The love of your life is getting married to someone else. In a last-ditch attempt to win the love of your life back, you bust into the wedding and profess your love mid-ceremony. Start your story with the line, "Don't say yes!"
“Don’t say yes,” I blurted out, bursting through the thick French doors at the back of the cathedral. I was out of breath from running across the packed parking lot and up the front steps and heads turned to look at me as I stood there gasping. Sometime during my run, the slit in my dress had ripped and my hair had fallen out of the ponytail I had thrown it up in.
“Don’t say yes,” I repeated more quietly as I tried to straighten my clothes and pat down my messy hair, quickly making my way up the aisle.
“What are you doing here?” Ryan asked confused, stepping down from the pulpit where he had been facing his bride.
“You can’t marry her.”
“Give me a minute,” he said to the pastor as he grabbed my arm and started leading me back down the aisle. “What are you doing here?” Ryan asked me one we had stepped out of the chapel.
“Why are you marrying her?” I asked, running a hand nervously through my hair.
“Why do you care?” Ryan shot back.
“Not even six months ago you were declaring your love for me, talking about marriage.”
“And then you broke up with me.”
I shook my head, “No, I didn’t. I told you I needed time.”
“Time away from me. How was I supposed to take that?”
“No,” I snapped, “No, I needed time.”
“Why? You wouldn’t even tell me why. All you said was you needed time, a break away from me, space.”
“Because I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“How would you have hurt me?”
“Your father came to me and told me if I didn’t leave you, he would disown you. He told me I would only disappoint and embarrass your family. He promised me that he would make your life a living hell and that you would never see your family again. How could I make you choose between me and your family?”
“How could you take away that choice?”
“You loved your father. Admired him. You thought he hung the moon. How could I do that to you?”
“Then why are you telling me now?”
“Because he died and if I don’t at least let you know that I’m totally and irrevocably in love with you before it’s too late, I would never forgive myself.”
“So you waited until my wedding day?”
I shrugged, not knowing what else to say besides the obvious “yeah”.
“What do you want me to do now?”
“I want you to do whatever you want to do, now that you know everything,” I replied. “I’m sorry I ruined your day.
I turned and hurried down the steps as tears overflowed my eyes. I wiped at my eyes as I made my way back to my car. I slid into the driver’s seat and stuck my keys in the ignition before a sob escaped my throat. I sat in my car, lost in my grief as sobs wracked my body, harder then they ever did after I broke up with Ryan. A small part of me had always hoped that we would somehow work out, but it was clear that wasn’t an option.
I jumped at a knock on my window and I rolled down the window confused, not really understanding what I was looking at. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t marry her.”
