The Lie Hidden In White

Prologue

For most couples, love stories often lead to the altar. A wedding which carefully planned, fought for, and filled with promises of forever. A moment prepared so perfectly, as if there's no room for second thoughts. The kind of wedding people dream of. White gowns, handwritten vows, happy tears...

But mine was nothing like that.

It was the kind no one would ever wish for.

A wedding I never imagined.

One I didn't even think could exist until it happened to me.

– Autumn

***

It was raining.

Not the cinematic, romantic kind that drips on windows, but the kind that drowns you as it streams down your skin.

A kind that matched exactly what I felt inside.

I stood across the street from the church, watching from afar as my body trembled. Not from the cold, but from something deeper.

The ceremony was supposed to start thirty minutes ago.

Instead, chaos had already begun.

"Where is my bride?!" His voice echoed through the earpiece I was wearing. Loud, angry, and frantic. I didn’t need to be there to feel the tremble in his voice. Because I could already see him in my mind pacing, sweating, and trying not to lose his mind.

He was breaking, but not in the way I had.

My family member inside the church had discreetly tucked her phone away so she could give me a front-row seat to a moment I was never meant to witness.

“Dex, she’s coming, okay? Please calm down,” said Festin. His voice carried a trace of nervousness, though he tried to keep it hidden.

“What?! Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? Damn it, Festin! She’s thirty minutes late! Our wedding has been delayed for almost half an hour and you’re telling me to calm down?”

I bit down hard on my lower lip while my arms folded tightly over my chest. The soaked fabric of my black shirt clung to me, and my cap was already dripping with water. But I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to.

Not yet.

“Chillax, bro. It’s your wedding day,” another one of his friends said.

“How am I supposed to do that, Leno?! Huh?! Tell me!” he shouted back.

“Dexter, what the hell?! Can you please calm down?!” The voice of a woman rang out, and I knew it belonged to Ate Dailyn, Dex’s older sister. “I don’t know if you’re losing your mind or just too nervous, but that’s why you’re reacting this way!” She paused before continuing. “Look, brother… your wedding will push through because the parents of your bride-to-be are already here. And knowing your fiancée, even if we haven’t met her yet, we know she loves you so much. She won’t let this wedding fall apart.”

A bitter smile curved on my lips at her last words.

“Yeah, bro. Didn’t you tell us she’s head over heels for you? So what exactly are you so worried about?” added Festin.

Dex’s voice suddenly went quiet on the other end.

“Dex…” Ash called for his attention. He was another one of Dex’s friends. “Is there something wrong?”

Honestly, I hadn’t met them in person yet. I only knew them from the pictures I saw in Dex’s album at his condo.

“N-Nothing.” Dex stammered, his voice betraying his nerves.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

Yeah. You have nothing to worry about, Dex. This is your wedding now. Because it was never ours to begin with… was it?

I clenched my fist at my side as I listened to the noise that was growing. Of fear and questions. Of whispers and shouts.

And then…

“The bride is here!” I heard from the other line.

I froze.

Through the crack in the church doors, I saw her.

The woman in white.

She walked slowly and carefully, as though she should have been there. She was beautiful. I can’t deny that. But… she wasn’t me.

I no longer paid attention to the murmur of the people inside the church, because my gaze was locked on the woman standing at the tall, closed doors.

The woman standing there was someone I knew. Her name wasn’t a stranger to me. She was the woman who took part in shattering what we had. And now, she was wearing the gown that was once meant for me.

But this… all of this?

This scene?

I wrote it.

So she’s not a replacement. Because she’s the one he truly chose, even if he never admitted it. Even if he never would.

I just decided to make it official.

To give him the lie he built, wrapped in white and handed on a silver platter.

And when the doors finally opened for the bride to walk down the aisle, that’s when I heard Dex’s voice again.

“W-What’s happening?” he stammered, clearly confused.

“Why?” I heard one of his friends ask.

“Tell me! What’s happening?!” he shouted, frantic.

I began to hear whispers ripple through the crowd.

“Dexter Wisken!” a man bellowed. “What the hell is wrong with you, huh?! Have you lost your mind?”

“Bro, is there a problem?” Festin asked, worried.

“S-she’s…” he began, his voice shaking.

“She’s what?” I heard Leno press.

“She’s not my bride!”

And there it was.

The truth clawed its way out of his throat too late.

“She’s not Autumn Coleen Contreras!”

My name echoed through the earpiece. Louder than the thunder and heavier than the rain.

Inside, he was breaking. But outside, I was already broken.

“Uncle, Auntie…” he called out to my parents. I couldn’t see their faces, but I knew they had given him nothing but a cold, cutting glare.

“S-She’s not my bride. I—I swear,” Dex stammered.

I saw the woman walking down the aisle suddenly stop, as though her legs refused to take another step.

“She will not be marrying you.” My mom’s voice cut sharply, flat and firm. “Not in this lifetime, nor in the next.” Her tone was cold, unwavering. “So be glad I still have the strength to face you.”

“Wait—what’s happening?” Dex’s mother interjected, caught in the middle.

“Ask him,” my mom replied.

“I-I did nothing wrong,” Dex insisted. I could only shake my head harshly.

“Oh yeah?” my mom shot back, her voice laced with challenge. “Think again.”

Dex fell silent. The whispers in the crowd only grew louder.

“Aren’t you going to go in there to explain what’s happening?” asked the man beside me, now soaked with rain.

“This is what he wanted,” I said, almost to myself. “He just never thought I’d be the one to hand it to him.”

“You didn’t fight for him,” he whispered.

“No,” I replied. “Because he never fought to keep me.” My answer was cold.

“So will you just let everything remain a question?”

“Sometimes, explanations don’t matter anymore especially when the pain has already spoken louder than the truth ever could.” Even though I didn’t look at him, I knew he was staring at me.

“If only I knew this was how it would all end,” I whispered, “I wouldn’t have loved him so hard... so blindly.”

I stayed for a few more seconds, enough time to see the collapse of the man who once swore I would be the only one he loved, right there at the altar where we were supposed to begin.

“I guess this is how it ends... not with closure, but with courage.” Then I turned away. I didn’t need to watch the rest.

This wasn’t my ending. This was my exit.

Even as I forced myself to let go of the weight, I knew I wasn’t ready yet.

And at that moment, I didn’t look back.

Not at the church.

Not at him.

Not in the future that once held my name beside his.

'Goodbye, Dex. You chose her long before you admitted it... I just gave you the ending you deserved.

Still, I'm grateful you loved me. Our love story was a rollercoaster, full of highs and lows. We faced challenges together, shared laughter, tears, and ten unforgettable years of memories.



But not every ride ends in forever. So today... I'm finally choosing to step off.