Chapter 10 - The Vows He Wouldn't Say
Marcus walked to the aisle, looked down its long bright center, and thought of the vows tucked inside his jacket pocket. He had written them twice. Both versions promised that he would tell the truth even when it cost him something.
He faced Vanessa. "I'm not marrying you today."
She went pale. "You're calling it off? In front of everyone?"
"I'm stopping the ceremony. We can discuss the rest privately."
"One fight. You're throwing away four years over one fight."
"This isn't one fight. It's the secret charges, the pressure on my mother, the lies, and what happened when you thought no one would stop you."
"I made a horrible mistake."
"Several. And I won't pretend they're small just because we rented a beautiful room."
Vanessa seized the back of a chair. "You promised me forever."
"I promised you a marriage built on honesty. You promised me the same."
Her eyes filled. He didn't look away. He wasn't trying to punish her with distance. He was refusing to lie with his entire future.
"Can we postpone it?" she asked. "Tell them somebody got sick?"
"No more stories."
Evelyn rose carefully, the silver-green jacket settled on her shoulders. "Marcus, don't decide out of anger alone."
He took her hand. "I'm deciding because I won't let anger write the vows for us."
Vanessa stared at the ring on her finger. She could hear guests gathering outside, a low buzz of uncertainty. There was no way to undo the last twenty minutes, and for the first time she understood that a sincere apology wouldn't automatically return everything to its old place.
"If you leave," she whispered, "I don't know what happens to me."
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"I don't know what happens to either of us," Marcus said. "But I know we can't keep going like this."
Then the doors opened and a cluster of waiting guests turned to look. Marcus took a breath. He was about to tell them the truth.
