At dawn, we drove to the hotel where Sophia and Michael were staying. My chest tightened as we knocked on their door. Michael opened it, still in his wrinkled tux, Sophia behind him with her hair undone, eyes glowing.
“Dad? What’s going on?” she asked.
Thomas stepped forward and handed her the letter. “Sophia, you need to read this.”
Her eyes scanned the page, widening in horror. Michael’s face drained of color.
“Michael,” she whispered, “is this true?”
His silence was answer enough. Sophia’s knees gave way, and I caught her as she collapsed.
That was the moment everything shattered. The wedding that began as the happiest day of her life ended in devastation. And as I held my sobbing sister, I knew nothing in our family would ever be the same again.
