Over the previous several weeks, I’d learned exactly what it meant when Ethan stopped speaking and began turning the signet ring on his finger.

Usually, it meant his mother had made another decision he wasn’t willing to question.

And on my wedding day, she’d apparently decided my parents belonged beside the service entrance.

The ceremony itself passed in a strange haze.

I remember the heat beneath the flower arch, the officiant’s steady voice, and Ethan’s fingers tightening around mine when I hesitated before answering.

I’d spent the previous night wondering whether I should go through with it.