I stared at my reflection, fussing with my veil for what felt like the hundredth time. Today was meant to be perfect, the happiest day of my life. I had no idea what chaos was waiting.
The ceremony went smoothly. Thane looked stunning in his tux, and I felt like a queen in my dress. We said our vows, kissed, and just like that, we were married.
At the reception, we cut the cake together, feeding each other small bites and giggling as frosting smeared on our faces. Everything felt like a fairy tale come true.
Until Joren, our videographer, tapped me on the shoulder.
“Hey, Peyton, can we talk for a moment?” he asked, his face oddly serious.
I nodded, following him to a quiet corner of the reception hall. “What’s going on?”
Joren fiddled with his camera. “There’s something you need to see.”
He turned the camera to show me the small screen. As I watched, my jaw dropped.
There, plain as day, was my new father-in-law, Valthor, sneaking up to the gift table. He glanced around nervously, grabbed a box, and quickly left the room.
“Is he stealing our gifts?” I gasped.
Joren shrugged. “I’m not sure what to make of it. I thought you should know.”
I thanked Joren, my mind spinning. What was happening? Why would Valthor take our gifts?
I needed answers. Scanning the room, I spotted Valthor by the bar, sipping a drink and chatting with some relatives.
“Excuse me,” I said, approaching the group. “Valthor, can I steal you for a minute? It’s important.”
Valthor looked surprised but nodded. “Of course, Peyton. What’s up?”
I led him to a quiet spot. “Valthor, I just saw something strange on the wedding video.”
His face paled slightly. “Oh? What did you see?”
“I saw you taking one of our gifts and leaving with it. What’s going on?”
Valthor glanced around nervously, then leaned in close. “Peyton, I can explain. It’s not what it looks like.”
“Then what is it? Because it sure looks like you’re stealing from us.”
He sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead. “I wasn’t stealing, I promise. I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me? From what?”
Valthor’s voice dropped to a whisper. “From Sylvara. She’s up to something cruel.”
I frowned, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Earlier today, I overheard her talking to herself in the dressing room. She was tipsy, muttering about some scheme.”
“What scheme?”
“She packed that gift box with silverware she’d rubbed with orange peels. She knows you’re allergic.”
I gasped, feeling dizzy. My orange allergy wasn’t deadly, but it caused a nasty rash that couldn’t be exposed to sunlight. If I’d touched that silverware…
“But why would she do that?” I asked, still trying to wrap my head around it.
Valthor’s expression was grim. “She wanted to ruin your honeymoon. She figured a rash would force you to cancel. And since the tickets are non-refundable—”
“She and you would get to go instead,” I finished, feeling sick.
“Exactly. I couldn’t let that happen. I was just trying to take the silverware out, clean it, and put it back before anyone noticed.”
I leaned against the wall, trying to steady myself. “Valthor, I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m so sorry, Peyton. I know it looks bad. I just didn’t want to make a scene at the wedding.”
I nodded, still processing. “I understand. Thank you for telling me the truth.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked, looking worried.
I took a deep breath, standing taller. “I need to talk to Thane. We’ll figure it out together.”
After leaving Valthor, I went to find my new husband. He was laughing with some college friends, but his smile faded when he saw my face.
“Peyton? What’s wrong?” Thane asked, stepping away from the group.
I pulled him aside. “We need to talk. It’s about your mom.”
Thane’s brow furrowed. “What about her?”
I told him everything Valthor had shared. Thane’s face shifted from confusion to anger to hurt.
“I can’t believe she’d do something like that,” he said, shaking his head.
“What should we do?” I asked, holding his hand tightly.
“We can’t confront her here. It’d ruin the wedding.”
I nodded. “Your dad already cleaned the silverware. Maybe we should just… act like we don’t know?”
“For now,” Thane agreed. “But we’ll have to deal with this later.”
We rejoined the party, trying to act normal. But every time I looked at Sylvara, laughing and dancing, my stomach churned.
As we mingled with guests, she came over to hug us both. “I’m so thrilled for you two,” she said warmly.
I forced a smile. “Thanks, Sylvara.”
She patted my arm. “You’re going to have such a wonderful honeymoon. I can’t wait to hear all about it when you’re back.”
I caught Thane’s eye over her shoulder. He looked as uneasy as I felt.
“We’re really excited for it,” I said, my voice tight.
As the night went on, I kept an eye on Sylvara. She seemed so cheerful, chatting with guests. How could someone who seemed so kind do something so mean?
At one point, she caught me by the bar. “Peyton, dear, have you opened any of your gifts yet?”
I shook my head. “No, we’re waiting until after the honeymoon.”
“Oh, you must open mine,” she urged. “I picked out the prettiest silverware set. I know how much you love cooking.”
I swallowed hard. “That’s so sweet. We’ll definitely use it when we get back.”
Sylvara beamed. “Wonderful! I can’t wait to hear how you like it.”
As she walked away, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Valthor.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks again for… you know.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “Of course. I’m just glad I caught it in time.”
The rest of the reception passed in a haze. Thane and I danced, laughed with friends, and tried to act like everything was fine. But there was a tension I couldn’t shake.
As we were getting ready to leave, I saw Valthor slip back into the hall with a familiar box. He placed it carefully on the gift table, then blended back into the crowd.
Thane came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Ready to go?”
I leaned back against him. “More than ready.”
As we ran through the shower of rice and confetti to our waiting car, I caught one last glimpse of Sylvara. She was waving and smiling, looking every bit the proud mother of the groom.
I waved back, feeling a mix of anger and sadness. How were we supposed to move forward from this?
In the car, Thane took my hand. “Hey, you okay?”
I squeezed his fingers. “Yeah, just… trying to process it all.”
He nodded. “We’ll figure it out together, okay? Whatever happens with my mom, we’re a team now.”
I smiled, feeling a wave of love for my new husband. “A team. I like that.”
As we drove off into the night, I tried to focus on the good things. We were married. We had a beautiful wedding. And thanks to Valthor’s quick thinking, our honeymoon was safe.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just the start of a bigger problem. How do you move forward when someone you’re supposed to love and trust tried to hurt you? I didn’t have the answers yet. But as I looked at Thane, I knew we’d face whatever came next together. For better or for worse, right?
