Olivia marched toward the head table with stiff, robotic steps, her face twisted in a scowl that did not match a happy bride.

Julian, the groom, trailed slightly behind her, looking nervous and deeply annoyed by whatever argument they had just had in the hallway.

Julian was a mid-level finance bro who came from a wealthy family, the exact type of man my father had aggressively pushed Olivia to marry.

He had always looked at me with a mixture of pity and weird fascination, but today, his eyes darted nervously across the room until they locked onto mine.

When he saw me sitting calmly in the back, raising my water glass in a mock toast, a strange flash of panic crossed his face.

He quickly looked away, whispering something to his best man and wiping sweat from his forehead with a monogrammed handkerchief.

I narrowed my eyes, observing the subtle tension in his shoulders and the way his hands shook as he pulled out Olivia’s chair.

Something was incredibly wrong with the golden couple, and my analytical mind immediately started piecing the visual clues together.

Chapter 3 - The Broken Pedestal

Dinner was a lavish, five-course affair that felt more like a corporate networking event than a celebration of true love.

My father spent the entire meal circling the VIP tables, shaking hands and trying to maintain his image as the powerful patriarch.

However, I noticed that every time he approached Julian’s parents, they gave him cold, tight-lipped smiles and quickly turned away.

When it was time for the speeches, my father marched up to the microphone, tapping the glass with a silver spoon to command attention.

“Family and friends, today we celebrate my beautiful Olivia, the true light of this family,” he began, his voice booming through the speakers.

“I have always said that a father’s greatest investment is in his children, and providing for them is my ultimate pride.”