I looked at this stranger in front of me, my voice icy. “James, don’t forget that if I hadn’t agreed to marry you back then, you might not have even gotten into college. You could’ve been facing jail time!”
“If you were such a stand-up guy, why did you force yourself on me? Why couldn’t you take responsibility when it mattered? You were scared I’d ruin your reputation, so you lied, tricked me into leaving the country. Now you’re sitting here, enjoying everything I gave up, stealing what’s mine, and you have the audacity to blame me?”
His face twisted with frustration. “You were the one who seduced me! I never did anything wrong. I’ve taken responsibility like a man. What, do you expect me to pay for one mistake for the rest of my life?”
He sounded so righteous, like I was the one who’d wronged him.
Just like that, everything, his actions, his betrayal, was reduced to a “mistake.”
His father chimed in, “You were just as responsible back then. Why should my son carry all the blame?”
Quilla, his new bride, stood there smirking, clearly enjoying the show. “I’ve heard all about what happened with you two. I just didn’t realize you’d have the guts to crash our wedding. Pathetic. Trying to cling to a man with your cheap tricks. How can you even show your face here?”
The crowd, emboldened by her, turned on me too. “So tacky! Coming here to ruin someone’s big day.”
“Yeah, throw her out!”
Each insult felt like another punch to the gut.
I had tried to prepare for this, but their words still hit hard, and I could feel the tears welling up.
I swallowed them back, forcing myself to stay composed. My voice cracked as I said, “No wonder you didn’t want me coming back these past two years. You had this all planned, didn’t you?”
“I’ll ask you one last time. Are you really throwing me out of this house today?”
