Lena spent her childhood watching her siblings marry without her. Oak, Ivy, Silas, and Ezra—each held weddings she longed to attend, but was always excluded from. At ten, twelve, fifteen, seventeen… each time, she was left behind. By the time Ezra married, she didn’t even ask.
Years later, planning her own wedding, Lena made a quiet decision: none of them would be invited. When her siblings confronted her, she demanded the truth. Ivy finally broke the silence.
“You’re not actually our sister,” she said. “You’re our cousin. Our dad’s brother raised you until he passed. Mom and Dad took you in, but… we don’t know who your mother is.”
Ezra added the final blow: “We were just kids. You needed attention. You weren’t our sibling, so we distanced ourselves.”
Lena realized she’d never truly belonged. She was tolerated, not loved. She left in a daze, ending up outside her fiancé Rowan’s apartment. He wrapped her in warmth, both literally and emotionally.
“I don’t want them at our wedding,” she whispered. “I don’t want their fake apologies.”
“You don’t owe them anything,” Rowan said. “You don’t need an audience to be happy.”
So they skipped the ceremony. No guests. No performance. Just love. They married quietly before a city clerk, exchanging vows that meant everything.
For the first time, Lena chose herself.
