The officiant took a nervous step backward, unsure of how to continue as the situation unfolded. My future in laws shifted in their seats while my mother crossed her arms in a gesture I had known since childhood as a warning.
Daniel leaned closer and lowered his voice, but I could still hear every word.
“Your mom said you needed to stop being difficult and emotional,” he said quietly. “She told me that sometimes consequences are the only way to make you listen.”
The truth settled into the room with a weight that no one could ignore or dismiss.
“You talked to her about me?” I asked, feeling something inside me finally break.
He gave a small shrug that felt colder than anything else.
“She knows how to handle you.”
Those words echoed in my mind with painful clarity.
I heard Megan inhale sharply behind me as my chest felt hollow but my thoughts became clearer than ever before. I thought about every moment over the past year that I had excused or minimized without question.