…a faint, pale indentation.
Not from my ring.
From another one.
A ring that had clearly been worn for a long time — recently removed.
My stomach dropped.
“What is that?” I whispered.
Ellie’s face had gone ghost white. “It’s nothing,” she said quickly. “It’s just an old mark.”
One of my groomsmen, Mark, stepped forward. “It’s not old. We saw her last night.”
The room erupted in murmurs.
“Last night?” I repeated, my voice barely steady.
Mark hesitated, then continued. “We went to the hotel bar after the rehearsal dinner. She was there. With a guy. They were arguing. She still had a ring on that finger.”
Ellie’s grip tightened. “They’re lying!”
Tyler, my best man, finally spoke. “They’re not.”
I turned to him, betrayal burning in my chest. “You too?”
He swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to believe it either. But I followed them. They went outside. He grabbed her hand and said, ‘You can’t marry him while we’re still married.’”
The words hit like a truck.
“Married?” I echoed.
Ellie started crying. “It’s complicated—”
“Are you legally married?” I asked, louder now.
Silence.
That was my answer.
Her divorce had been “in progress” when we started dating. She told me it was finalized months ago. I believed her.
“I was going to tell you,” she said through tears. “The paperwork just got delayed. I didn’t want to lose you.”
The priest cleared his throat awkwardly. Guests were whispering. My parents looked stunned.
“You were going to let me commit bigamy?” I said quietly.
“I love you,” she pleaded.
Maybe she did.
But love without honesty is just manipulation wrapped in pretty words.
I looked at the three groomsmen who stepped forward. They hadn’t tried to embarrass me.
They tried to save me.
I turned to the priest. “I think we’re done here.”
Gasps again — louder this time.
I walked down the aisle alone.
The reception turned into an awkward dispersal of guests and untouched wedding cake.
Later that night, I sat with my groomsmen — all four of them — in a quiet bar. Tyler raised his glass.
“To truth,” he said.
It wasn’t the wedding I dreamed of.
But it was the truth I deserved.
