They found the letter before they noticed the groom was missing. It was written on the hotel’s stationery. Just a few lines of hastily scrawled words were enough to destroy months of planning. 

Amelia came out of her dressing room to chaos and screaming. Her parents and the groom’s parents were in the wedding hall, one side screaming at the other. The hall itself was perfect, but the guests were absent.

The immediate family were still there, most looking confused. Amelia could sense that something was wrong. There were so many things out of place. The band was gone. Even the minister was missing from where he should have stood at the altar.

The cellist of the string quartet should have started playing the music for her entry, but the musicians and their instruments were missing. 

“What’s going on?” Amelia asked. 

“Honey,” her mom said. “Michael’s missing.” 

“He’s not missing, Sandy,” Amelia’s dad growled. “He’s gone. He left behind that stupid little letter, with his fucking useless apology.”

Amelia froze. She was in her wedding dress, her face covered in makeup that had taken two hours yet looked light and effortless. The bouquet in her arms suddenly felt like it was made of lead, and she dropped the flowers. A minute before her future was decided. She would get married to Michael, go on a honeymoon to Greece, and return to a blissful, simple, life. 

It didn’t matter that their marriage was more orchestrated than organic. She thought Michael liked her, and she had liked him. At the least, she had thought he respected her. Now, he had left her behind like trash and left somewhere. 

Her throat was going dry. Before she lost her ability to speak completely, she asked, “What letter?” 

Despite her mother’s attempt to stop him, her father handed Amelia the letter. It was Michael’s handwriting, but hurried. Even their text messages had been formal, with proper punctuation. Something had knocked Michael out of his normal habits, his regular adherence to what was proper. 

I’m sorry. I have to go. Kate called me, and she wants to get back together. Please tell Amelia it would be a bigger mistake for us to get married than me leaving now. 

So a marriage to her was a mistake, summed up in a single sentence. So she was the idiot girl who his parents had shown him, a consolation prize after some other woman had dumped him. Amelia knew he was right. If this was who Michael was, it was a good thing they hadn’t gotten married. If he was so fickle as to leave her at the altar, to deal with all of the humiliation and consequences, he couldn’t be relied upon to be a good husband. Or a loyal one.

But the brief moment of awareness passed. She was surrounded by people who were angry, and she shared their anger. The guests were gone, but no doubt they all knew what happened. She would walk out of the wedding hall and face an entire social circle of people pitying her, offering her sympathy she did not need or want.

Michael, in his stupidity, had left behind a lackluster apology and a mess for her to clean up. Their wedding wasn’t just the both of them joining to become a family. It was a complex business transaction, two entities starting work together with Michael and Amelia’s future as a stabilizing point. It was the work of dozens of people over the course of a year, now almost certainly destroyed. 

She had been the more enthusiastic one of them, pushing for the deal and the wedding both. Michael had never displayed second thoughts though. She thought he was just as committed to their partnership as she was.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I’m so sorry, my dear,” Michael’s mother said, walking over and placing a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. Amelia shrugged off the gesture. She needed a chair, and a drink. She did not need her former future mother-in-law trying to make things better. 

She settled into one of the chairs and let out a sigh. The only people who could help her now were those not so emotionally invested in the situation. Her dad was one two minutes away from throwing a chair. Her mother was on the verge of weeping. Michael’s parents were only going to be reminders of their son. She looked around the room for who else was in the room. 

Her sister and brother-in-law walked into the room, and Amelia let out a sigh of relief.

“Pam!” she called out. She rushed to her sister. “My phone, please.” 

She had given her phone to her sister for safekeeping. Her wedding dress was made of over ten yards of fabric, but somehow there had been no place for a pocket. With her phone in hand, she felt more secure. Escape was just a few taps away. 

“And I’m gonna need help changing out of this dress,” she said. The dress, just like everything else around her now felt unnecessarily heavy. She had made so many sacrifices for this day. Six months of dieting, endless hours getting fitted for the designer dress, countless meetings with the wedding planner and vendors making sure everything was perfect. 

Now everything looked like too much. The wedding hall was too big, the decorations too grand, the atmosphere far too formal. It wasn’t even what she liked, just what their parents and their friends expected. She had done well meeting their expectations, and none of it mattered anymore. 

She wanted to get up from the chair and go back to her dressing room. Her dad was talking to Michael’s father, but she couldn’t form the words. Everything outside her own head was just headache inducing noise. It must have taken her a minute to gather the energy necessary to stand and take Pam’s arm. 

“Let me help you,” someone said, taking her other arm and helping her out of the hall. 

She didn’t bother looking at the other person helping her. He stopped outside the dressing room, and Pam helped her out of the dress. In her shift, Amelia looked through the suitcase of clothing in the dressing room. 

It was all resort wear, meant for their summer honeymoon through the sunny streets of Santorini. It was still better than her alternatives– her wedding dress and another grand white dress she’d intended to wear to their reception. 

She reached for a simple blue shift dress and slipped it on. It felt better, being in normal clothing. Michael could have left the wedding venue in her tuxedo and not attracted attention. All he had to do was take off his blazer and remove the bowtie. It must have been so simple for him, to shake off all their plans and promises. 

In the bathroom, she washed off the makeup and undid the chignon her hair was styled into, instead letting it be free. Half of her headache disappeared once her hair was freed of the bobby pins and pressure. 

“Do you want to go home?” Pam asked. “Travis and I can take you to your apartment.” 

“No,” Amelia said. “Just let me stay here for a few minutes. There’s no point in putting off the inevitable. I need to make some decisions, and I’d rather get this all over with as soon as possible.” 

She stepped out of her dressing room and came face to face with Julian, Michael’s older brother. So he was the one who’d helped her back to her room.

Amelia didn’t know Julian well. He was more involved in the family business, but he was also antisocial, despite the severity of the word. She had only spoken to him a few times during the time she knew Michael. He wasn’t unkind, just uninterested in most things and most people. 

Even now, coming face to face with her, Julian said nothing. He simply followed by her side as she walked back to the wedding hall. The silent company was unexpectedly comforting. It was almost like he was offering her support. It was foolish to expect that, though. It was probably just that he was trying to pour water on the bridges burned between their two families. Theoretically, their families could still work together. 

Amelia’s dad wouldn’t want to, but it would be nice if they could salvage something from the whole disastrous adventure. When they returned to the wedding hall, only Vera and Michael’s mothers were there. 

“Where’s dad?” Amelia asked. 

“Your dad and Mr. Holloway went to the hotel bar,” her mother said. 

“What?!” 

Their fathers, the current situation, her dad’s explosive temper, and alcohol. There was no way it would end well. She was glad she had changed her wedding shoes for practical black oxfords. She ran to the bar, already imagining the worst.