The Wedding I Canceled

On our wedding day, en route to the hotel, my fianc Lysander Croft, a crisis negotiator, slammed the limo's brakes for a woman about to jump off a bridge.

I grabbed his arm.

It's our wedding day. You are not going.

He gave me a placating smile.

A life is on the line. I can't just stand by.

He was out of the car before finishing.

My face turned to ice.

"If you save her, we are canceling the wedding."

He stared in disbelief.

"Arden, you're the kindest person I know. How can you say something so cruel?"

My gaze drifted to the woman's slightly swollen belly.

My voice was unwavering.

"Save her, or marry me. You can't have both."

The sudden stop of the lead limo caused a chain reaction, and the entire wedding procession ground to a halt behind us.

Family and friends began to spill out of the cars, confused.

"What's going on? Why have we stopped?"

Lysander's expression darkened.

"That woman on the railing I think she's going to jump."

He gestured vaguely toward the bridge.

"I want to help, but Arden won't let me. She's threatening to call off the wedding."

A collective gasp went through the small crowd.

All eyes followed his gesture.

The woman on the railing had noticed the commotion.

She turned, her eyes red-rimmed with tears, and her hand instinctively went to her stomach.

My maid of honor, Corisande, tried to smooth things over.

"Lysander, maybe you should just get back in the car with Arden. Someone else can help her."

My best friend since childhood pulled out her phone, scowling.

"Seriously, this isn't that complicated. You see something like this, you call 911."

She started dialing as she walked toward the bridge.

She'd only taken two steps when the woman in white scrambled to her feet, her voice a panicked shriek.

"Don't call the police! And don't come any closer! One more step and I'll jump!"

The wind coming off the river was strong, whipping her dress around her legs.

Standing, she looked fragile, her whole body trembling against the force of the gusts.

The sight seemed to flip a switch in Lysander.

He shot me a look of pure exasperation and strode forward, grabbing Corisande's arm.

His voice was sharp, professional.

"Don't go any further. You'll agitate her."

I lifted the heavy skirt of my wedding gown and stepped out of the limo, walking deliberately until I stood directly in his path.

"So you've made your choice, then? You're going to save her."

Lysander looked down at me, his patience clearly wearing thin.

Still, he took my hand, his voice a low plea.

"Arden, please, just try to understand. This is what I do. I'm a negotiator. How can I see this and just walk away? Is our wedding really more important than a human life?"

He glanced back at the woman on the railing as he said it.

His words seemed to sway our guests.

"Arden, honey, he has a point. It won't take long."

"That's right, dear. To save a life is a great blessing."

"Just let him talk to the poor girl. Look, I think she's pregnant. She must be in a terrible state."

As they all murmured their support for him, my eyes never left his.

When they fell silent, I spoke, my voice dangerously quiet.

"Lysander. Answer my question."

His jaw tightened. For a moment, he seemed to be wrestling with himself.

Then, he let go of my hand and stepped past me. He stopped a few feet away, his expression softening as he turned his focus entirely to the woman on the bridge.

"We won't come any closer," he said, his voice calm and soothing.

"Just take a breath. Don't panic."

The woman stared at him, her eyes wide. As his words washed over her, a fresh wave of tears broke free and streamed down her cheeks.

"Stay away from me! All of you"

It was the same demand, but her voice had lost its edge, cracking with a sorrow that sounded almost like a plea.

Lysander's hands clenched into fists at his sides.

He took a small, careful step forward.

"Okay, we'll stay back," he cooed.

"Just calm down calm down"

The woman's frantic energy did seem to recede, but her tears fell faster.

Seeing this, I reached into my clutch and pulled out my phone.

"Hi, Mom. Are you at the hotel yet? Good. I need you to tell the guests the wedding is off."

A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers.

Until that moment, they had probably all thought my threat was just an empty, emotional outburst from a stressed-out bride. My actually making the call proved them wrong.

Lysander, who had been laser-focused on the woman, froze. He whipped his head around to look at me.

"Arden?"

I held the phone in one hand and the hem of my dress in the other, my face an unreadable mask.

"What is it?"

His Adam's apple bobbed.

"Do you have to be so unreasonable?"

I took a step back.

"If this is unreasonable to you, then so be it. But it's done. I've already told my parents to cancel."

I offered him a thin, humorless smile.

"You're free now, Lysander. You can go be the hero."

Just then, the woman on the railing wiped her eyes.

Her face was ashen, her voice a raw, broken whisper.

"I'm sorry It's all my fault that you're fighting."

She looked at me, her eyes begging.

"Please, miss, don't fight with your husband. You should go. Go get married. They say you should never come between a man and his wife If I ruined your wedding, I I couldn't live with myself"

Her voice broke, and the tears started anew, like pearls spilling from a broken string.

She looked down, gently stroking her swollen belly.

"My life is worthless anyway. No one's ever cared about me."

At that, Lysander's brow furrowed in concern.

He edged another cautious step closer.

"Don't say that," he said, his voice softening into the gentle, persuasive tone of his profession.

"Someone in this world loves you. You can't give up on yourself."

His voice grew even more tender.

"You can't be this pessimistic. You can't just throw your life away."

Bystanders who had gathered began to chime in.

"Yeah, kid, you're too young for this. Don't do anything you'll regret."

Meanwhile, our family and friends were whispering amongst themselves.

"I don't know who's right or wrong here."

"A wedding is once in a lifetime, but I think Lysander's doing the right thing."

"I agree. Arden is being a little too selfish right now."

Lysander let out a heavy sigh.

"Everyone, please, just be quiet for a minute."

He looked at me again.

"Arden, this isn't you. What is going on today? This woman is clearly at the end of her rope. Are we really just going to watch her jump?"

I stared back at him, my gaze unwavering.

"Lysander, don't you know exactly why I'm acting this way?"

Before he could answer, his best man, Thorne, stepped forward.

"Arden, maybe the rest of us don't know what's going on, but I was in the front seat. I saw the whole thing. You've been making a scene from the very beginning. All Lysander wants to do is help someone. What's so wrong with that?"

I glanced at the now-silent Lysander and let out a cold laugh.

"You're right. He's a saint. A good Samaritan. And I'm a petty, vicious shrew. We're clearly not meant to be."

"So I'm calling it off. Now he can go be the hero without any distractions. What's the problem?"

I shifted my gaze to the crying woman on the railing.

"Besides, if she really wanted to die, she wouldn't have been sitting there for so long. Don't you think she's being a little dramatic?"

My words hit her like a physical blow.

The last bit of color drained from her face. She bit her lip, her sobs turning into ragged gasps.

"Fine! Fine I'll die. I'll just die"

She gave Lysander one last, long, meaningful look, then turned without another moment's hesitation.

She clenched her fists and prepared to leap into the churning water below.

"Don't!"

The word was torn from Lysander's throat, a raw, desperate shout.

He lunged toward the railing, his hand outstretched, but he was too late. The woman's body plummeted into the river, where she began to thrash in the cold, dark water.

Without a second thought, Lysander shrugged off his tuxedo jacket and dove in after her.

I remained on the bridge, watching the scene unfold with an unnerving calm, as if the man who had just risked his life wasn't the man I was supposed to marry.

If anyone had been on my side before, my last comment had obliterated that support.

I was now the villain of the story.

The crowd of onlookers turned on me, their whispers turning into outright accusations.

Someone shoved a phone in my face, the camera recording.

Another person had started a live stream.

"You won't believe the ice queen I'm seeing right now!"

the streamer narrated excitedly.

"This woman is beautiful, but she's pure evil. Her husband wanted to save a suicidal woman, and she forbid him! Then she taunted the poor girl until she jumped! She's basically a murderer!"

A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd.

"That's right! She's a killer!"

"Threatening to cancel the wedding a good man like that doesn't deserve a monster like her!"

"He'd be miserable if he married that witch!"

I ignored them all.

The river was frigid, but Lysander was a strong swimmer.

He reached the woman quickly and pulled her back to the bank.

They were both soaked and shivering, a pathetic sight.

Her white dress was now transparent, and Lysander, ever the gentleman, immediately draped his jacket over her shoulders.

"Here, I'll take you to the hospital."

He didn't even look at me. He put his arm around the woman and started to lead her toward the wedding limo.