Tom turns to him with a smirk. “Oh yeah? And you’re what—her latest fuck toy?” He looks to May now, loud and smug and sharp as a whip. “And you’re going to believe the one who’s fucking the porn star?”
Every single muscle in Nico’s body goes tight behind me.
Time stops. For one heartbeat, the room doesn’t breathe.
“What did you just say?” May asks.
Someone whispers, “What porn star?”
Tom doesn’t blink. “He’s a porn star. He gets paid to be naked on camera. Again, May,” he drawls, “You’re gonna believeher, when she’s fuckinghim?”
My blood runs cold.
I turn.
Everyoneturns. I can feel it—the shift of the entire room swiveling, eyes clicking into place like dominos falling. On him.
Nico looks at me. And his face… it crumples.
“I didn’t tell him,” I whisper quickly. “Nico. I swear.”
But now his face is scarily blank, devoid of any and all emotion. He takes a step back, a step away from me, and the sudden loss of warmth is paralyzing.
Something in me collapses, crumbles.
The noise hits all at once as everything begins to unravel.
Voices rising. Groomsmen trying to reason with May. May’s hand trembling as she stares at Tom. Izzy getting in Tom’s face. My mother: “What are you doing, Annie?” My father’s voice like a whip: “You’ve humiliated all of us, again.” A bridesmaid whispering, “Oh my God,” to someone else. The flower girl crying.
Nico, now several feet away from me, standing motionless, except for a slight shift in his eyes. The flicker of something breaking.
And then—finally—Elodie steps forward.
“It’s true,” she says. Her voice is loud, the shrill tone of her voice isolated from all the noise. “He and I… it’s true. For a while now.”
May flinches. Her face drains of all color.
“I’m sorry,” Elodie adds weakly, as if that helps.
May bolts.
I try to follow, but my feet don’t move. My lungs don’t work. I’m stuck. Watching Nico. Watching May fly out the door. Watching the whole room devolve into chaos.
Then Izzy punches Tom in the face.
I snap.
“You fucking piece of shit,” I scream at Tom, who’s holding his bleeding nose. I shove myself between him and Iz, my voice shaking with rage. “You emotionally abusive, manipulative little coward. You don’t deserve her. You never did.”
Years and years of pent-up thoughts and aggression uncork.Pop. The dam breaks, and I flood the room withanger and vitriol. “How dare you?!You used May like a motherfucking sponsor for your sad little country club cosplay. The boat shoes, the brunches with your awful finance bro friends who all talk about women like they’re interchangeable LinkedIn endorsements. You treat her like a lifestyle accessory. Something to show off, not someone to love.”
My voice rises, disgust dripping from every word. “She paid for your future. She gave you stability, status, image, and you paid her back by lying, gaslighting, and cheating. On her wedding day. In a hotel room she paid for.”
I step closer. “You don’t love her. You love the version of yourself you get to pretend to be when she’s around. And the second she stops sacrificing herself to keep that illusion going, you find someone else to validate you. You’re not just a bad partner. You’re fucking evil.”
People are staring. Someone’s phone falls. No one breathes.
“And don’t you dare come for Nico,” I spit, tears hot in my eyes. “You think you’re better than him? Because he shows his dick on camera? At least when he uses his dick, he uses it for good. He’s not sneaking around, lying, manipulating. He’s kind. He’s brilliant. He’s better than you in every measurable way.”
