When Paige’s sister steals her fiancé, betrayal isn’t enough, she wants to flaunt her little victory. One year later, an invitation arrives. Erica is getting married to the man she took, and she wants Paige to watch. But what Erica doesn’t know is that Paige has a plan. And before the night is over, the bride’s perfect day will be in ruins.
I wasn’t supposed to be at this wedding.
That much was clear from the sideways glances and the murmured whispers trailing behind me as I walked through the grand hall.
I’ll admit, the wedding set up was stunning. Erica had taken her time to set the scene with shades of gold and ivory. The guests had come wearing their expensive gowns and tuxedos. Everything was… stunning.
But no amount of elegance could mask the rot beneath the surface.
This wasn’t just any wedding. This was her wedding.
Erica.
My younger sister. My parents’ golden child. The one who was handed everything on a silver platter while I scraped and clawed for every bit of success I had.
And now?
She had taken the one thing that was supposed to be mine.
Stan.
Stan had been my fiancé. He had been my future. He was the man I loved and trusted, until I came home early from work one night and found them tangled together in our bed.
I still remember how he froze, his face twisted in guilt. As for my sister? She had only smirked, her voice dripping with smug satisfaction.
“I won, Paige,” she had said simply. “Checkmate.”
A month later, the wedding I had spent over a year planning was canceled, with all the vendors trying to keep my deposits. And what about Erica and Stan? They no longer had to sneak around. They were finally an official couple.
After that, I left town for a few weeks, moving around hotels while working remotely. I tried to put it all behind me, and eventually, I did. When I was ready, I moved back in and got myself a kitten.
Then, the invitation arrived.
And now, a year after that entire fiasco, here I was, standing in the middle of their celebration, invited as nothing more than a spectator to their so-called victory.
I bet it was my parents who forced her to invite me. If Erica had her own way, she would never have invited me. Or maybe she would have… just to gloat. She was as nasty as they came.
But what Erica didn’t know, what nobody knew, was that tonight, I wasn’t here to mourn my loss.
I was here to make sure that Erica would never forget what she had done to me. And with that, she would never forget the surprise I had planned for her wedding reception.
The ceremony was a blur. I stood near the back, barely listening as the officiant droned on about love and devotion. Honestly, they were just words that meant nothing.
Stan, dressed in a sharp black tuxedo, stared at Erica with a look of adoration I knew was fake. She, in turn, beamed up at him like she had won the grandest prize of all.
I almost laughed.
Enjoy it while you can, sweetheart, I thought while sipping my champagne.
By the time the reception began, the hall buzzed with laughter and clinking glasses. A massive screen behind the dance floor played a slideshow of their engagement photos, Stan lifting Erica into the air, their foreheads touching as they smiled at each other.
Honestly, if you didn’t know the history of how they got together, you would think they were genuinely happy.
And maybe they were. Maybe this was how things were supposed to turn out.
But I wasn’t going to give in that easily. I wasn’t going to just let this go.
Why should Erica get the happily-ever-after, especially after all the pain and betrayal I had felt?
Nope. Not a chance.
Soon, their perfect little fairytale was about to take a turn.
I moved through the crowd unnoticed, my sleek black dress hugging my frame just right. I wasn’t dressed like a guest. I was dressed like a reckoning, and I felt confident, more confident than I had in a long time.
Reaching the laptop connected to the projector, I slipped in my flash drive. A few clicks, a deep breath, and then…
Showtime.
The first few seconds went unnoticed. The guests continued sipping champagne and nibbling on canapés, lost in conversation. The bridal couple made their way through the crowd, stopping to talk and hug people as they went.
Then, Stan’s voice filled the hall.
“Please, don’t leave me!”
The video played on the massive screen, the footage grainy from the security camera mounted in my bedroom. Stan was on the bed, his face streaked with tears. I was standing on the other end listening to him try to ‘explain’ what had gone on between him and my sister.
“Erica means nothing to me, Paige! Absolutely nothing!” he sobbed. “She was a mistake! I love you, Paige! I made a huge mistake!”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
I turned to look at Erica.
Her face drained of color.
Stan, too, stood frozen, his eyes wide. His hands twitched at his sides.
But still, I wasn’t done.
The video cut to more security footage. I lived in a quiet neighborhood that was often targeted for break-ins, which was why I had security cameras installed everywhere and in every room.
Now, the footage showed Erica and Stan sneaking into my house together, slipping into my bedroom when they thought I was working late. Timestamp after timestamp, betrayal after betrayal.
Then, the final nail in the coffin.
Erica, lying in my bed, laughing.
“She’ll never know…” she whispered, her voice light and breathy.
“Paige who?” Stan said, laughing with her.
A collective gasp spread through the crowd. Someone dropped a champagne glass.
“Oh my God,” a woman murmured.
My mother looked like she might faint. My father’s jaw clenched so tightly I swore I heard his teeth grind.
And then, pure chaos.
Erica stumbled back, her hands shaking.
“This… this isn’t real!” she stammered.
But the proof was right there, glaring under the bright glow of the screen.
“Dinner will be served now!” she blurted, waving her hands in the air. “Everyone just take your seats and enjoy!”
Stan turned to her, his expression morphing into pure rage.
“Erica, you told me that you went onto Paige’s computer and deleted the footage.”
“Oh?” I mused, my voice dripping with mock innocence. “You mean you knew about it? You knew that the security cameras were going to catch you in the act?”
His face paled, giving himself away.
The guests murmured louder now, judgment and disgust flickering through their faces.
And then, before Erica could retaliate, a voice cut through the tension.
“Paige.”
I turned.
Jack stepped forward from the crowd, his crisp white shirt visible beneath the black vest of his waiter’s uniform.
Month ago, when I told Jack about what I wanted to do, he was adamant that he needed to be with me. He had just come over after work and the first thing he saw was my sister’s wedding invitation on the table.
“I want to go to the wedding,” I said. “I just don’t want to be… I don’t know. Jack, Erica is a problem. She’s used to everything being about her. I want to teach her some kind of lesson.”
Jack moved around the kitchen, chopping whatever I asked him for.
“Then I’ll come with, Paige,” he said.
“But I don’t
