Part 2: The Wedding Stopped When the Blood Reached the Chapel
Part 2: The Wedding Stopped When the Blood Reached the Chapel
The first thing I noticed wasn't the pain.
It was the blood.
A thin crimson line crept across the polished marble floor beneath the bathroom door.
At first it looked harmless.
Then another contraction slammed into me with such force that I cried out despite knowing no one could hear.
Outside, the wedding march began.
Guests rose to their feet.
Lucinda started her walk toward the altar.
Inside the locked bathroom, I could barely breathe.
"Please..."
My voice was fading.
"My baby..."
The next contraction left me shaking uncontrollably.
I pressed both hands against my stomach, whispering to my daughter that everything would be alright.
I wasn't sure whether I was comforting her...
or myself.
Meanwhile, Caleb finally realized something was wrong.
He had searched every bridal suite looking for me after noticing my empty chair in the front row.
"Has anyone seen Mara?" he asked.
Lucinda rolled her eyes.
"Can we not do this now?"
Eleanor smiled calmly.
"She's resting. Pregnancy tires women."
"But she texted me twenty minutes ago saying she wasn't feeling well."
"Then she'll be fine after the ceremony."
Something about his mother's answer felt rehearsed.
Caleb pulled out his phone.
No new messages.
He called mine.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
His heartbeat quickened.
Just then...
A young flower girl tugged gently on his jacket.
"Sir..."
She pointed toward the hallway.
"I saw Grandma Eleanor take the pretty lady's phone."
Caleb stared at the child.
"What did you say?"
"She put it inside her purse."
His face drained of color.
Without another word, he ran.
At the altar, Adrian had just lifted Lucinda's veil when a muffled scream echoed through the hallway.
Most guests ignored it.
The orchestra kept playing.
But Caleb heard it.
"MARA!"
He sprinted toward the bridal suite.
The locked bathroom door stood at the end of the corridor.
Blood seeped underneath it.
For one horrifying second...
he froze.
Then he threw himself against the door.
"Open it!"
Silence.
Another crash.
The frame splintered.
A third hit shattered the lock.
The heavy wooden door burst inward.
Mara lay curled on the marble floor.
Her pale-blue dress was soaked.
Her face had lost all color.
One trembling hand still rested over her swollen belly.
When she saw Caleb...
she tried to smile.
"I... tried..."
before collapsing unconscious.
Caleb dropped beside her.
"Oh God... Mara! Stay with me!"
His terrified scream finally silenced the entire wedding.
Guests flooded into the hallway.
Someone called 911.
Someone screamed for towels.
Someone pointed at Eleanor.
She stood perfectly still.
Expressionless.
As if none of it had anything to do with her.
Until one elderly guest quietly whispered,
"You locked her in there..."
May you like
For the first time that evening...
Eleanor's confidence cracked.
