Harper began fitting me for a silk-and-lace gown with a long shimmering train.
Meanwhile, messages from home flooded my phone.
Dad: Please answer.
Mom: We need to talk about your attitude.
Madison: You’re being silly now.
I ignored them.
Three days later, Ashley posted the teaser through our agency account.
A modern fairy tale wedding. Live at Willow Crest Castle.
Within twelve hours, it reached 1.2 million views and roughly 400,000 shares.
Comments poured in.
People wanted the date.
The link.
The story.
Four days before the wedding, I finally checked the family group chat.
Mom wanted to know if the castle was a joke.
Dad said a cousin had seen the teaser.
Madison wanted to know why people were tagging her in posts about my wedding.
I sent one thing.
The live-stream countdown link.
My phone rang almost immediately.
Mom.
I answered.
“A castle? A live stream?” she demanded. “What are you thinking? You can’t upstage your sister like this.”
I looked across the room at Ryan.
“I’m not upstaging anyone. I’m getting married on the date I already chose.”
Dad cut in.
“You didn’t even give us a chance to fix this.”
“You told me her wedding was more important. You made your choice.”
Then Madison spoke.
“She’s doing this for attention. She wants to steal my day.”
There it was.
Not concern.
Not regret.
Competition.
Mom sighed.
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
