My brother thought he was marrying the perfect woman, but the cracks in that image kept getting harder to ignore. Then something happened at the wedding that changed everything in an instant.
I’ve spent the last three years watching my brother Liam, now 28, fall in love with a woman who measures people the way some people measure fabric. Chloe, 26, is beautiful, sure, the kind of beauty that photographs well, which made sense because her entire existence revolved around “the aesthetic.”
She was an Instagram influencer, which meant she optimized everything in her life for likes and comments.
***
The engagement happened at dinner.
I was happy and tried to remain supportive for Liam’s sake, despite knowing my future sister-in-law (SIL) could be superficial. My brother was genuinely ecstatic, and that’s what mattered.
But then the wedding planning started.
“Sarah, you have to hear what Chloe’s envisioning,” Liam said with a smile one Sunday, scrolling through Pinterest boards on his phone as if they were holy scripture.
I was already bracing myself.
“She wants it to be romantic and very soft, very cohesive. Chloe’s calling it ‘Enchanted Garden Meets Modern Elegance.’ She says every detail has to be perfect,” my brother revealed, unfazed.
I nodded and tried to feel the excitement I knew he wanted. But within weeks, things got extreme, making the wedding planning exhausting.
My future SIL sent out emails dictating the exact shade of lipstick the bridesmaids should wear. Not a suggestion, but a requirement. She enforced strict color palettes.
Then came the flowers.
“I’m so sorry, Sarah, but those peonies you picked are coral pink, and we’re doing blush and ivory only,” Chloe said over coffee, her phone propped up to capture the moment for her story.
“They’re the same color family,” I offered gently.
“They’re not the same, though. I can see it. Everyone will see it. The color you picked is banned from my wedding.”
After that, the hair situation occurred.
I still can’t believe Chloe did this, but she asked the bridesmaids to dye their hair a specific shade of blonde so nothing would “clash with the vision.” Some of the girls actually did it!
I pulled Liam aside after that.
“Is this normal?” I asked.
“My fiancée is just passionate about how things look,” he said nonchalantly, but I could hear the defensiveness creeping into his voice. “She wants the wedding to be special.”
The story doesn’t end here – it continues on the next page.
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