Ethan carried a large wrapped package into the reception and placed it where everyone could see. When the paper came away, a tall gold-framed mirror appeared beneath layers of tissue. A card was taped directly across the glass in Ethan’s neat handwriting. Jason looked confused until someone read it aloud: “For the groom. You once asked her when she last looked in a mirror. Here’s one, so you can finally look in yours.” A woman nearby covered her mouth. Someone at the bar gave a low whistle.

Jason immediately insisted it was only a joke, but nobody laughed. Brittany stared at the card before slowly turning toward the man she had just married, realizing those cruel words had once been directed at his own wife. Then Ethan reached for my hand in front of the entire room. “And for the record,” he said calmly, “nobody paid me to be here. I’ve been waiting two years for her to ask me anything at all.” I stared at him, suddenly realizing my fake wedding date had just revealed something I never expected.

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