PART 2
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Ryan walked straight toward Ed.
Not fast.
Not loud.
Just steady — the kind of walk that made people move out of the way without knowing why.
He stopped right in front of Ed and looked at him for a long moment without saying a word.
Ed’s smile started to fade.
“Funny guy,” Ryan said quietly.
“Real funny.”
Preview
Ed laughed nervously.
“Relax, man.
It’s just a joke.
A tradition.”
“A tradition.” Ryan repeated it slowly, like he was tasting something bitter.
“You just humiliated your wife in front of 120 people on the first day of her marriage.
And you’re calling it a tradition.”
The room was so quiet you could hear the candles flickering.
I was still standing there, frosting on my face, veil ruined, unable to move.
Then Ryan turned to me — and his expression wasn’t anger anymore.
It was something worse.
It was pity.
And something else I couldn’t quite read.
“I need to tell you something,” he said.
“Something I should have told you before today.”
My stomach dropped.
“Ryan—” my mom said sharply from her seat.
Her voice had a warning in it I had never heard before.
He looked at her.
Then back at me.
“She deserves to know, Mom.”
Ed’s face went pale.
—
What does Ryan know — and why has their mom been hiding it?
What Ryan said next made half the room stand up from their seats.
Click the link below to read the full story.
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