Chapter 2: The Girl No One Invited
“Who is she?” someone whispered.
All eyes turned to the child.
She stood barefoot on the white aisle, dirt smudged across her cheeks, clutching the broken camera like it was the only thing keeping her standing.
The bride knelt slowly in front of her. “What’s your name?”
“…Lina.”
“Where did you get this?”
Lina swallowed. “I work… near the hotel where he stays.”
The groom’s face tightened.
“I clean rooms with my mom,” Lina continued. “He didn’t see me. He was talking to someone… laughing.”
The bride’s chest rose sharply.
“He said… he said you were easy,” Lina whispered.
Gasps filled the room.
The groom lunged forward. “Enough! This is ridiculous—she’s just a street kid!”
“Don’t,” the bride said quietly.
And somehow, that single word held more authority than anything he had shouted.
Security stopped.
The bride stood.
May you like
And she made a choice.
“Call my father.”
