No Secondhand Vows

A woman on the verge of her wedding is scrolling for planning ideas when a viral post stops her cold: a photo of a couple at the altar, backs to the camera, captioned by a blogger who says the man she loves has already pretended to marry her. The groom's silhouette is unmistakable. It is Liam, her fiancé of nine years.

She says nothing. Liam still fusses over her, warming her cold hands and tracking her cycle, while she quietly tests him about a chapel in Charleston. His first refusal of her wedding plans, and his soft smile at his phone, deepen her dread. The blogger finally tells the story: Sienna Vance, a girl from a neighboring high-school class, whose crush on Liam was reborn during his fellowship year in Charleston, where they worked in the same hospital. She describes a one-year affair, a pact to walk away when it ended.

Nine years of shared memories now feel like a detour she never saw. She must decide what to do with a truth that could burn it all down.