Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
I walked down the aisle—alone, might I add. I’d have a hard enough time getting my father to clear his calendar for my real wedding, let alone this dumpster fire. And as I did, I looked out into the sea of unfamiliar faces. All extras.
The only one I recognized aside from the crew was my mother, and that was no comfort. She wiped a tear from her eye and clutched her chest, all the while ensuring her best side faced the cameras.
Nausea coiled itself tightly inside my stomach, like if I made one wrong move it would snap, causing me to be sick all over this spectacle.
Because this was all wrong. I hadn’t realized just how terrible it would feel until I was in it.
I was walking down a fake aisle to a man who might technically be real, but who currently only existed as a prop in this show—just like me. I didn’t know him. Not really.
I felt like a puppet as the cameras danced around me, getting their shots. As sweet as Tripp was, this was a nightmare.
Could I really let myself leave here engaged to him?
I decided to make it through the next thirty minutes like a robot. Instruct my body to make the tiniest movements until it was over. Walk. Stand. Laugh. Smile.
I made it to the altar. Tripp took my hand and squeezed it, but the pressure did nothing to ground me.
The “officiant”—just one of Brady’s production assistants—started droning on about love and commitment. It would have been comical if I’d been in a better mood. This guy looked barely twenty-one, and he was talking about the sanctities of marriage like some wise old sage. Who’d written this script?
It only took minutes before I found myself completely zoning out. I forced my eyes to stay on Tripp, who was by far the friendliest face out here. His eyebrows pulled together a little with concern.
“You okay?” he mouthed.
I nodded and squeezed his hand, but my attempt at reassurance must have looked as phony as it was, because the corner of his lip tugged down instead of up.
Finally, it seemed like the PA was wrapping it up.
“If anyone objects to these two joining as one, speak now or forever hold your peace,” he said.
I stared at the floor until gasps had me turning my attention to the other end of the aisle.
I squinted, hardly trusting what I was seeing. But even after rapidly blinking to clear my vision, he didn’t go away. My brain wasn’t playing some cruel trick on me. It wasn’t a hallucination.
It was him. Actually him.
And my world stopped.