I didn’t answer.
I just gave a small smile and kept sipping my water.
“I mean,” she looked toward the head table where Elise was now huddled between two bridesmaids, her hands flying in frantic gestures. “I can’t exactly blame you.”
From the center of the room, the DJ cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Uh, well, thank you everyone for that, um, emotional tribute. Let’s, uh, keep the party going. Up next, we’ve got the father-daughter dance.”
“No.”
The word cut through the air like a whip.
My dad stood again, louder this time.
“No, turn it off.”
His voice wobbled, not with weakness, but something closer to rage barely held in check.
“There’s not going to be a dance. There’s not going to be any more videos.”
The DJ froze, hand hovering over the controls.
A moment later, Elise rushed back into the room, face blotchy, mascara smudged.
“Where’s Carson?” she hissed, voice trembling with panic. “Has anyone seen him?”
A bridesmaid leaned in and whispered something in her ear.
Alisa’s face went pale.
She turned to my mom.
“Mom, he’s leaving. He says he needs air, but he took his keys.”
My mom blinked, still stunned.
“Maybe he just… Maybe he’s going to the car to cool down. Don’t worry, sweetie. Just breathe.”
My dad wasn’t listening.
He was staring at me now.
Fullon.
That simmering kind of glare that says, “You crossed a line.”
His hands were clenched into fists at his side.
“You think that was funny?” he said. “You think you’re clever making a spectacle out of your sister’s wedding?”
That was when I finally stood up.
And it felt different this time.
I wasn’t the awkward kid fumbling for his place at the table.
I wasn’t the quiet brother sitting in someone else’s shadow.
I was just standing calm, steady.
“I didn’t make a spectacle,” I said evenly. “I just played the truth.”
“You humiliated your family,” he growled.
I tilted my head.
“No, you humiliated yourselves. I just hit play.”
The room had gone still again.