The Truth Before "I Do"

The last person I expected to see on my wedding day was Noah Carter. The moment I saw him, my heart stopped. I stood there holding my bouquet so tightly that my fingers started hurting. The music playing around suddenly felt distant, like I was underwater or something. Three years. I hadn’t seen Noah in three whole years. And somehow he still looked the same. Tall, Calm, attractive. He was standing beside my fiancé like nothing had happened between us. Like he hadn’t completely broken my heart. Sophie, my best friend and maid of honor, touched my arm. “Are you okay?” I quickly looked away from Noah. “Yeah,” I lied. But I wasn’t okay at all. Because Noah wasn’t supposed to be here. The last time we spoke was the night he left me crying outside his apartment. He didn’t even give me a proper explanation. One minute we were planning our future together, and the next minute he was gone. After that night, I promised myself I would move on. And I did. At least I tried to. “Everyone’s waiting,” Sophie said softly. I nodded slowly and fixed my dress. Today was supposed to be perfect. I was getting married to Ethan Williams. Ethan was sweet, caring, successful, and everything a girl could ask for. He made me feel safe. Nothing like Noah. Loving Noah had always felt dangerous, Painful. My dad walked over and smiled proudly at me. “You ready?” I forced a smile. “Ready.” The doors opened, and everybody stood up immediately. I took a deep breath before walking down the aisle. Ethan smiled the second he saw me. He looked happy. Really happy. And for a moment, I relaxed a little. Maybe seeing Noah again didn’t mean anything. Maybe it was just old memories messing with my head. But then I looked at Noah again. He was already staring at me. Not the normal kind of staring either. The look in his eyes made my chest tighten. I quickly faced forward again. By the time I reached Ethan, my hands were cold. “You look beautiful,” he whispered. “Thank you.” The ceremony started, but I could barely focus. I kept feeling Noah’s presence somewhere behind the guests. It was distracting. Uncomfortable. Like my past had suddenly shown up to ruin everything. Then Ethan leaned closer to me. “There’s something I forgot to tell you,” he whispered quietly. I frowned. “What?” Before he could answer, we heard a loud noise near the entrance. Everybody turned at the same time. A woman stood there breathing heavily. She looked angry. Very angry. Her heels clicked loudly against the floor as she walked closer to us. Then she pointed directly at Ethan. “You’re seriously going through with this?” she asked. The smile disappeared from Ethan’s face immediately. My stomach dropped. “What’s happening?” I whispered. Nobody answered me. The woman laughed bitterly before pulling out a folder from her bag. “You really didn’t tell her?” she asked Ethan. Ethan stepped forward quickly. “This isn’t the right time.” “Oh, now timing matters to you?” she snapped. The guests started whispering around us. I felt completely confused. Sophie grabbed my hand tightly beside me. Then the woman looked at me. And suddenly her expression softened a little. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “But you deserve to know the truth before you marry him.” My heartbeat sped up. “What truth?” She slowly opened the folder. Before she could say anything else, Noah finally stepped forward. His voice was calm, but serious. “Jasmine,” he said, looking directly at me. “Don’t marry him.”