She Dressed Plain For Her Sister’s Wedding, Not Knowing The Millionaire Best Man Loved Her
Truth in the Library
Emma found herself in the estate’s library, the one place that always felt like a sanctuary. Floor-to-ceiling books, the smell of old paper and leather, and silence that did not judge.
She pressed her palms against a bookshelf, trying to steady her breathing.
“They’re wrong, you know.”
Emma spun around. Garrett stood in the doorway, backlit by the hallway light.
“I’m fine. You should get back to the reception.”
“I don’t want to be at the reception.”
He stepped inside and closed the door.
“I want to be here with you.”
“Garrett, please.”
Her voice cracked.
“Don’t do this. Not tonight.”
“Do what? Tell you the truth?”
He moved closer.
“Tell you that I’ve been in love with you since the night we met? That watching you make yourself invisible is the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced?”
Emma shook her head, tears threatening.
“You don’t mean that.”
“Look at me.”
His voice was rough with emotion.
“Look at me, Emma, and tell me I’m lying.”
She raised her eyes to his. What she saw there made her breath catch—raw honesty, vulnerability, and want.
“Why?”
The word came out broken.
“Why would someone like you want someone like me?”
Garrett reached out and cupped her cheek with heartbreaking gentleness.
“Because you’re real. Because you care about people, not status. Because when you smile, truly smile, it’s like watching the sun break through clouds.”
“I’m nothing special. I’m just—”
“If you say ordinary, I’m going to lose my mind.”
His thumb brushed away a tear she had not realized had fallen.
“Emma, you’re extraordinary. You just can’t see it.”
The space between them felt charged.
“Electric. I don’t know how to be what you need,”
she whispered.
“You already are.”
He leaned in slowly, giving her time to pull away. She did not.
His lips met hers, soft and careful at first, then deeper as she responded. Emma’s hands gripped his jacket, pulling him closer.
Two years of unspoken longing finally found voice. When they broke apart, both were breathless.
The Intrusion of Fury
Emma touched her lips in wonder. The library door burst open.
Clare stood there, her wedding dress rustling, her face a mass of fury.
“So this is where you disappeared to!”
Her voice could have cut glass.
“My maid of honor kissing my husband’s best man while I’m at my own reception!”
“Clare, it’s not—”
“Not what? Not completely selfish and attention-seeking?”
Clare’s laugh was bitter.
“I should have known! You couldn’t stand that this day was about me, could you?”
“That’s not fair,”
Garrett said, his voice hard. Clare’s eyes snapped to him.
“Stay out of this, Garrett! This is between me and my sister!”
She turned back to Emma.
“You’ve always been jealous! Always wanted what I had!”
“That’s not true,”
Emma said quietly. But her voice trembled.
“Then what is this? What do you call seducing my husband’s best friend on my wedding day?”
“I call it two people finally being honest with each other,”
Garrett said. Claire’s expression shifted.
Something calculated entered her eyes.
“Does Thomas know you have feelings for my sister? Does he know you’ve been pining after her while standing up at our wedding?”
Garrett went very still.
“Exactly.”
Claire smiled, cold and satisfied.
“So here’s what’s going to happen. You’re both going to forget this ever happened. Emma, you’re going to go back to being invisible like you’re so good at. And Garrett, you’re going to focus on your duties as best man and stop making a fool of yourself.”
“Or what?”
Emma’s voice was steadier now, anger replacing hurt. Claire’s smile widened.
“Or I tell Thomas that his best friend tried to ruin his wedding. That you, Emma, threw yourself at Garrett out of jealousy. I’ll make sure everyone knows what happened here tonight.”
“You wouldn’t,”
Emma breathed.
“Try me.”
The threat hung in the air like poison. Silence filled the library, heavy and suffocating.
Emma felt something inside her crack. Not break; crack like ice forming patterns across glass.
“Fine.”
The word came out flat and empty.
“Emma, no!”
Garrett reached for her hand. She stepped back.
“It’s her wedding day. Her happiness matters more than mine.”
“That’s exactly the problem,”
Garrett said, frustration bleeding into his voice.
“You always do this. You always sacrifice yourself because that’s what love is.”
Emma’s eyes were dry now and hollow.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
The words hit Garrett like a physical blow. Claire’s smile was triumphant.
“See? Emma knows her place. She always has.”
She adjusted her veil.
“Now come on. We’re cutting the cake in ten minutes. Both of you need to be there, smiling, pretending nothing happened.”
She swept out of the library, leaving devastation in her wake. Emma moved toward the door.
“Don’t.”
Garrett’s voice was raw.
“Don’t do this. Don’t let her win.”
Emma paused but did not turn around.
“She’s not winning. I’m choosing. There’s a difference.”
“Is there?”
“You have your business empire, Garrett. Your penthouse. Your life of ease and privilege.”
Her voice was quiet but sharp as a blade.
“You can afford to fight for what you want. I can’t. If Claire destroys my relationship with my family, I have nothing. No safety net, no backup plan, just me and an apartment I can barely afford in a job that pays enough to survive but not to thrive.”
“You have me.”
She finally turned, tears streaming, but her expression was resolute.
“For how long? Until you realize I don’t fit in your world? Until your friends wonder why someone like you settled for someone like me?”
“Emma, I’ve been watching you for two years, too.”
“Garrett,”
the confession came out broken.
“I’ve been in love with you since that night in the kitchen. But I’m not stupid. I know how this story ends. The librarian doesn’t get the millionaire. Not in real life.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
She wiped her eyes.
“Your ex-girlfriend was a fashion designer. The woman before that was a lawyer. They were your equals. I’m just someone who organizes books and helps old ladies find large print novels.”
“That’s not who you are to me.”
“It’s who I am to everyone else, including myself.”
She straightened her shoulders.
“Go back to the reception, toast your friend, dance with bridesmaids who know which fork to use and how to make small talk at galas. Forget about the girl who thought she could be more than invisible.”
She walked out. Garrett stood alone in the library, surrounded by thousands of stories, unable to change the ending of the one that mattered most.
