The Ultimate Revenge: Paige’s Moment
I wasn’t supposed to be at this wedding.
That much was clear from the moment I walked through the grand hall. The sideways glances. The murmurs that followed me, like whispers of pity and judgment. I could feel their eyes on me, trying to figure out what I was doing here.
The wedding, though? That was something else. Beautiful, even. Erica had gone all out—gold and ivory decorated every corner. The guests were dressed in their finest, talking and laughing with expensive champagne glasses in hand. The room looked like a dream.
But under all that elegance, there was something rotten. This wasn’t just a wedding. This was her wedding.
Erica. My younger sister. The one who always had it all. The one who was handed everything on a silver platter, while I had to fight for every little thing I had.
And now? She had taken the one thing that was mine.
Stan.
Stan had been my fiancé. My everything. He was supposed to be my future. The man I loved and trusted… until one night when I came home early from work and found them together, tangled in my own bed.
I can still see it. How Stan froze, his face twisted in guilt. And Erica? She smirked, the kind of smirk that made my blood boil. Then, she said, “I won, Paige. Checkmate.”
A month later, the wedding I’d spent over a year planning was canceled. All the vendors kept my deposits. Meanwhile, Erica and Stan—well, they didn’t have to hide anymore. They were a couple now. Official.
I couldn’t stay there. I left town for a few weeks, hopping between hotels and working remotely, trying to forget. Eventually, I moved back, adopted a kitten, and began rebuilding my life.
And then… the invitation came.
One year later, here I was, standing in the middle of their celebration. An invite sent to me, like some kind of cruel joke. I bet it was my parents who forced Erica to invite me. If she had it her way, I wouldn’t be here at all. Or maybe, just maybe, she invited me to gloat. She was nasty like that.
But what Erica didn’t know—what nobody knew—was that I wasn’t here to mourn my loss.
I was here to make sure she would never forget what she had done to me. And before the night was over, her perfect day was going to come crashing down.
The ceremony? A blur.
I stood near the back, barely listening as the officiant talked about love and devotion. Honestly, those were just empty words to me. They meant nothing.
Stan, dressed in a sharp black tuxedo, stared at Erica with a fake look of adoration. She, in turn, gazed up at him like she had won the grandest prize.
I almost laughed. Enjoy it while you can, I thought while sipping my champagne. The moment was coming.
As the reception began, the hall buzzed with laughter, glasses clinking, and music playing. A massive screen behind the dance floor showed their engagement photos—Stan lifting Erica into the air, their foreheads touching, smiling at each other.
If you didn’t know the history of how they got together, you’d think they were the perfect couple. Maybe they were. But I wasn’t about to let it slide. Not after everything I had been through.
Why should Erica get the happily-ever-after, when all I felt was betrayal and pain? No. This wasn’t how the story was going to end.
I slipped through the crowd unnoticed, my black dress hugging my frame just right. I didn’t look like a guest. I looked like a reckoning. And I felt confident—more confident than I had in a long time.
When I reached the laptop connected to the projector, I slipped in my flash drive, took a deep breath, and clicked.
The first few seconds went unnoticed. People were too busy chatting and sipping their drinks. Stan and Erica made their way through the crowd, talking and hugging guests.
And then, Stan’s voice filled the hall.
“Please, don’t leave me!”
The video started to play. Grainy footage from the security camera in my bedroom. There was Stan, sitting on my bed, tears streaking down his face. I stood on the other side, listening to him try to explain himself.
“Erica means nothing to me, Paige! Absolutely nothing! She was a mistake! I love you, Paige! I made a huge mistake!”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
I turned to look at Erica. Her face drained of color.
Stan stood frozen, his eyes wide. His hands twitched nervously at his sides.
But I wasn’t done yet.
The video shifted. More footage. My house. Erica and Stan sneaking in, thinking I was working late. The timestamps ticked by, betrayal after betrayal.
And then, the final nail in the coffin.
The footage showed Erica lying in my bed, laughing.
“She’ll never know…” she whispered, her voice light, almost breathy.
“Paige who?” Stan laughed with her.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Someone dropped their champagne glass.
“Oh my God,” a woman whispered.
My mom looked like she might faint. My dad’s jaw was clenched so tightly I thought I could hear his teeth grinding.
And then, chaos.
Erica stumbled back, her hands shaking. “This… this isn’t real!” she stammered.
But the proof was there. Right on the screen.
“Dinner will be served now!” she blurted, waving her hands like nothing was happening. “Everyone just take your seats and enjoy!”
Stan turned to her, fury rising on his face.
“Erica, you told me you went onto Paige’s computer and deleted the footage.”
“Oh?” I said with a mock innocence. “You knew about the cameras? You knew you’d be caught?”
Stan’s face paled. His guilt was written all over him.
The guests were murmuring louder now. Disgust was written on their faces.
Before Erica could say anything else, a voice cut through the tension.
“Paige.”
I turned.
It was Jack. He stepped forward from the crowd, wearing a black vest and crisp white shirt underneath. The waiter uniform, of all things.
A month ago, when I told Jack what I wanted to do, he was adamant he would be there with me. The first time he saw my sister’s wedding invitation, he was already on my side.
“I want to go to the wedding,” I told him. “I just don’t want to feel like the outsider, you know? Erica’s always been the star, and I just want to teach her a lesson.”
Jack didn’t hesitate. “Then I’ll come with you, Paige.”
“But I don’t want you drawing attention,” I said, not wanting Erica to ruin my moment.
“Then I’ll come as a waiter, if I need to,” he said with a grin. “But I’ll be there for you.”
And there he was now.
Jack set down a tray of champagne glasses and smiled at me, his blue eyes steady and comforting.
I smiled back, grateful. In the middle of all this chaos, Jack was my rock.
He reached me, and the crowd went silent as he dropped to one knee.
“I’ve waited long enough to ask you this, my love,” he said. “Paige, will you marry me?”
A sharp intake of breath. Erica screeched. “Are you kidding me? Paige! Why? Now? At my wedding?”
For a moment, I almost felt bad. But then I saw Erica’s face twist with rage, her entire world crashing down. She had stolen my man, my future. But now… now, I was stealing the show.
I turned back to Jack, my chest tight with emotion.
“Yes! Yes, Jack! I will!”
The room erupted in cheers, but Erica’s face remained twisted in anger and disbelief.
She looked at me, pure rage in her eyes. “This is my day!” she screamed, stomping her foot so hard she knocked over her chair.
I tilted my head, staring at her. “Oh, honey,” I said, voice dripping with sweetness. “You stole my man. I just returned the favor and stole the show.”
With Jack’s hand in mine, we walked out of the hall, leaving Erica standing there in her humiliation.
The wedding was behind us, but my heart was still racing. The chaos, the gasps, Erica’s shriek… it all echoed in my mind. But now, all that mattered was Jack.
We sat across from each other in a tiny diner, both of us still dressed up like we were in a movie, surrounded by greasy fries and milkshakes. The contrast felt perfect.
Jack slid a plate of fries toward me. “Eat,” he said. “You’ve had a long day.”
“That’s an understatement,” I laughed, but I picked up a fry anyway.
We sat there in easy silence, the hum of the diner comforting. Finally, I looked up.
“So… how long were you planning that?”
“The proposal?” Jack smirked.
“I’ve wanted to ask you for months, Paige,” he said. “But I knew you needed time to heal first. I wasn’t going to rush you. But when I saw Erica’s invite? That was it. I wasn’t going to let you go through that alone.”
“So you just snuck in?” I teased.
“I called in a favor. Apparently, I look good with a tray.”
I laughed. For the first time in so long, I really laughed.
Jack leaned forward, his voice soft. “I meant every word, Paige. I love you. I’ll wait for you as long as you need. But tonight felt like the right moment.”
“I think you chose the perfect moment,” I said, my heart finally light.
And in that moment, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I had truly won.
