I felt a chill run down my spine. “What did you find out?” I was almost afraid to hear the answer, to have the thin veneer of Emily’s perfect day shattered so irreparably.

He looked away, as if ashamed. “David… he has another family. A wife and a child in another city.” The words hit me like a physical blow. My mind reeled, struggling to process the enormity of what he was saying. It felt unreal, like a bad dream I couldn’t wake up from.

“No,” I breathed, shaking my head vehemently. “That can’t be true. How do you even know?”

“I have a contact—a private investigator,” he confessed. “I had my doubts about David for a while now… little things that didn’t add up. So, I hired someone to look into his background. I wanted to be sure before bringing it up, but when I got the confirmation today… I couldn’t let the day go on without telling you. I needed you to know before anyone else.”