Chapter 3 - The Invitation
Two weeks later, our official wedding invitations were ready.
They were breathtakingly elegant—heavy, double-thick cream cardstock with deep forest-green calligraphy and hand-pressed botanical seals. At the very bottom, in smaller but distinct print, was a line that Milo had personally insisted upon:
Milo Bennett — Chief of Ring Security
Beneath his title was the venue address:
The Bellweather Estate, 400 Grandview Drive.
I sat at my dining room table and addressed every envelope by hand. I addressed one to my parents. I addressed one to Vanessa and her husband. Despite everything, I did not exclude them. I was taking the high road, giving them a choice to show up for me and my son.
What my family failed to realize was the true significance of the venue.
The Bellweather Estate was not a commercial venue you could simply book off a local wedding website. It was an iconic, private historical landmark sitting on sixty acres of pristine rolling countryside. It featured massive stone terraces, immaculate English rose gardens, an imported 19th-century glass conservatory, a private lake, and a grand ballroom with crystal chandeliers that was almost never opened to the public.
My mother had been completely obsessed with the Bellweather Estate for over fifteen years. She kept clippings of its gardens pinned to her kitchen bulletin board. She followed their private restoration updates online. She knew every inch of the grounds from photo books, and she had once forced my father to drive forty minutes out of their way on a rainy Sunday just so she could stare through the massive wrought-iron front gates.
Three days after the invitations were delivered via certified mail, my mother called me. I chose to answer.
"Clara," Mom began, her tone clipped and distant, completely ignoring my recent closure of the family bank account. "We received this absurdly fancy card in the mail. 'Bellweather Estate'? What is that, some new rustic wedding barn out in the woods?"
I paused, holding back a smile. She hadn't bothered to google the full name, assuming I couldn't possibly afford anything extraordinary.
"It's a property off the highway, Mom," I said neutrally. I could have explained that Daniel’s great-aunt Evelyn was the sole private owner of the estate and had offered us the entire property for the weekend as a wedding gift. I could have told her that world leaders and celebrities had tried and failed to rent it.
I didn't say a single word.
"Well, it sounds terribly inconvenient," Mom scoffed.
Ten minutes after hanging up, a group text message from Mom popped up on my screen, including me, Vanessa, and several aunties:
Vanessa has officially set October 18th for her Twin Baby Shower Extravaganza! We are hosting it at the local country club ballroom. We assume you will be moving your wedding ceremony to November, Clara, so there is no conflict for the family.
I looked down at my phone. My thumb moved quickly across the screen.
I typed a single word: No.
The reaction was instant. Vanessa called me immediately from an unblocked line, screaming so loud Daniel could hear her from across the room. "You are doing this on purpose! You are trying to sabotage the happiest moment of my life!"
"Vanessa, my wedding date was set months ago," I said, keeping my voice entirely devoid of emotion. "You chose October 18th specifically because it was my date. I am not moving my life around your demands anymore."
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"Nobody is going to come to your stupid wedding!" she screamed. "Mom is calling everyone right now! If they have to choose between welcoming two miracle babies or watching you get married for the second time, who do you think they’re going to pick?"
"They are free to make their own choices," I said quietly, and hung up.
