Chapter 3 - The Wedding Tristan Wanted
Tristan did not want a wedding.
He wanted a performance.
Every chair had to be aligned.
Every guest had to be approved.
Every photograph had to reflect the Caldwell family’s status.
Maisie’s friends noticed the change in her.
She smiled less.
Apologized more.
Checked Tristan’s expression before answering simple questions.
Her maid of honor, Leah, confronted her the morning of the ceremony.
“You can still leave.”
Maisie stared at herself in the mirror.
“I love him.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
Leah waited.
Maisie added softly, “I think I do.”
That answer frightened them both.
Downstairs, Tristan complained about James arranging flowers.
“He’s embarrassing us.”
The venue manager defended him.
“Your florist canceled. Mr. Evans saved the ceremony.”
Tristan looked through the window.
James stood on a ladder, securing white roses above the entrance.
His old gardening vest glowed in the sunlight.
“Get him out of sight before my parents arrive.”
The manager refused.
“This is his daughter’s wedding.”
Tristan turned cold.
“You work for me today.”
James heard the argument.
He climbed down.
“I can leave.”
The manager shook her head.
“No, sir.”
James looked toward the bridal suite.
“I don’t want trouble for Maisie.”
That sentence became Tristan’s weapon.
He began ordering James around like an employee.
Move the chairs.
Carry boxes.
Clean dirt near the doorway.
James obeyed.
Guests assumed he was part of the maintenance staff.
Tristan’s mother asked him to bring her water.
James did.
No one thanked him.
When Maisie finally entered the hall, she found her father standing near the back.
“Why aren’t you in the front row?”
James glanced at Tristan.
“It’s fine.”
Maisie saw the dirt on his sleeves.
“You’ve been working?”
“Just helping.”
Her expression hardened.
Tristan walked over.
“We had a few problems.”
“You made my father work at our wedding?”
“He volunteered.”
James said nothing.
Maisie knew that silence.
It meant he was protecting her again.
She took his hand.
“You’re walking me down the aisle.”
Tristan leaned close.
“Don’t ruin this over pride.”
Maisie looked at him.
She should have ended it then.
Instead, the music began.
May you like
And she kept walking.
👉 Maisie reached the altar believing she could preserve peace—but Tristan had already planned one final humiliation.
