Rewriting My Broken Vows

The Night I Should Have Said Yes POV: Aria Before the glass breaks, I don't understand what's going on. The room is filled with a sharp, loud noise. The pain then comes on quickly and burns through my back as I hit the table. I can't take a breath. As I lay there, I stare at the bright lights on the roof and try to breathe but can't. As I push on the broken glass below me, my hands get shaky. I feel something warm under my fingers. Blood. The blood in my body. "No..." I have a hard time getting the word out. My body won't let me sit up, but I want to. It's like something is dragging me down. Short, broken breaths make my chest rise and fall. We didn't mean for this to happen. Just now, everything was great. Soft music was playing. There were lots of smiles, clinking glasses, and soft laughs in the room. This is my party for getting married. My night. His night. I turn my head slowly. There are a few steps between me and Ethan. My boyfriend. The man I felt I would always be with. He's not in a hurry to see me. He's not even moving. He doesn't do anything but stand there and fix his cuff like it's nothing important. "Ethan..." makes my heart skip a beat. I speak slowly. He doesn't answer. My eyes move. Vanessa. My sister is standing next to him and putting a light hand on his arm. Her dress shines in the lights. It's pretty and red. She smiles in a soft way. That's fine. Not a surprise. Take it easy. I say, "You... pushed me," and the words come out slowly, like they don't belong to me. Vanessa tilts her head and looks at me like I'm weird. It was not your fault that you fell that way, she says in a low voice. It's cooler in here. It sounds like Ethan is tired because he lets out a sigh. "This is a mess." It's a mess. That's what he calls it, right? The more I press my fingers into the floor, the more blood comes out. As I start to understand the truth, my body starts to shake. It wasn't a mistake. "You planned this..." My voice is shaking. "Both of you..." Vanessa smiles a little more. "You always notice things too late, Aria." "No, that's not true," I say quickly, almost beseechingly. "You're my sister." "And you were the problem." The words hurt more than the fall. When I look at her, I wait for her to laugh or say something funny. She doesn't. Ethan finally looks at me. His eyes are very cold. Nothing. "You should have been quiet," he says. "You made things harder." My voice breaks as I say, "I just wanted to know the truth!" "You cheated on me with her!" She adds softly, "And you couldn't accept it." "You always had to mess things up." I'm so sorry, but I can't even raise my hand to wipe away the tears. I tell Ethan in a quiet voice, "I loved you." He keeps looking at her. "That was your fault." My heart feels like it's breaking up. He smiled, made promises, held my hand, and told me I was good enough. All of those little things come back to me. Lie - telling. "You were going to marry me," I say, but my voice is so weak it's hard to hear. Ethan shrugs and asks, "Why?" "It was easy." Simple. The word shocks me more than the sound of the glass breaking. She moves closer to him and grabs his arm a little tighter. "And now we don't have to act like we do." I feel sick to my stomach. They planned everything, even the lies. "No one will believe you," Vanessa says quietly. "Even if you made it." Got through it. The word sounds very far away. My body won't let me move, get up, or do anything else. I say quietly, "Help me." The lights above me are fuzzy. Not to them. Everyone. Please. Ethan looks at the door and then back at me. "We should leave." Vanessa is with me. "Yes." Before someone shows up. They spin. That's the end of it. It's like I'm not even there. "Hold on..." My voice breaks, and I need help badly. "Please... don't go..." Vanessa puts down. I feel a little more hopeful for a moment. She looks at me after turning around. She has soft eyes. Not nice, though. A soft voice tells him, "You should have said yes tonight." I make a face because I don't know what to think. Ethan takes a deep breath. "What...?" "She means the deal." "What's the deal?" my heart skips a beat. My heart is beating fast as I ask. Vanessa moves closer, and the sound of her heels on the floor is soft and clear. She gets on her knees next to me but doesn't touch the blood. "You think this was about love?" she asks in a low voice. "It was all about control." Your future, your name, and your stocks. After the wedding, you were going to give everything away. My mind is going crazy. "No... Ethan wouldn't—" "He would," she answers straight out. "And yes you would have said. Because you trust too much. It hurts and feels tight in my chest. "That's not true," I whisper. Vanessa smiles once more, but this time it's not as big. "You already signed the first papers this morning." I'm having trouble breathing. The sheets. Ethan called them "formalities." "No," I say, shaking my head. "No, I didn't," I say. "You did," Ethan replies in a dull voice. "You just didn't read them." The room is turning around. Everything is gone. Believe. Dear. My plans. Vanessa gets up very slowly. "It's really sad." When I look at her, tears come to my eyes. I ask, "Why?" "Why are you doing this to me?" She looks at me with a calm face. "Because you were always in the way." It feels tight in my chest, and I'm breathing more slowly now. I can see a little less clearly as the darkness grows. "No..." I speak very softly. I don't want to die this way. Not this way. If they win, no. It hurts so badly that my fingers curl up against the floor. I want to stay put. Things are getting worse for me, though. Things become less noisy. More. Vanessa looks away once more. Ethan goes after it. They go to the door. It seems like every step is a timer. "Please," I say almost in a whisper. They keep going. The door opens up. It gets lighter. She then stops one last time. She smiles as she looks back over her shoulder. Cold. "Don't worry," she says softly. "We'll say it was an accident to everyone."