And the one way to truly stop a man like that is to strip the mask off in front of the very people whose belief is the source of all his power.

But there was a second reason, quieter and more personal, and I will admit to it: I had spent three years being lied to, made small, used, my deepest love turned into a lever against me — and I wanted, just once, to be the one who knew the truth in a room full of people who didn’t.

I wanted the ceremony.

I wanted to walk down that aisle carrying the secret weight of everything I knew, calm and armored and unafraid, while the man who thought he was about to win smiled his winning smile.