Claire anticipates reliving her best moments when she opens the wedding pictures, which she received a month after her wonderful day. However, the images she gets are not what she had anticipated. Unusual, uncut footage reveals a horrifying truth that compels Claire to act decisively. I am Claire, and I had what I considered to be the ideal wedding a month ago. Imagine me strolling toward Mark, the man I believed I would spend the rest of my life with, along an aisle of fallen leaves in a sun-dappled woodland clearing while fairy lights twinkle in the trees. As I got to him, he muttered, “You look like a dream,” his green eyes crinkling at the corners.
With a beaming smile on my face, I felt as though my heart would burst. “Hairy, you are not so bad yourself.” Our vows were heartfelt, moving, and all I could have imagined. And there, dabbing at her eyes with a looney smile, was Rachel, my ride-or-die since kindergarten, standing right next to me. The welcome was enchanted. I, of course, snuck kisses with my new husband in between courses while we danced beneath the stars and clinked glasses with loved ones.
It seemed to be the most joyful day of my life. It seemed as though everything was fitting into place perfectly. The ideal wedding to begin our ideal life together. Let us go back to last week. As I was idly browsing through my phone on the couch, an email appeared. It was a message from our wedding photographer informing us that the pictures were available.
With a real yelp, I clicked the link more quickly than you could say “newlywed bliss.” However, as soon as I opened the folder, I saw the pictures were off in some way. The photos were unedited and unprocessed. They were also taken at odd angles, as if someone was looking around corners or lurking behind bushes. I mistakenly believed that our wedding pictures had been compromised, but the reality was much worse. I continued to go through, getting angrier with every picture. And suddenly, whoa! It was there. A clear picture of my recently married spouse Mark lip-locking with Rachel in a remote area of the forest.
I kept staring at her leg stuck up around his waist and the way his hands were entangled in her hair. Have you ever had the sensation that the floor is giving way beneath you? when everything in your world seems to be upside down and you are out of breath? Yeah. That. With tears clouding my vision, I felt as though I spent hours staring at that picture. How were they able to? How could they? the day of my nuptials! The day I promised Mark to always be devoted to him… Mark and Rachel…
After the initial shock subsided, another feeling emerged within me. Something icy, harsh, and irate. Even though the evidence was in front of me and my stomach was turning with disgust, I had no choice but to accept their affair even though I still could not get over my incredulity.