I watched Tristan grip his phone harder.
His anger was real, but there was something else underneath it.
Hurt.
That bothered me more.
He had spent years defending Linda whenever people called her controlling.
He always said she meant well, even when she crossed lines.
Now she had crossed one so enormous that even he could not explain it away.
I stepped toward him.
“Give me the phone.”
He looked at me.
“Jessica, no.”
“Give it to me.”
He hesitated, then handed it over.
Linda was still talking.
I waited until she stopped.
“You’re right, Linda. Don’t worry about it.”
There was silence on Tristan’s end of the room.
One of my bridesmaids looked at me like I had lost my mind.
Linda actually laughed.
It was a small, satisfied sound.
“See?” she said. “Jessica understands.”
I said nothing else.
I hung up and made one call.
Tristan watched me closely.
“Who are you calling?”
“Someone who can help.”
“Jess, the ceremony starts in less than an hour.”
“I know.”
He looked exhausted already.
“We can postpone.”
“No.”
“Then we can tell everyone what happened and take them somewhere else.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“Then what are we doing?”
I looked at him.
“We’re getting married.”
He searched my face.
I could tell he wanted answers, but I did not have time to explain everything.
Not yet.
So I finished getting ready.
Then I married Tristan exactly as planned.
The ceremony was beautiful.
