FULL STORY: My sister thought my Navy uniform would ruin her royal wedding. PA003
PART 5: THE BRIDE WHO DIDN’T EXPECT THE TRUTH
Rachel arrived forty minutes later.
Not in the chapel.
In the council chamber.
Her wedding dress had been altered slightly for movement, but it still carried the weight of a thousand cameras waiting outside.
When she saw me, her smile froze for half a second.
Just half.
But I saw it.
Then she recovered instantly.
“Emily,” she said softly, like this was an inconvenience. “What are you doing here?”
The King answered instead.
“She was invited.”
Rachel blinked.
“I don’t understand—this is my wedding day.”
Prince Alexander stepped forward.
“No,” he said calmly. “It was.”
Something in Rachel’s posture tightened.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
The King gestured toward the file.
“Your modifications to Commander Carter’s classified service record have been reviewed.”
Rachel’s expression flickered.
A crack.
Then smooth again.
“I was trying to simplify things for public relations,” she said carefully. “There was confusion about roles.”
I stared at her.
“Confusion?”
Her eyes finally met mine.
And for the first time, I saw something different from the polished sister I had known.
Not regret.
Calculation.
“I protected you,” she said.
That made me laugh once.
A sharp, disbelieving sound.
“You erased me.”
