On our wedding day, the security camera footage showed my husband holding my best friend as they walked into a hotel room. My world completely collapsed.

A man is stumbling into a room and he can barely walk. His shirt is unbuttoned and his hair is wrecked and he's holding onto a woman's arm for balance.

The man turns toward the camera and I stop breathing.

Hunter.

He looks drunk beyond coherence and his clothes are disheveled and he's leaning on her like he can't stand on his own.

The woman's face catches the light for just a moment. Her profile is visible for maybe two seconds.

Two seconds is all it takes for me to recognize Kennedy.

I can't breathe.

My chest closes and my lungs refuse to expand.

I'm standing in my wedding dress with confetti still in my hair and his vows still ringing in my ears and I cannot get any air into my lungs.

————————

Ashley

The reception unfolds in golden hour light with cocktails flowing on the terrace and string lights twinkling above us. A live band plays Etta James and I'm standing with Hunter's hand on the small of my back and my veil blowing in the evening breeze. I feel invincible in a way I've never felt before.

I feel like I've swallowed the sun.

My mother stands at the head table with her sweet tea because she does not drink champagne. She taps her glass and the crowd goes quiet.

"My daughter found her person when she was barely old enough to vote," she begins. "He used to come to her work and pretend to read books just so he could be near her. And he has spent every day since then trying to deserve her."

She looks at Hunter and her eyes fill with tears.

"You do, son." Her voice cracks. "You do deserve her."

Hunter squeezes my hand under the table so hard I feel the bones shift.

Ty stands up next and raises his glass toward us.

"I've known this man since we were kids who didn't know anything about anything," he says. "I've watched him build a company from nothing. I've watched him close deals that made grown men cry. But I have never seen him as certain about anything as he is about the woman sitting next to him."

He looks at me and winks.

"To the Coles. The real deal."

The crowd raises their glasses and drinks and Hunter pulls me close and smooches my temple. I look over at Kennedy because she's supposed to go next. She's supposed to stand up and give her toast about how we've been best friends since we were kids and how she knew Hunter was the one the first time she saw us together.

She's staring at her wine glass with her fingers wrapped tight around the stem. I catch her eye and smile and nod toward the microphone.

She shakes her head. Just a small movement, barely noticeable. Then she lifts her glass to her lips and drains half of it in one swallow.

I told myself it was fine when she asked to skip the toast. But watching her sit here now, refusing to look at me, and say the words a maid of honor is supposed to say about the bride, something cold settles in my stomach.

I am distracted by the band as they play our song from the playlist I made him when we were young and broke and so in love we couldn't see straight.

Hunter pulls me close and my head goes to his chest. His hand splays across my lower back. We sway together while the crowd watches and I can hear people crying.

"This is the happiest day of my life," I whisper against his chest.

He holds me tighter but he doesn't say anything back. His arms wrap around me and his chin rests on top of my head as he just holds on.

I don't notice the silence where his words should be because I'm too happy to notice anything wrong.

I'm full of champagne. I am the bride dancing with the man I've loved since I was barely old enough to know what love meant. Nothing can touch me tonight.

The song ends and the crowd applauds as Hunter smooches me one more time before leading me back to the bridal table.

I am too distracted with people coming over to our table and congratulating us. I recognize Floyd immediately and my hackles rise.

"Congratulations to the lovely couple!"

I extend my hand to shake his, but Hunter beats me to it.

"Thank you Floyd, hope you're enjoying yourself."

"Oh I am." He smiles in that way I've never liked. "Trust me."

Hunter's hand finds the small of my back and I lean into him while more guests approach the table. Ty's wife is telling me about Noah's ring bearer walk and I'm laughing and glowing and untouchable.

Then my mother appears at my side.

Her hand closes around my arm and her grip is too tight. I look up at her face and something cold drops through my stomach.

"We need to go inside right now."

"Mom, what's going on?"

Her face is doing something I've never seen before. Her jaw is clenched and her eyes are wet and she looks like she's holding back a scream.

"Mom, you're scaring me."

She pulls me up from my chair and walks me through the French doors and into the venue's dressing room. Her grip on my arm is iron and she doesn't let go until the door is closed behind us.

She holds up her phone with a shaking hand.

"Don't say anything." Her voice breaks and she has to clear her throat. "Just watch."

She presses play and I watch a hotel hallway appear on the screen. The lighting is bad and the angle looks like a security camera. A man is stumbling out of a room and he can barely walk. His shirt is unbuttoned and his hair is wrecked and he's holding onto a woman's arm for balance.

I squint at the screen because the quality is terrible. "Is that..."

The man turns toward the camera and I stop breathing.

Hunter.

My husband is stumbling through a hotel hallway in the middle of the night with a woman's hand on his arm. He looks drunk beyond coherence and his clothes are disheveled and he's leaning on her like he can't stand on his own.

The woman's face catches the light for just a moment. Her profile is visible for maybe two seconds.

Two seconds is all it takes for me to recognize Kennedy.

The world stops moving and I can hear the music still playing through the door. The reception is still happening on the other side of the glass, in a world that I used to live in before I pressed play on that video.

I can't breathe. My chest closes and my lungs refuse to expand. I'm standing in my wedding dress with confetti still in my hair and his vows still ringing in my ears and I cannot get any air into my lungs.

"Ashley." My mother's hands cup my face. "Ashley, look at me."

I can't look at her because if I look up then this is real. If I see the room and the dress in the mirror then the man I just married looked me in the eye and said forever and it was a lie.

Kennedy did my makeup this morning with trembling hands. She cried while she zipped me into this dress and blamed it on allergies.

She was grieving because she already knew what she had done. She'd already been in his bed and she stood next to me and held my train and watched me walk down the aisle knowing what she had taken from me.

They both did this and they let me marry him anyway.

I look through the glass doors and see Hunter near the bar. He's talking to someone and laughing like nothing is wrong. Kennedy is standing a few feet away from him with her wine glass in her hand.

They both turn toward me at the same time as if they can feel my eyes on them. The same expression of horror crosses both their faces at the same moment. Coordinated and rehearsed because they've been waiting for this moment since the ceremony started.

I open the door and walk outside into the garden. The music is still playing and some people are still dancing but others have frozen in place. They've seen the video and now they're watching me come through the doors in my white dress with my face shattered.

Hunter sees me and starts walking toward me with his hands out.

"Don't."

"Ashley, please let me explain what happened."

"Don't."

He takes another step toward me and something inside me snaps.

"I SAID DON'T."

The garden goes completely silent and the band stops playing. Everyone is staring at us now. Honestly, I don't care anymore. I don't know if I want to laugh or cry at this whole mess.

Kennedy moves toward me with her hands reaching out. "Ashley, please, I can explain what happened, I..."