(Karen’s POV, Present Tense)

The reception is chaos.

People whisper in corners, their voices low but sharp, like knives cutting through silk. Some stare at me with pity, others with judgment, and every time I glance up, I catch the flash of someone’s phone aimed at me.

It’s not a wedding anymore. It’s a spectacle.

I sit stiff in a chair at the edge of the hall, my veil gone, my makeup smudged from tears I swore I wouldn’t shed. My chest aches, but I refuse to crumble in front of them. Not here. Not now.

Anita kneels beside me, holding my hand so tightly it almost hurts. “Karen, you don’t have to stay. We can leave. Forget this whole thing.”

I shake my head slowly. My voice barely comes out. “If I leave, Yasmin wins.”

Just saying her name makes my stomach knot.

Across the room, Dre is cornered by a group of his friends and business associates. They whisper questions at him, their faces grim, and he keeps shaking his head, his jaw tight, his hands clenched. He looks like a man trying to keep control of a storm that’s already ripped the roof off.

And then, like smoke drifting into fire, Yasmin walks in.

She didn’t even leave. She changed her dress. Instead of black, she’s in blood-red silk that hugs her body, her hair loose around her shoulders. She looks like she belongs here, like she’s the real bride, like this whole day was planned for her.

My heart pounds. My fists clench.

The crowd shifts, giving her space like she’s royalty. She loves it. She feeds off it. Her lips curve into a slow smile as her eyes lock on me.

I force myself to stand. My legs wobble, but I plant my heels on the floor. She won’t see me break.

Dre notices. He pushes past his friends and comes toward me, his hand reaching for mine. “Karen, let’s go. We don’t owe anyone an explanation. We’ll handle this privately.”

But Yasmin’s laugh cuts through the air. “Privately? No, Dre. You made this public the moment you tried to replace me with my little sister.”

The crowd gasps again, and I feel their eyes burning into me.

“Stop it,” I snap, my voice sharper than I expect. My hands tremble, but I hold my chin high. “You don’t get to humiliate me in front of everyone.”

Her brows lift, amused. “Humiliate you? Sweetheart, I’m saving you. Dre is mine. He’s always been mine. And you think he’ll stay with you when he still runs back to me?”

The words stab deep. My throat tightens. I glance at Dre, desperate for denial, for reassurance.

His jaw is locked, his eyes hard. “Yasmin, enough. You and I are over. You know it.”

She tilts her head, feigning innocence. “Over? Then why do you still answer when I call at midnight?”

The crowd explodes with whispers again. I can’t breathe.

I look at him, searching his face, praying this is another one of her games. But his silence… his silence is louder than her words.

My chest caves in.

“Is it true?” My voice cracks. “Did you… did you answer her?”

“Karen,” he says softly, reaching for me. “It’s not what you think.”

Tears sting my eyes, hot and humiliating. “Then tell me what it is.”

Before he can answer, Yasmin steps closer, her perfume sharp in the air. “He’ll never tell you the truth. Because the truth is,” she pauses, letting the moment stretch, “he doesn’t know how to let me go.”

I slap her.

The sound rings through the hall, shocking even myself. My hand stings, but I don’t regret it.

Yasmin’s head whips to the side, her hair falling across her face. Slowly, she straightens, her lips curling into a dangerous smile. “Oh, little sister… you just made the biggest mistake of your life.”

Security steps closer, but Dre waves them off, his voice low and furious. “Get out, Yasmin.”

But she doesn’t move. She looks at him, then at me, her eyes glinting with something darker than jealousy. “You think this is over? It’s only the beginning.”

She finally turns, striding toward the doors with her heels clicking like gunshots. The crowd parts for her again, whispering as she disappears into the night.

The silence she leaves behind is worse than her presence.

I look at Dre, my heart breaking open. “Tell me why she said that. Tell me why you still pick up her calls.”

His face softens, regret clouding his eyes. “Because I needed closure. Because I thought if I ignored her, she’d do worse. I was trying to protect us, Karen.”

“Protect us?” My voice rises, cracking with pain. “By keeping secrets from me?”

He runs a hand through his hair, frustration etched in every line of his face. “I didn’t want this, Karen. I didn’t want today to fall apart. I love you.”

But love feels like ash in my mouth.

Before I can answer, my mother steps forward, her face pale, her voice trembling. “Karen, listen to me”

I whirl on her, my anger spilling over. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew she wasn’t finished with him. That’s why you looked at me like that this morning.”

She flinches, her eyes darting away. “I… I hoped it wouldn’t matter.”

My chest heaves. My own mother betrayed me.

I stumble back, my world tilting, everyone’s eyes on me. My wedding dress feels heavy, suffocating, like chains around my body.

“I can’t do this,” I whisper. My vision blurs with tears. “I can’t breathe.”

And before anyone can stop me, I run.

Through the hall, past the whispers, past the flashing cameras, out into the cold night air. My heels scrape against the pavement, my dress dragging behind me, my lungs burning.

I don’t know where I’m going. I just know I have to get away.

Because my life just shattered into pieces, and I don’t know if I’ll ever put it back together.