“That’s not the point!” she interrupted, stepping closer. “Anna, please listen to me. You can’t marry Daniel because—”

And then she said the words that turned my world upside down.

“He’s sleeping with Dad’s new girlfriend.”

I actually laughed. Like, genuinely laughed out loud.

The whole situation was so absurd that laughter was the only response my brain could produce.

“Very funny, Katie. Not in the mood for jokes right now,” I said, continuing to gather up pieces of expensive cardstock. “You’ve already ruined my invitations. Don’t make this worse.”

But when I looked up at her face, she wasn’t smiling. Her expression was dead serious.

“I’m not joking, Anna,” she said flatly. “I’m talking about Susan.”

Susan. My dad’s girlfriend of three years. The woman he’d met at a real estate conference in Denver, who’d swept him off his feet with her perfectly styled blonde hair and designer handbags.

She was supposed to become my stepmother next year.

Susan was the woman who’d made it painfully clear from day one that she tolerated Katie and me only because we came with the package of her dating our father.

I set down the handful of shredded paper and turned to face Katie fully. “What are you talking about?”

She bit her lip, looking younger than her 23 years. “Anna, I didn’t want to tell you like this. I tried to talk to you yesterday, but you were so busy with wedding planning, and I just… I couldn’t let you marry him without knowing.”

“Knowing what, exactly?”

Katie pulled out her phone with shaking hands. “I caught them two weeks ago. I went to Dad’s house to borrow his truck, and I saw them through the sliding door.”

She hit play on a video, and my kitchen started spinning around me.

There was Daniel, my fiancé, sitting on Dad’s back porch in the wooden chair I’d helped Dad build last summer. And there was Susan, leaning over him, her manicured hands on his shoulders.

They were kissing. Not a friendly peck, not an accidental brush of lips. They were really kissing, like lovers do.

“Oh God,” I whispered, but the video wasn’t over.

I heard Daniel’s voice, clear as day.

“You promise I’ll get the cottage once the will goes through?” he asked.

Susan laughed. “Of course, baby. You’ll be family by then. Well, sort of family.” She giggled at her own joke.

Daniel smiled. “I’m doing this for our future, you know. Once Anna and I are married, we’ll be set for life. That cottage is worth at least half a million.”

My legs gave out. I had to grab onto the kitchen island to keep from falling.

Katie paused the video, her eyes filling with tears. “I confronted Susan after I took this. She just laughed and told me you’d ‘thank her later’ for teaching you what marriage was really about. She said Daniel was too good for you anyway.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I managed to whisper.

“I tried!” Katie said. “I kept hinting that something was wrong, asking if you were sure about Daniel. But you were so happy, Anna. You lit up every time someone mentioned the wedding. I didn’t know how to destroy that.”

That was true. I was too happy to marry the man I’d planned to spend the rest of my life with. I couldn’t have imagined he was using me to get to my dad’s property.

I felt broken. Absolutely broken.

But then, as I sat there surrounded by my destroyed wedding invitations, the hurt transformed into something else entirely.

Anger.

“Katie,” I said quietly, “can you send me that video?”

She nodded.

“Good. Because I have an idea.”

That night, after crying until my eyes swelled shut, I made a decision. If Daniel and Susan wanted to humiliate me, I’d return the favor.

But I’d do it right.

Katie and I spent the next three days playing the perfect act.

I texted Daniel about wedding details, gushing about how excited I was to be his wife. I even called Susan, asking for her opinion on floral arrangements and seating charts. She ate it up, giving me advice in that condescending tone she always used, probably thinking about how stupid I was for not knowing what was really going on.

“Oh, Anna,” she’d said during one call, “I just know you and Daniel are going to be so happy together. He’s such a dedicated young man.”

I sent out email invitations to replace the shredded ones. Most people understood when I told them there was a “printing error.”

Meanwhile, Katie and I gathered everything we could find. The video was just the beginning.

Katie had managed to screenshot flirtatious texts from Susan’s unlocked phone when she’d left it on Dad’s kitchen table. There was even a recorded voicemail Daniel had left Susan that Katie had caught on Dad’s answering machine.

He said, “Don’t worry, she won’t find out. Just a few more days, and then we can be together properly.”

We compiled it all into a neat little slideshow.

And soon, the wedding day arrived.

The venue looked perfect.

There were white roses everywhere, and fairy lights strung along the ceiling, exactly like I’d dreamed. Guests filled the hall, sipping champagne and complimenting my dress. My dad looked so proud walking me down the aisle, completely unaware that his girlfriend was planning to steal his property through his future son-in-law.

Daniel stood at the altar in his black tuxedo, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Meanwhile, Susan sat in the front row, wearing a dress that was suspiciously white for a guest at someone else’s wedding.

The officiant began the ceremony.

I stood across from Daniel, holding my bouquet of white peonies.

I nodded to Katie, who was stationed by the AV equipment. The lights dimmed, and the large screen behind the altar flickered on.

First slide: Daniel and Susan kissing on Dad’s porch.

Audible gasps rippled through the crowd.

Second slide: the audio clip of Daniel talking about getting the cottage, played loud enough for everyone to hear.

Third slide: screenshots of their text messages. The one where Susan wrote “Can’t wait for you to be my secret husband” got the loudest gasp from my dad.

I turned back to face our guests. “I thought you should all know exactly who you’re here to celebrate today.”

Then I looked directly at Daniel, whose face had drained of all color. “And no, this wedding isn’t happening.”

Susan bolted from her seat, pushing past other guests as she ran for the exit.

My dad followed her, his voice shaking with rage as he shouted for her to get out of his sight and never come back.

The room erupted in whispers and shocked murmurs. My bridesmaids surrounded me, hugging me tight.

Daniel tried to speak, “Anna, please, I can explain—” but the officiant just shook his head, gathered his materials, and walked away.

I left that venue to a standing ovation. People actually clapped for me. Some guests hugged me on the way out, telling me I’d dodged the biggest bullet of my life.

Six months later, Daniel moved to another state. Meanwhile, Dad kicked Susan out that same night and never spoke to her again.

Now, I’ve decided Katie is going to be my maid of honor when I find someone actually worth marrying someday. I don’t know when that’s going to happen, but I’m sure fate will lead me to the man who wouldn’t think of cheating on me.

I’m hoping for the best.