Chapter 3 - The Sanctuary Unravels
Seth’s hand remained suspended in the air. The confident smirk on his face faltered, replaced by a look of genuine confusion.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Seth asked, taking half a step back. "Natalie, stop playing games. The music has already started."
"I am not playing a game, Seth," I said. My voice wasn't shaking anymore. The cold, suffocating terror that had gripped me in the hallway was gone, replaced by a sudden, razor-sharp clarity. "There is no wedding. Not today. Not on Monday. Not ever."
Heather gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. "Natalie, please! Don't do this! We can figure something else out for the kids! I'll call the daycare back, I'll beg the director—"
"This isn't about the kids, Heather," I said gently, looking at his sister. "It was never about the kids. It's about the fact that your brother thinks he owns my life."
"Natalie, listen to yourself!" Seth snapped, his face darkening as the realization finally began to sink in. He grabbed my forearm, his fingers squeezing slightly too tight through the lace sleeve of my dress. "You're having a panic attack! You're letting cold feet ruin the most important day of our lives! Do you have any idea how much money my parents spent on this venue?! Do you know how embarrassing this is going to be?!"
I looked down at his hand on my arm. "Let go of me."
"Natalie—"
"I said, let go of me."
The authority in my tone made him drop his hand as if he'd been burned.
Without another word, I turned on my heel, grabbed the heavy skirts of my ivory gown, and pulled open the fellowship room door.
The hallway was bright and quiet, save for the swelling notes of the organ echoing from the main sanctuary. Standing near the bridal suite twenty feet away was Paige, holding a small silver safety pin and a glass of water.
When Paige saw my face, she froze. "Nat? What's wrong? Did you find a pin? Why are you—"
"Paige," I said, my voice ringing clearly down the carpeted corridor. "I need you to help me get out of this dress. Now."
"What?!" Paige dropped the safety pin onto the runner.
Seth came striding out of the fellowship room right behind me, his face flushed a deep, angry red. "Paige, ignore her! She's having a meltdown over a stupid misunderstanding! Tell her to get back in the holding room before her mother sees her!"
Paige’s eyes darted between Seth’s furious posture and my rigid, trembling frame. She had known me since we were twelve years old. She didn't ask questions. She didn't argue. She stepped right between Seth and me, placing her hand flat on his chest.
"Back off, Seth," Paige commanded, her voice dropping an octave. "I don't care what day it is. If she says back off, you back off."
"She's supposed to be walking down the aisle in two minutes!" Seth yelled, pointing a finger toward the sanctuary doors.
At that moment, the double doors leading to the back of the sanctuary swung open. My mother stepped out into the hallway, wearing a pale blue mother-of-the-bride dress, holding a tissue to her nose. She had come to check on the delay.
"Natalie? Seth?" my mother asked, her eyes widening as she took in the scene. "What's going on? The organist is on the third verse of the prelude. Everyone is waiting."
The hallway went dead silent.
I looked at my mother—a woman who had worked forty hours a week as a middle school librarian while raising me alone after my father passed away. She had taught me the value of independence, of standing on my own two feet, and of never letting a man dictate my worth.
"Mom," I said, stepping past Paige and Seth. "Seth promised his sister that I would quit my job on Monday to raise her three children. He lied to both of us, and he expected me to comply once the ring was on my finger."
My mother froze. Her face went completely still, the soft, emotional tears in her eyes instantly drying up into something cold and terrifying. She looked at Seth.
Seth shifted his weight, trying to summon his charming smile. "Mrs. Miller, it’s not what it sounds like. It’s just a family arrangement we were discussing—"
"Did you talk to my daughter about this before today?" my mother asked. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried the weight of an iron vault shutting.
Seth swallowed hard. "Well... we discussed our general long-term goals—"
"Did you ask her if she wanted to quit her job at Dr. Bennett's office?" my mother repeated, stepping closer to him.
Seth opened his mouth, closed it, and then set his jaw defensively. "Mrs. Miller, with all due respect, this is between Natalie and me. We are about to be married—"
"No, you're not," my mother said flatly.
She turned to Paige. "Paige, take Natalie back into the bridal room and get her out of that dress. I will go into the sanctuary and make the announcement."
"Mom, no!" Seth panicked, stepping toward her. "You can't do that! My boss is sitting in the third row! My whole family is in there!"
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My mother looked him up and down with absolute, unadulterated disdain. "Then I suggest you go inside and explain to your boss why you think women exist to serve your convenience, Seth. Because my daughter is not walking through those doors."
My mother turned around, smoothed the front of her pale blue dress, pushed open the heavy wooden sanctuary doors, and walked straight down the center aisle toward the altar.
