Guests milled around, listening to the soft and romantic music, champagne in hand as they made their way to their seats.
And for a moment, I convinced myself that this was all some horrible misunderstanding.
Until I stepped into the main hall where guests were already taking their seats.
And guess what? The entire room went silent.
People stared, some whispering, others giving me sympathetic looks.
Like they’d just witnessed something tragic.
My stomach twisted with such force that I thought I’d keel over.
Keep breathing, Ivy, I thought to myself.
But honestly, what the hell was going on?
Then, I saw her.
Amber stood at the front of the room, in a gorgeous white dress, looking like a deer caught in headlights.
And then I saw him.
Standing at the altar, in a sleek black tuxedo, his arm around Amber, was my father.
The same father who abandoned me when I was ten years old.
The same father I hadn’t seen since.
Suddenly, the world blurred. And I felt like the floor had completely disappeared beneath me. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
Amber knew.
She had known this whole time.
That’s why I wasn’t invited.
She had been hiding this from me.
I wished I could sink into the ground and disappear.
Then, my father spoke.
His voice was deeper than I remembered, but the moment he said my name, I was ten years old again, standing at the window, waiting for a man who never came back.
But I wasn’t that little girl anymore.
And I wasn’t going to let them pretend this was normal.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward, my heels echoing against the polished floor.
The guests were still frozen, their eyes darting between me, Amber, and my father.
Amber.
The girl who had been my best friend, my confidante, my sister in everything but blood, had been hiding this from me.
I turned to my father.
His face was unreadable.
I searched for something, remorse, shame, anything, but all I saw was hesitation.
Like he wasn’t sure whether to acknowledge me at all.
I didn’t give him a choice.
“You.” My voice was steady, but inside, my heart was a raging storm.
“You’re going to stand there like nothing happened?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his fingers twitching at his sides.
“I… Ivy…”
Then, Amber rushed forward, stepping between us, her eyes pleading.
“Listen, I was going to tell you…”
“When, Amber?” I snapped.
“Before or after the honeymoon? Or maybe when you were pregnant with my half-sibling?”
She winced.
“I didn’t know how to…”
“How to what?” My voice cracked. “Tell me that you were marrying my father?
The man who left me when I was ten?”
Gasps rippled through the crowd, but I barely heard them.
“Why now?
After all these years, why Amber? Why her?”
My father let out a slow breath, rubbing his temples like this was just some inconvenient confrontation rather than the reckoning he deserved.
“I know I owe you an explanation.”
I scoffed.
“You owe me more than that.”
He exhaled, finally looking me in the eyes.
“I left because I had to, Ivy, not because I wanted to.”
I laughed loudly.
It came out hollow and bitter.
“You let me think that you were dead or something. You let me believe that I wasn’t worth a goodbye.”
Amber was crying now, wiping at her eyes as if she was the one who had lost something.
I turned to her, my voice sharp.
“And you?
When exactly did you think it was a good idea to marry my missing father?”
She looked away, guilt shadowing her face.
“Well, congratulations, I guess,” I said.
“You’re officially family now. I hope it was worth it.”
I turned on my heel, heading straight for the exit.
“Ivy, please. I don’t want to lose you again, darling.”
I stopped, but I didn’t turn around.
My voice was cold and distant when I spoke.
“Please, Philip,” I said.
“You lost me years ago. You just never cared enough to look.”
And with that, I walked out of my best friend’s wedding.
My father’s wedding.
And finally, I walked out of both of their lives.
That night, I sat in my car, parked outside my house.
My head was still spinning, and I couldn’t get the image of Amber and my father out of my mind. There was a part of me that wanted to know more… Like how they had met and gotten together.
But I also didn’t care enough.
I was too hurt.
Amber had texted me.
Ivy, I’m so sorry. Please talk to me.
I stared at the message, my hands shaking.
Then, slowly, I deleted it.
Outside, the streetlight flickered.
For the first time in years, I felt like I had finally stopped waiting by the window.
What was the point in waiting for this man?
And waiting for Amber to realize how wrong she had been?
No, thank you. I was done.
What would you have done?
