"Mr. Miller, do you have something you’d like to say to your bride?"

I took the mic, looked through the crowd at Claire, and said coldly,

"What I want to say is this: this wedding is canceled."

Gasps rippled through the room. Every head turned toward me in shock.

Claire’s friends tried to smooth things over.

"He must be too excited—he just misspoke! I think what he meant was the wedding starts now!"

"Exactly, he’s just nervous. First-time grooms always mess up a little."

But I stood there, unmoved. Nervous? Not even close.

"You heard me right. This wedding is canceled. It shouldn’t be me marrying Claire—it should be Ryan."

The room went dead quiet. People who knew the truth exchanged quick glances; those who didn’t were getting agitated, especially Mr. and Mrs. Dawson.

They had never liked me, always treating me like some outsider who didn’t deserve their daughter.

I had worked for years to win them over. They had demanded I buy a luxury condo in Manhattan and a car worth at least six figures.

I did all of it. And still, every word out of their mouths carried that smug sense that they’d gotten the better end of the deal.

Now Mrs. Dawson nearly lunged at me, her face twisted with rage.

"Ethan Miller, do you know what day this is? How dare you pull a stunt like this and trample all over our family’s dignity!"

"I never liked you—you’re not even from New York! No manners, no class—and where are your parents? Not even here to see their son get married!"

"Claire marrying you is the best thing that’s ever happened to you. We agreed only because you seemed quiet and dependable, and this is how you repay us?"

Her voice broke into a wail as she went on, even accusing me of having another woman.

"No one humiliates my daughter like this. I’ll make sure you pay!"

She grabbed a plate off the table and hurled it at me.

Guests scrambled to calm her down.

"There must be some misunderstanding. Maybe the couple is just joking around. They love each other—he wouldn’t do this otherwise."

Under everyone’s coaxing, Mrs. Dawson finally calmed down enough to sneer at me:

"Ethan, get down on your knees right now and apologize to me and my daughter. If you do, I’ll pretend I never heard what you just said."

I stood still, letting her rant.

I had expected this. For years, every time I did something she didn’t like, she’d threaten to call the wedding off.

I had always backed down.