when she saw me.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, gripping Daniel’s arm.

Daniel didn’t even meet my eyes. Coward.

"I came to give you my blessing," I said, my voice calm but sharp. "Since I never got the chance."

"Please, don't do this," my mother hissed, stepping forward. "We’ve had enough drama."

"Drama?" I let out a bitter laugh. "You mean the part where my sister took my fiancé and you all stood by and watched?"

A tense silence fell over the room. Even those who had tried to ignore it before couldn’t look away now.

"Look, I know this is hard," Daniel finally spoke, his voice low. "But I love her. You have to let this go."

I turned to Emma. "Do you?" I asked. "Do you love him?"

She blinked rapidly, her hands tightening around her bouquet. "Of course I do."

"Then why do you look so terrified?"

Her lips parted, but no words came out. The guilt was written all over her face. The reality of what she had done—the betrayal, the lies, the destruction—was finally catching up with her.

I could see it in the way her fingers trembled, the way her throat bobbed when she swallowed hard. And my parents? They couldn't even look at me.

"Enjoy your wedding," I said, turning to leave. "You all deserve each other."

As I walked out, I didn’t need to cause a scene. I didn’t need to scream or throw accusations. Because I had already won. I had left them with the one thing they could never shake off.

Guilt.