My heart thundered in my chest. While my hair was being done, and I sat watching her, I knew that nothing good was going to come from our conversation.

“Just say it,” I said. “Tell me.”

Audrey pulled her phone out of her clutch and held it out for me.

“There are videos on this phone that will explain everything. I am so sorry, Hanna, but Ryan needs to be caught out.”

“Here,” she said, handing me her phone as a woman’s voice echoed through the room. The videos on Audrey’s phone revealed Ryan with another woman.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “This is him?”

Audrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Well, look at the jacket on the bed,” she said. “Isn’t that the one you got him?”

I pressed play again and looked at the jacket. The hotel room also looked familiar — I was so sure that we had been there before.

“But Ryan’s face isn’t in the frame,” I said. I was struggling. I couldn’t believe that my almost mother-in-law was standing in front of me with a video showing her son’s affair.

“Hanna,” she said slowly. “It’s right in front of you. You can choose to overlook it, but think of the man that you would be marrying if you choose to ignore it. Could you live with yourself knowing that? Could you live with him?”

I shook my head. I wanted to cry because of how overwhelmed I was.

“Fine,” I said.

“You’re calling off the wedding?” Audrey asked, hope lining her voice.

“No,” I said. “I’m going to walk down that aisle. I’m going to walk to the man who has been unfaithful to me. And when the time comes for our vows, I’ll break it off then.”

“Okay, dear,” Audrey said, putting her phone back into her bag. “It’s almost time now, anyway.”

I sat down on the chaise and waited for my father to come and get me when it was time to marry Ryan. I wanted nothing more than to get into a car and drive away to someplace where I could eat my feelings in a mountain of fries.

My heart violently pounded with fury as I approached the altar on my father’s arm. Ryan aware of the storm brewing beneath my skin, smiled tenderly at me. He took my hand and squeezed it. It would have been absolutely perfect, except for the fact that he had been with someone else.

Our priest went on to quote scripture about love and matrimony from the Bible. And when it was time for our vows, my heart quietened down—finally realizing what was about to come.

“I don’t,” I said softly, more to the ground than to Ryan.

“Speak louder, Hanna,” the priest said.

“I don’t!” I said more confidently, the words echoing like a resounding shockwave.

Ryan’s shock morphed into confusion as I repeated those two words again.

“Hanna? What?” he asked, hurt and betrayal deep in his voice.

“Ask your mom,” I said, pointing at Audrey. “Mrs. Cole, please tell everyone what you told me earlier.”

“Look,” I said to Ryan.

Ryan took a step back, almost falling over the wedding arch.

“That is not me, Hanna!” he said loudly. “Hanna, you know it’s not me!”

I refused to look him in the eye.

Then he confronted his mother.

“Mom, what is all this? What is that? Where did you get that video?”

Audrey shook her head and walked down the aisle, leaving the church in silence.

I could not bear to hear Ryan’s excuses.

“Hanna, please,” he said. “I need you to believe me.”

And I wanted to. Of course, I wanted to believe the man I loved. But it was clear. The jacket that I bought him lay across the bed in the video.

And if there was the possibility that he wasn’t with another person — how would he explain the video? And the woman who was barely dressed? And the sound effects?

“I can’t do this,” I said. “I won’t.”

I blocked his number.

Two days later, Ryan showed up at my parents’ house with takeout and flowers.

“You expect this to fix everything?” I asked.

“I need to talk,” he said simply.

Against my better judgment, I listened. What Ryan revealed next sent me down another spiral.

“My mother orchestrated that video. The people in it are her students. And it was all because she didn’t want us to get married.”

My jaw hit the ground.

“I thought she liked me. Clearly she doesn’t if she put an entire video together.”

“She did say that the sounds were edited,” Ryan chuckled nervously. “But I’ve got to hand it to her, adding my jacket was a good touch.”

I forgave Ryan immediately, and he did the same in return — I did accuse him of cheating on me in front of all our guests. We’re still together, but I don’t know what the future holds.

I Made My Fiancé Regret Cheating on Me with My Best Friend – Was I Right to Make Him Cry at the Altar?

My name is Megan, and up until a few months ago, I thought my life was falling into place. I had a fiancé, Brad, and together we were planning a wedding and a future. But as they say, life can change in the blink of an eye.

“That’s a heavy betrayal,” she replied gently.

Since discovering their relationship, I’ve been living with my parents, working from home, and going to therapy.

“I’m finally able to look back without crying,” I told my mom one morning.

“I’m so proud of you, Megan.”

But then, Andrea called. “I’m pregnant,” she announced.

My heart sank. “Pregnant? And you’re marrying Brad?”

“Yes,” she said. “The date’s set.”

Their lives moved on while I tried to heal. Brad and Andrea bombarded me with messages, switching from apologies to insults.

“Why are you blaming me for ruining your wedding?” I demanded during a heated phone call with Andrea.

“You’re selfish,” she snapped. “Our families won’t come unless you forgive us.”

They tried bribing me. “If you get our families to attend, we’ll name our child after you.”

Their families agreed to attend only if I did, to show I’d forgiven them.

“They want me to forgive you?” I asked Andrea incredulously.

But Andrea didn’t stop texting. “Why won’t you leave me alone?” I yelled after blocking her sixth number.