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“I do, and your apology is accepted,” he replied graciously. “Now, shall we rejoin Veronica and Georgina to discuss the wedding?”
“Sure,” I said.
We returned to the table, where Veronica was telling Georgina about the time she accidentally stepped on the queen’s foot. Their laughter filled the air, and I couldn’t help but smile as the prince and I took our seats.
“Grace has informed me of her concerns regarding the presence of a journalist during the wedding planning process,” Oliver surprisingly announced, effectively drawing Veronica and Georgina’s attention to me. “However, I have assured her that the reporting will be fair and discreet, and will focus on the royal couple.”
I looked at Georgina, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and trepidation. “I apologize for my reaction earlier when we were introduced, Georgina. It was a surprise that a journalist was here.”
“Think nothing of it,” she said as she rubbed her belly.
I was honest with Georgina. “My experience with the media has been less than positive. I confess I’m quite nervous about having my every move scrutinized again. I didn’t mean any offense.”
“None taken,” Georgina said with a reassuring smile. “I understand the pressures you're under, and I assure you, I’m here to capture the magic of this beautiful event, not to cause any trouble.”
“I appreciate that,” I said.
“I’ve seen the videos, and have read a few of the articles,” Princess Veronica said, her eyes filled with sincerity. “I want to say how sorry I am that you had to go through all that bad publicity. It must have been so difficult for you, all the lies and cruel remarks.”
I blew out a breath. “You have no idea, but I’ve learned from my mistakes, even though none of the things that happened in those viral videos were my fault. But people believe what they want to believe. It’s as if they’re entertained by other people’s failures.”
“Wasn’t there one bride in particular who blamed you for her wedding being called off?” Veronica asked, looking genuinely interested. “Do you mind sharing what happened?”
Georgina nodded. “Off the record—of course.”
I hesitated, unsure if I wanted to delve into that story, but I took a deep breath and was honest, since the three of them were looking at me with interest.
“I guess I can share, since you can find most of it online anyway,” I said. “The groom, Bradley, was a prominent entertainment lawyer. Very Type A personality, he had to control every detail. As the planning went on, I noticed some odd behavior from him. He was increasingly secretive, spent a lot of time on his phone, and seemed disinterested in the actual wedding plans, much more than the average groom. Anyway, we were just a week out from the wedding when I saw him through the window, at a small cafe across the street. He was with another woman, holding hands, laughing. It was clearly a date.”
“How awful!” Veronica gasped, her eyes widening in shock.
“Sounds like a real charmer,” Oliver muttered sarcastically, shaking his head.
I sighed. “You have no idea. I confronted him about it the next day. He said he just needed to get it out of his system, that it was a onetime thing. Then he threatened to fire me if I said a word to the bride.”
“But you could not help yourself, I suspect?” Georgina asked.
I shook my head. “The guilt of not saying anything to her was getting to me. So, when I was alone with the bride during the final dress fitting, when she mentioned the groom had been acting weird lately and she was worried, I spilled the beans. I told her everything, what I saw and what he said.”
“What did she do?” Veronica asked.
“She confronted him,” I said. “She told him exactly what I had said. Then he gave an Oscar-winning performance, telling her she was crazy for believing the stupid wedding planner over him, and that I was a liar. He said he could not marry a person who didn’t trust him over a gossiping nobody. Then he broke it off with her on the spot and demanded the ring back. The bride sued me for ruining her life, for emotional damage, and for the lost deposits from the venue and wedding vendors.”
“Preposterous!” Oliver declared, shaking his head in disbelief. “How could you possibly be responsible for his actions?”
“Exactly,” I agreed, feeling a mix of relief and vulnerability at having shared such a painful story. “In hindsight, maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut and let her suffer in that horrible relationship. Let her learn a hard lesson. But I did what I thought was right, and what I would hope someone would do for me if I had been in the bride’s shoes.”
“I probably would have said something as well,” Veronica whispered, her sympathetic gaze meeting mine. “It is absolutely dreadful that you paid the price for his indiscretions, and your honesty.”
“Dreadful” didn’t even cover it.
The humiliation, the anger, the endless sleepless nights spent wondering how everything had gone so wrong—those memories still haunted me. But I couldn’t afford to dwell on the past. Not when I had a royal wedding to execute.
“It was,” I confessed, offering her a small, rueful smile. “But like I said earlier, I’m doing my best to move forward and learn from my mistakes. And on that note, maybe we should talk about something a little more upbeat. I’ve been given the incredible opportunity to help you achieve your wedding, which I’m determined to make a success.”
“And speaking of that,” Veronica said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, “how are things going, Grace?”
“Actually, I’ve already made progress in the last few hours,” I said, eager to show my competence and commitment. “I’ve reserved an additional room block at the Four Seasons Verdana since it appears we are going to run out of rooms for guests. I also arranged shuttle bus transportation to and from the hotel, scheduled final fittings for the bridesmaids with the designers, updated the wedding website with details on royal wedding traditions and etiquette, plus I added an interactive map of the carriage procession route. And I checked in with the five people on the wedding planning team to make sure we were all on the same page.”
