Tell me honestly—would you have stayed?

Behind him, his parents stood frozen—angry, shocked, powerless.

Ethan straightened and turned to them.
“I’m leaving with her. If you can’t respect her, you don’t belong in our lives.”

My mother gasped softly. My throat tightened. After everything… he chose us.

And just like that, the three of us walked out of the grand Hunter resort, leaving behind a wedding that no longer meant anything.

Outside, the Malibu breeze brushed my face—cool, freeing. The sun was setting over the Pacific, painting the sky in orange and pink. For the first time that day, the beauty around me felt real.

Ethan slipped off his jacket and gently draped it over my mother’s shoulders.
“You should never have been treated that way,” he said.

Her voice trembled. “I didn’t want to ruin your wedding.”

“You didn’t,” he replied immediately. “They did.”

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