Daniel looked at her for a long moment.
“Why didn’t you do that before today? Why did it take losing the wedding you wanted to make you care about how she felt?”
Victoria had no answer.
He removed the wedding ring he had been preparing to place on her finger.
“I love the woman I thought you were,” he said quietly. “But I can’t start a marriage by pretending this didn’t happen.”
Victoria stared at the ring in his palm.
“You’re leaving me on our wedding day?”
“I’m stopping before I make a promise I no longer believe I can keep.”
He placed the ring on the table beside the wedding planner’s folder.
Then he walked away.
The guests watched in stunned silence as the groom left the ballroom beside his mother.
Behind them, the bride stood alone in her white dress, surrounded by the flowers and decorations she had demanded.
The wedding she had imagined was over.
What Happened to the Money?
In the weeks that followed, Eleanor worked with the venue and vendors to settle the accounts according to their contracts.
Some deposits were nonrefundable. Some services had already been delivered. Other payments could be stopped, and certain amounts were recovered under the applicable cancellation terms.
Eleanor did not receive every dollar back.
But she did stop the remaining expenses she was no longer obligated to pay, and she recovered what the agreements allowed.
She also refused to let Daniel take on debts simply to cover the wedding’s canceled extras.
When people asked whether she regretted withdrawing her support, Eleanor gave the same answer.
“I regret that it took so long for me to realize I was allowing someone to mistake my kindness for weakness.”
Daniel moved out of the apartment he had shared with Victoria. The two eventually separated, and the engagement ended.
