"If that got out—and it will, Jane, these things always do—it doesn't just embarrass me. It makes me look stupid. Weak. Like I didn't know, or worse, like I knew and didn't care. That's not discretion. That's humiliation."
West’s arm tightens around me. I feel his jaw clench against my temple.
"I can't pretend I'm managing something everyone else sees. My friends saw it. You documented it. It's not discreet anymore. It's humiliation dressed as tradition, and I'm done wearing it."
West's fingers press into my lower back. A reflexive gesture. Like he wants to shield something he can't reach.
"The bridesmaids—" I start.
"Were braver than I was." Her voice cracks for the first time.
"When they showed me what you put together, and I realized I wasn't protecting my dignity. I was enabling the destruction of it."
I press my free hand flat against my sternum where something heavy and hot has settled.
"My parents saw the footage and photos," Natalie says. "They're livid. Not because Blake cheated—they expected that. But because he was careless. Because he made our family look foolish."
"So they support you canceling?" I ask.
"They support me controlling the narrative."
The way she says it sends a chill through me.
"You ARE calling the wedding off, right?" I say.
"No."
I sit up straighter. "What?"
"I want to expose him. Publicly. At the altar."
The words sit in the air between us.
West's hand goes very still.
"At the altar," I repeat.
"I won’t let him walk away looking like a gentleman who respectfully changed his mind. I won’t let him spin me into the hysterical bride who got cold feet. Not after what he said. Not after how he touched that woman. Not after the way he talked about... about teaching me who’s in charge."
Her voice cracks on the last word.
West’s hand finds mine under the sheet and squeezes hard enough to ground me.
"So here’s what I want," Natalie continues, and there’s steel in her voice now. "I want the exposure to happen during the ceremony. When everyone is there—the press, the families, the board members, the investors. I want him standing there in his tuxedo, and I want his words played for everyone to hear. I want him to feel the humiliation he thought he could reserve for me."
I blink. That is… justice. Absolutely righteous.
My pulse spikes. She’s serious.
“Natalie, that’s—”
"My parents agree." she cuts me off. “The Ashfords will look like the rightful wronged party. Blake looks like exactly what he is—and he can't spin that”
"You want to blow up your own wedding," I say slowly.
"I want to take my life back in a way that protects my family's reputation.”
"You want to control the moment."
