Chapter 2: The Woman Behind the Wedding Dress
Ethan had imagined his wedding day a thousand times.
In those fantasies, he stood beside Sophia without needing a wheelchair. He walked across the garden, held her hands, and promised her a future that wasn't dictated by hospital appointments and medication schedules.
Reality had been less generous.
His legs remained motionless beneath the dark grey blanket.
His hands occasionally trembled.
And his lungs seemed to work harder every week.
But he had never imagined sitting beneath a beautiful floral arch, wondering whether the woman wearing his engagement ring wanted him dead.
“Darling, I brought your medication.””
Sophia placed the silver tray on a small table beside his wheelchair.
Her voice was warm.
Her smile was practiced.
The blue medication organizer sat beside the water glasses.
Ethan stared at it.
“Dr. Collins,” he said, looking toward the approaching neurologist.
“I thought you wanted to speak with me.””
Dr. Collins was a thin man in his early fifties, with silver hair and expensive glasses.
He had been Ethan's physician since the accident.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Actually, I need to review something before the ceremony.””
Sophia gave a soft laugh.
“Oh, Daniel. Not today. Surely whatever it is can wait until after the wedding.””
“It cannot.””
The doctor's expression was serious.
Sophia's smile faded.
“Is something wrong with Ethan?””
“That's what I'm trying to establish.””
Ethan watched them carefully.
For the first time, he noticed something strange.
Dr. Collins wasn't looking at him.
He was looking at the medication box.
“Have you changed my prescription?”” Ethan asked.
Sophia answered before the doctor could.
“Of course not, sweetheart. Why would you ask that?””
“Because I received a message telling me not to take today's medication.””
Sophia froze.
It lasted less than a second.
But Ethan saw it.
“What message?”” she asked.
“From someone who knows my medical history.””
Dr. Collins cleared his throat.
“Mr. Whitmore, perhaps we should discuss this somewhere private.””
Sophia immediately stepped between them.
“Absolutely not. He's been anxious all morning. The last thing he needs is another medical discussion.””
Ethan looked at her.
“You seem very concerned about what I need.””
“Because I love you.””
“Then you won't mind if I ask the doctor a few questions.””
Sophia stared at him.
Then she smiled again.
“Of course, darling.””
She lifted the medication box and opened its compartments.
“Your morning dose is right here.””
Ethan recognized the familiar tablets.
But there was one additional pill.
The white one.
Identical to the pill Maya had placed in his palm.
He felt his stomach tighten.
“What's that one?””
Sophia didn't hesitate.
“Your new supplement. Dr. Collins recommended it.””
Dr. Collins looked sharply at her.
“I did no such thing.””
The silence that followed was deafening.
Sophia slowly turned toward him.
“Daniel?””
The doctor looked uncomfortable.
“I never prescribed a supplement. Not without discussing it with Ethan.””
Sophia gave a short, nervous laugh.
“You must have forgotten. We spoke about it last week.””
“No,” Dr. Collins replied.
“We didn't.””
Ethan looked from one to the other.
“Put the box down, Sophia.””
Her fingers remained around it.
“Ethan, you're frightening yourself over nothing.””
“Put it down.””
She placed it on the table.
For the first time that morning, her eyes looked genuinely angry.
“Fine. If that's what you want.””
Dr. Collins took a step closer.
“Ethan, I need to examine that medication. I also need to know who prepared it.””
“Sophia handles everything,” Ethan replied.
The words sounded ordinary.
But his gaze never left her face.
Sophia's expression softened.
“I do it because you need help, darling. You know how difficult things have become.””
She placed her hand on his shoulder.
“You forget appointments. You lose track of conversations. Sometimes you don't even recognize people when they come into the room.””
Ethan's jaw tightened.
She was using his illness against him.
In front of hundreds of guests.
“I'm aware of my condition,” he said.
“Of course you are.””
Sophia looked toward Dr. Collins.
“That's why I worry. His symptoms have been getting worse, and he refuses to accept that.””
Dr. Collins didn't answer.
Instead, he picked up the medication organizer and examined the white pill.
His expression changed.
“Where did this come from?””
Sophia folded her arms.
“Your office, presumably.””
“I have never seen this medication.””
The doctor removed his glasses.
Then he looked directly at Ethan.
“Have you been taking these?””
Ethan nodded slowly.
“For about six weeks, perhaps longer.””
Dr. Collins turned pale.
“How many?””
“Every morning.””
“Ethan, did you experience unusual weakness, dizziness, or episodes of confusion after taking them?””
“Yes.””
Sophia interrupted.
“He has those symptoms because of his neurological condition.””
Dr. Collins ignored her.
“Did your symptoms worsen after the medication was introduced?””
Ethan remembered the previous two months.
The sudden weakness.
The trembling.
The days when he couldn't hold a fork.
The nights when he woke up unable to catch his breath.
“Yes,” he answered.
Dr. Collins looked at Sophia.
“Who told you to administer this?””
She laughed.
“This is absurd. I'm his fiancée.””
“That doesn't answer my question.””
Sophia's face hardened.
“I have spent three years taking care of him while you doctors kept changing your opinions. I have been there when he couldn't get out of bed. I have cleaned him when he was too weak to reach the bathroom. I have sacrificed everything.””
Her voice rose.
“And now you're standing here accusing me because of one little pill?””
Several guests had begun watching.
A photographer lowered his camera.
The wedding coordinator approached but stopped when she saw Ethan's expression.
He didn't care who was watching.
“Daniel,” Ethan said quietly.
“I want the medication tested.””
Dr. Collins nodded.
“I'll arrange that immediately.””
Sophia stepped forward.
“No.””
The word came out too quickly.
Everyone turned.
She recovered almost instantly.
“I mean, there's no reason to create a scandal. We can discuss this after the ceremony.””
Ethan stared at her.
“Why are you afraid of a test?””
“I'm not afraid.””
“Then let him take it.””
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
“Ethan, how can you do this to me?””
She turned toward the guests.
“I have spent years loving a man who is slowly disappearing in front of me. I agreed to marry him knowing he might never walk again. I gave up my own career to take care of him.””
Her voice broke.
“And now, on our wedding day, he's treating me like a criminal.””
A few guests exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Some looked sympathetic.
Others looked suspicious.
Ethan knew exactly what she was doing.
She was turning herself into the victim.
And she was very good at it.
“I'm sorry you're upset,” he said.
“But the medication will be tested.””
Sophia wiped her cheeks.
Then she leaned toward him.
Her perfume was familiar.
He had once loved that scent.
Now it made his skin crawl.
“Do you really want to destroy everything we've built?”” she whispered.
Ethan looked at her.
“I'm beginning to wonder what we've actually built.””
Her expression went blank.
For a moment, the woman beneath the wedding makeup appeared.
Cold.
Calculating.
Almost unfamiliar.
Then she stepped back and turned toward the guests.
“I need a moment.””
She walked away.
Dr. Collins watched her disappear.
“Ethan,” he said quietly, “we need to talk.””
“About what?””
The doctor hesitated.
“About the results of your most recent neurological examination.””
Ethan frowned.
“You told me the disease was progressing.””
“I did.””
“And that there was nothing more we could do.””
Dr. Collins looked down at the medication box.
“I may have been wrong.””
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?””
“It means your latest symptoms don't match the natural progression of your diagnosed condition.””
The doctor lowered his voice.
“I've suspected medication interference for several weeks, but I couldn't establish the source.””
Ethan stared at him.
“You suspected someone was poisoning me?””
“I suspected an adverse drug interaction. I wasn't ready to make an accusation without evidence.””
“And you didn't tell me?””
“I tried to contact you. Sophia always answered your phone.””
Ethan felt something inside him shift.
“How long?””
“Three weeks.””
Three weeks.
Sophia had been answering his calls, organizing his medical appointments, and preparing his medication while his own doctor was trying to reach him.
Dr. Collins removed a small envelope from his jacket.
“I brought something.””
Inside were printed laboratory reports.
Ethan looked at the first page.
Then the second.
His hands began trembling.
“What am I looking at?””
“Your bloodwork from last month. There are abnormal findings that suggest exposure to a substance not listed in your prescriptions.””
“Can you identify it?””
“Not yet. But I sent additional samples to an independent toxicology laboratory.””
Ethan looked toward the garden entrance.
Sophia was standing near the wedding coordinator.
She was speaking animatedly, gesturing toward the guests.
Then she pulled out her phone.
A moment later, she looked directly at Ethan.
Her face changed.
She was no longer pretending to cry.
She was furious.
Dr. Collins followed his gaze.
“Ethan, I strongly recommend postponing this wedding.””
Ethan looked down at his legs.
For three years, he had believed he was slowly losing his body to an incurable illness.
Now he wondered whether someone had been accelerating that decline.
“Where is Maya?”” he asked.
The doctor looked confused.
“Who?””
“The housekeeper's daughter. The little girl who found the pill.””
Ethan turned toward the staff area.
But Maya was gone.
So was Margaret.
He reached for his phone.
Before he could call anyone, a message appeared from an unknown number.
If you want to know what happened to your first medical report, ask your bride what she did with the hospital records from three years ago.
Ethan read it twice.
Then another message arrived.
And ask her why she paid someone at St. Andrew's Hospital the night of your accident.
His breathing stopped.
Three years ago.
The night his car had crashed.
The night he had nearly died.
Sophia had told him she was the first person to reach the hospital.
She had told him she had never left his bedside.
But the message suggested something else.
Something far more disturbing.
“Daniel,” Ethan whispered.
The doctor looked at him.
“I need the complete records from the night of my accident.””
Dr. Collins frowned.
“Why?””
May you like
Ethan slowly raised his eyes.
“Because I don't think Sophia's story about that night is true.””
