The night before my wedding, Mark sent me a huge bouquet of roses. Romantic, right? At least, that’s what I thought—until I read the note attached to them.
At 35, Mark had been my world for the last six years. We met through mutual friends, fell in love, and built a relationship I thought only existed in fairy tales. He wasn’t the most romantic guy, but he was reliable, steady, and everything I thought I wanted.
We had been planning our wedding for over a year, and everything seemed perfect. That night, I was at the hotel with my bridesmaids, doing the usual pre-wedding routine—laughing, sipping wine, and going over last-minute details. The excitement was palpable. Then, around 10 p.m., there was a knock at the door.
It was a hotel staff member with the bouquet—red, fresh, and fragrant. “Looks like someone’s breaking the rules of no contact before the wedding!” my maid of honor, Kelly, teased.
I laughed, feeling a swell of affection. This wasn’t like Mark, but maybe he was feeling sentimental. As I reached for the note, expecting something sweet like, “I can’t wait to marry you,” what I found left me breathless.
The note simply said: “I don’t.”
I froze. The room fell silent as my heart raced. Kelly grabbed the note from my hand, her face contorting in confusion. “What does this mean? ‘I don’t’?”
Panic gripped me. I grabbed my phone, called Mark, but no answer. I tried again. And again. Voicemail. I started texting him, my heart pounding in my chest. Something was wrong. This wasn’t a joke.
By midnight, I was unraveling. My bridesmaids were trying to calm me down, throwing out wild theories—maybe it was a mistake, maybe it was a prank. But who would pull a prank like this the night before my wedding?
“I need to see him,” I said, throwing on a hoodie. Kelly grabbed her purse, insisting on coming with me. We drove to Mark’s apartment in near silence, my mind running through every terrible possibility. What if he was calling off the wedding? What if he wasn’t even home?
But his car was parked outside when we arrived, a sight that filled me with equal parts relief and dread. I pounded on the door. When it finally opened, Mark stood there, groggy and confused.
“Carly? What are you doing here?” he asked, glancing at the clock. His brother, Eric, stood behind him, equally puzzled.
I shoved the note in Mark’s face. “What is this?!” My voice trembled with anger and hurt.
Mark took the note, his face creasing in confusion. “Wait, what? I didn’t send this, Carly. I have no idea what this is.”
Eric stepped forward, trying to make sense of the situation. “What’s going on?”
Kelly jumped in, her voice sharp. “Someone sent her flowers with a note that says ‘I don’t.’ The night before the wedding. What kind of sick joke is this?”
Mark looked at me, wide-eyed. “Carly, I swear I didn’t send any flowers. I don’t know what’s going on.”
I stared at him, searching his face for any hint of deception, but all I saw was confusion. Eric suggested it might be a cruel prank, but who would do that to us?
Kelly urged me to leave, saying we’d figure it out in the morning. Reluctantly, I agreed.
The next morning, after my bridesmaids went to breakfast, I stayed in the room, trying to process everything. Then, there was another knock at the door. To my surprise, it was Eric.
“Eric? What are you doing here?”
He looked uncomfortable, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “Carly, I need to tell you something,” he said quietly, avoiding my eyes.
A sense of dread washed over me. “What is it?”
“I sent the flowers,” he confessed.
For a moment, I just stared at him, stunned. “You… what? Why?”
He sighed, leaning against the doorframe. “Because, Carly… I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for years.”
My mind reeled. This couldn’t be happening. “Eric, you’re my future brother-in-law! Do you even realize what you’re saying?”
He looked miserable. “I know, I know. But I couldn’t just keep pretending. I thought if you saw that Mark wasn’t right for you, maybe… maybe you’d see me.”
I felt like I’d been punched. “So, you thought ruining my wedding was the way to do that? You sent me that note to make me question everything?!”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, looking defeated. “I know it was wrong. I just… I couldn’t hold it in anymore.”
My hands shook with anger. “You need to leave. Now.”
Eric hesitated, but eventually, he nodded and left the room.
I stood there in a daze. How was I supposed to tell Mark that his own brother had tried to sabotage our wedding? But keeping it from him wasn’t an option.
When Mark arrived to pick me up for the ceremony, I pulled him aside and told him everything. His face darkened with rage.
“Eric did what?” he shouted.
Mark stormed out of the hotel, heading straight to the venue where Eric was waiting. Without hesitation, Mark confronted him. “You’re not welcome here. You’re not coming to this wedding, and if you ever try anything like this again, you’re out of my life for good.”
Eric, pale and shaken, tried to explain, but Mark wouldn’t listen. He turned and walked away, leaving Eric behind.
Despite everything, Mark and I went through with the wedding, and it was beautiful. But as I said my vows, I couldn’t help but think about how close I had come to losing everything.
After the ceremony, Mark pulled me close, his voice steady. “We made it through this. And nothing—no one—is ever going to come between us again.”
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