The night before her wedding, my best friend Willa pulled me aside, smirking as she showed me a new tattoo — a half-moon on her shoulder. “For the man I truly love,” she whispered, begging me to help her run away with him after the ceremony. I almost agreed… until later that night, I climbed into bed and saw the other half of that tattoo on my husband, Caleb.
On the wedding day, I smiled through clenched teeth, playing the perfect maid of honor. Willa glowed in her silk gown while I pretended not to know the truth. She thought I’d be her getaway driver, but I had my own plan. Instead of whisking her away, I drove her limo straight back to the front of the venue — where a banner unfurled showing a photo of her tattooed shoulder pressed against Caleb’s. Gasps filled the air.
Willa stood frozen, drenched in shame as whispers spread. Her fiancé Timothy looked shattered, his eyes darting between me, Willa, and Caleb. “You slept with your best friend’s husband?” he demanded. Willa stammered excuses, finally snapping that Caleb had always been meant for her. I didn’t even flinch. “You don’t earn love, Willa. You steal it,” I said, my voice steady.
Timothy tore off his boutonnière, telling her to leave. Caleb shrank in the background, face pale, while Willa begged for someone to believe her. No one did. I sipped my champagne, finally calm. That day, Willa lost her groom, and Caleb lost his wife. And I? I gained the freedom to stop living in lies.