Bride Runs Away from Her Wedding After Reading a Note Hidden in Her Bouquet – Story of the Day

I noticed a message hidden in my bouquet only minutes before I was about to go down the aisle. I hurried out of the bridal chamber as soon as I saw the handwriting. As I rushed around the wedding venue looking for the individual who had left me that heartbreaking letter, everybody stared at me.

I had been madly in love with Ben since we first started dating during my senior year of college, and now I was getting married.

It nearly seemed too good to be true that I would spend the rest of my life with the man who left small notes in my lunch bag and brought me coffee every morning. The stress of the wedding had made him a little aloof lately, and I was eager to get back into our familiar routines.

My cousin Emma observed, “Everly, you look absolutely radiant,” as she made the hundredth adjustment to the train of my dress. Bless her heart, she had been fretting over every little thing since the sun had come up.

With my lips moving just a little, I silently rehearsed my vows.

Ben, you are my partner in everything, my best friend, and my greatest love.

They were straightforward statements, but they were sincere, and we had decided that there should be no pretentious speeches—only the truth.

From the start, we had made the decision to have a modest yet tasteful wedding.

We reserved a stunning chapel and embellished it with satin ribbon, white hydrangeas, and bits of greenery. My attire, too, was a traditional Mikado gown with lace accents.

Emma declared, “Here’s your bouquet, bride,” displaying the exquisite arrangement of baby’s breath and white roses. “It’s almost time to marry the man of your dreams.”

I leaned down to breathe in the lovely aroma of the roses as I wrapped my fingers around the bouquet. The folded piece of paper nestled between the fragile petals caught my attention at that moment.

Emma was already making her way to the door while chatting about last-minute touch-ups and schedule modifications. I hardly heard her.

The slip of paper that had undoubtedly not been present when we had gone over the bouquet yesterday had all of my attention.

I looked about the space. I had a few minutes left before my big entrance, and I was alone now. In my hands, I flipped the paper over.

I was able to see what this was about in time. Knowing him, it was most likely a kind note from Ben. Or perhaps Mom had written some kind things to me.

As I read the note, the smile vanished from my face and was replaced by a constriction in my throat and a weight in my chest. I read the note a second time, my hands shaking.

I nearly dropped the bouquet.

This was definitely not a love letter from Ben, nor was it a kind note from my mother. Everything I believed to be true about my life and my future spouse was completely upended by this revelation.

And I was certain of who had left it for me.

On birthday cards, grocery lists, and notes taken during dull college lectures, I had seen that handwriting countless times.

Susan, my maid of honor and dearest friend, had a unique manner of crossing her t’s and looping her y’s that I could recognize right away.

I reread the note in the hopes that I had misinterpreted it. However, the language didn’t change.

“Susan,” I said in a scarcely audible whisper to the empty room. “How could you do this to me?”

I needed to locate her. I got up and strode over to the door.

An hour ago, we had been getting ready together. She had appeared reserved, but when I questioned her about it, she explained that she was simply moved by the thought of seeing me walk down the aisle.

Was this something she had planned? Did she know she was going to blow me away, so she had been watching me get ready?

I felt ill to my stomach at the prospect.

There was a lot of movement in the hallway. A few late guests were making their way to their seats, and vendors were hauling last-minute goods while our wedding coordinator kept a close eye on them.

I looked at everyone’s faces, trying to find Susan. I pushed forward, holding onto my skirt with one hand. I could feel people staring at me. James, my brother-in-law, came frowning at me.

“Everly, is everything okay?” James enquired.

“Have you seen Susan?” I questioned him.

“No… She should be helping you get ready, shouldn’t she?

I didn’t respond. I was on my way to the opposite side of the chapel, having already turned away. I looked around the crowd once again, but Susan was not there.

Perhaps she was outside if she wasn’t in the chapel. I walked directly into Emma as I made my way to the main entrance.

She said in a desperate voice, “Everly, what are you doing?” “The moment to go down the aisle is almost here! Ben will take up his role at any moment.

I felt ill when I heard Ben’s name. I gave a headshake. “Until I locate Susan, I am unable to. Not until she gives an explanation.

“Susan? Don’t tell me that she has also disappeared. Emma looked around the chapel. “I saw her just a few minutes ago.”

“Where?” I leaned closer.

Emma scowled at me as she leaned back. “She stated that she was going outside to breathe. She had a horrible appearance. What’s going on, Everly? Has something occurred?

Without responding to her, I rushed to the door. The chapel was suddenly filled with increasingly loud whispering. There was no doubt that the guests were observing something strange.

Minutes before her ceremony, the bride was not meant to be strolling the halls.

After the gloomy inside illumination, the late afternoon sun shone brightly.

Squinting, I looked around the parking lot, the tiny patio area where cocktail hour was to take place later, and the planted entrance.

Susan’s unmistakable form was nowhere to be seen, but she must be here somewhere because her car was still parked in the lot.

I began to move about the space. With several gardens and dining places strewn throughout the main house, the grounds were bigger than I had remembered.

“Susan?” At first, I shouted out quietly so as not to draw attention from the caterers who were setting up outside. My voice became louder as I got further away from the building. “Susan!”

After eight years of friendship, it had led to this: on my wedding day, I was searching for her throughout a wedding site while holding a note that had completely ruined my perception of reality.

I got an odd glance from a waitress who was setting up the cocktail station.

I didn’t care about appearances or expectations, even though I must have looked crazy running around the stadium in my dress and yelling frantically.

I went over to the waiter, a young woman who seemed sincere in her desire to assist.

Have you seen my maid of honor, please? A lady wearing a dress in navy? About my height, with brown hair?”

The server instantly nodded. “Uh, yes, I saw her walking toward the formal garden a couple of minutes ago.” She hesitated, her expression worried. “She seems distressed. I believe she was in tears.

She was obviously crying. After what she had done, there would be no going back.

The formal garden, a peaceful area with chairs and well-kept flower beds, was hidden behind the main building.

It was the ideal location to avoid the repercussions of your behavior.

I hitched up my dress, kicked off my heels, and took off running. I didn’t care what people thought or who saw me. I was determined not to let Susan leave before I had the answers I needed.

When I got to the path that led into the garden, the paving stones dug into my feet.

As I looked about for Susan, the tastefully manicured hedges and vibrant flowers arranged in tasteful designs that had seemed so lovely when Ben and I first visited the location now became a cause of annoyance.

On a bench close to the center of the garden, I discovered her. Her shoulders trembled with quiet sobbing as she sat with her head buried in her hands. I stood there observing her for a moment.

I had put all my trust in that woman.

She had been by my side through family strife, job upheavals, and college heartbreaks.

My initial reaction was to console her, but any sympathy I might have had vanished the moment I realized the note was still crumpled in my fist.

I displayed the document. “How could you harm me like this? We have always been the best of friends.

Susan’s makeup was ruined with tears when she looked up. She briefly had the appearance of a terrified youngster who had been duped. Then she crushed her face once again.

“I never meant to,” she said in a low voice. “But I couldn’t let you marry Ben without knowing the truth.”

Something broke inside of me. All of the shock that had been keeping me numb and the cautious composure I had been retaining abruptly turned to rage.

“The truth?” I lost my temper. I read her message out loud as I furiously unfurled the note:

“I hate to break the news to you, but Ben is the father and I am pregnant. On the day of my wedding, how dare you do this to me? For what length of time have you and Ben been cheating on me?

My lips felt poisoned by the words. Reading them silently had not given them the same sense of reality as saying them aloud.

The two people I trusted the most in the world, my best friend and my fiancé, had deceived me in the most basic way imaginable.

Susan’s body was trembling and she was crying more now. “I promise it was an accident, and it only happened once! I didn’t intend to—”

“An accident?” Despite my efforts to maintain composure, I interrupted her, raising my voice. “How do you accidentally sleep with your best friend’s fiancé?”

“I only found out two days ago,” she remarked, sobbing. “I had no intention of telling you. Never. I believed I could put up with it. But then I understood that if I said nothing, you would eventually see the child and ask why he looked so familiar. And your hatred for me would only grow.”

I glanced at the bouquet I was holding; these lovely flowers were meant to symbolize fresh starts and unending love. What a farce.

I dropped the flowers at Susan’s feet without saying another word. A few petals floated away from the blooms and landed on the stones.

Then, surrounded by the remnants of what ought to have been the most joyous day of my life, I turned and left Susan sobbing on the bench in the formal garden.

There were a hundred people in the chapel waiting for me. They needed to learn why.

When I entered, Ben was positioned close to the altar, scanning the area anxiously. He stared at me.

“Oh my God, where have you been?” Emma hurried over to me and asked. I looked at her and she pulled up short. “Everly, what’s wrong?”

I cleared my throat. Now, everyone in the chapel was staring at me, some worried, some simply perplexed.

I declared, “The wedding is off,” I looked across the room at Ben. “It turns out Ben and Susan had an affair.”

The hue seeped out of Ben’s face.

“Ben, congratulations. “You will become a father,” I continued. “Susan’s pregnant.”

All around me, chaos erupted. Ben was shouting back at my father when I heard him shouting something. Ben’s mother screamed loudly.

I pivoted on my heel and departed. I was done, my heart was broken, and my feet hurt. Ben deserved the least amount of punishment, therefore let him deal with the consequences.

I had just gotten to the bottom step when I heard high heels clicking sharply behind me.

“Everly, wait for me!” Emma slung her arm around my shoulders as she clattered down the stairs. “Let’s leave you here. “Are you okay with us going to my place?”

As soon as I nodded, the tears I had been suppressing began to fall.

Emma mumbled, “That’s right, honey, let it all out,” “It’s the only way you’ll ever be able to let it go.”

My goodness, I hoped she was correct.