Her Altar Secret Destroyed Us

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The ceremony had reached the exchange of rings. The officiants voice had just trailed off, leaving a soft, expectant silence in the chapel, when Mallorystanding directly across from me in ivory lacedecided to speak.

She didn't whisper. She didn't cry. In a tone as casual as someone remarking on a change in the weather, she told me she had been sleeping with my best friend.

I froze. I stared at her, waiting for the punchline of a cruel joke, but her eyes didn't even flicker. She didn't blink.

When you went for your final suit fitting, she continued, her voice devoid of a single gram of guilt, we were in the dressing room right next to yours.

The air left my lungs.

He couldnt help himself. He made a sounda groan. You heard it through the partition. You actually stayed there, knocking on the wood, asking if he was okay, worried hed caught a stomach bug. I was standing right there, Benjamin. My legs were shaking so hard I thought Id collapse, and you were just being a good friend.

Each word felt like a glass shard driven into my chest. I felt my blood turn to slush, my limbs locking into a rigid, icy paralysis.

Slowly, I turned my head toward the front row. My best man, Tyler, was leaning back, a celebratory glass of bourbon already in his hand, grinning as he caught my eye. Hed even mouthed my name earlier with a "Go get 'em" wink.

Only an hour ago, hed gripped my shoulder in the ready room, his voice thick with performative emotion, telling me I deserved all the happiness in the world.

Even this morning, Mallorys voice cut through the roar in my ears, while you were getting your hair done, I was in his hotel room. I was on top of him. I was so nervous I accidentally bit his lip. Hard enough to draw blood.

She looked down at the gold band resting in the velvet boxthe ring she hadn't let me put on her finger yet. She spoke about it like she was narrating someone else's life, a bored spectator at a dull play.

Ive said what I needed to say, Benjamin. She finally met my gaze, her eyes two pools of flat, cold water. Whether we go through with this or not is up to you.

...

The silence in the chapel was deafening.

Everyone was waiting for the 'I do.' My mother was in the front row, her hands pressed against her mouth, trying to stifle tears of joy. Shed waited years for this day.

I stood there, paralyzed, feeling like the marrow had been sucked out of my bones.

Why my voice came out a broken rasp. Why today? Why like this?

My hands were ice. The ring in my palm felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, a leaden anchor dragging me into the dirt.

Mallory watched me crumble, and for the first time, she looked relieved.

Dont blame Tyler. He told me never to tell you. He wanted to take this to his grave.

She sighed, a long, weary sound. But Im tired of the shadows, Benjamin. Im tired of the logistics. Im tired of lying every time I want to see him, tired of giving you a fake itinerary. And Im tired of the way Tyler looks at me afterwardthat look of pure, agonizing guilt. It ruins the moment.

When she spoke Tylers name, her expression softened. There was actual tenderness there. It was as if marrying me was a chore shed finally decided to quit.

It was a hallucination. It had to be. Only last night, shed been tucked under the duvet in our apartment, giggling like a schoolgirl. Benjamin, I cant believe its finally happening. It feels like a dream.

Now, she was just checking her watch, impatient for my decision.

Youre a goddamn monster, Mallory!

My vision blurred red. I lunged forward, not to touch her, but to hurl the ring. It clipped her cheek before bouncing onto the marble floor.

The gasps from the pews followed me as I bolted. I ran past the flowers, past the bewildered guests, past the life I thought I was building.

I didn't make it to the parking lot before a hand clamped onto my arm.

Benjamin! Hey, man, talk to me!

It was Tyler. He looked frantic, his face twisted in a mask of concerned confusion. What the hell happened? Did Mallory have a panic attack? What did she say?

He was so good at it. The righteous indignation, the loyal-brother routine. But then I saw it. Right there on the side of his neck, partially hidden by his stiff tuxedo collara dark, angry purple bruise. A bite mark.

I remembered when I first suspected he was seeing someone. Id been happy for him. Id listened to him talk on the phone in the other room, heard the raw, carnal way he spoke to whoever was on the other end. Hed even bragged to me once about how many rounds theyd gone in a single night. And I, like a fool, never once thought of the woman sleeping in my own bed.

I started to laugh, a jagged, hysterical sound.

Did you enjoy it, Tyler? Was she worth it?

His face went white. The mask didn't just slip; it shattered.

The truth was a physical weight in the air. My throat tightened, a sob threatening to break through. I wanted to ask why.

Three hours ago, during the first look photos, he was the one cheering the loudest. When the bridesmaids tried to play those stupid door games, he was the one who shouldered his way through, laughing. Nobody keeps my brother from his bride! You two are the gold standard. Forever, right?

I thought I had the perfect love. I thought I had the ultimate brotherhood. I thought today was the first day of the rest of my life.

God, what a joke.

Tyler stood frozen, his eyes darting toward the chapel doors where Mallory was emerging. His voice was a thin, trembling wire.

You told him? Today? Why couldnt you have waited just one more day!

He turned back to me, reaching out. Benjamin, listen. It was an accident. It just happened.

An accident?

Was it an accident that every time Mallory and I fought and she "went to her sister's," your phone went straight to voicemail? Was it an accident that she knew the layout of your new apartment better than I did? Even your dogthat golden retriever we picked out togetheronly listened to her.

Id seen the signs. Id just spent years perfecting the art of lying to myself because I loved them too much to lose them.

Youre a piece of work, Tyler. A real piece of work.

Rage took the wheel. Before I realized Id moved, my fist connected with his jaw.

Mallory screamed and threw herself between us, shoving me back with a strength born of pure spite.

Benjamin! Are you insane?

She shielded him, looking at me with a disgust so visceral it made my skin crawl.

Fine, we screwed up. We betrayed you. But do you have any idea how much Tyler has stepped aside for you over the years? Every time we went out, he only ordered what you liked. When you had that 103-degree fever, he was the one who sat in that shitty internet cafe with you for six hours because you didn't want to be alone. Hes been suffocating his feelings for five years just to keep you happy!

The ringing in my ears became a siren.

Eight years with her. Five years with him. For five goddamn years, they had been crawling into beds together behind my back, only to wipe the sweat off and accept my affection with a smile.

It was pathetic. I was pathetic.

My mother caught up to us then, her eyes wide, her face a mask of disbelief.

Only a month ago, Mallory had sat at our kitchen table, holding my mothers hand, swearing that she would cherish me through sickness and health. Shed even insisted on putting the house in my name alone to "prove her commitment."

Now, she looked at my mother like she was an annoying stranger. This woman who had treated Tyler like her own son since we were kids.

Tyler how could you do this to him? my mother whispered.

She began to shake. Her hand went to her chest, her breath hitching into a sharp, terrifying wheeze. Before I could catch her, she collapsed.

Tyler moved toward her, his face pale with horror. Auntie! Let me

Dont you touch her! I screamed, my voice breaking. Get the hell away from us!

In the back of the ambulance, holding my mothers limp, cold hand, the world became a blur. My vision was a smear of red and blue lights.

Mom please, I sobbed, the words thick and clumsy. Im done with her. Im done with all of it. Just please dont leave me too.

After I got my mother settled into the cardiac ward, I went back to the house to pack her things.

The "Just Married" banners were still hanging in the hallway. Id lifted Mallory up so she could tape them to the ceiling. The red silk sheets on the bedthe ones wed picked out for the wedding nightlooked like a fresh wound.

Id barely opened my suitcase when the front door clicked.

Mallory walked in. She marched straight to the bedroom, her expression one of weary annoyance, as if I were the one being difficult.

The house is yours. Im not going to fight you for it. Im leaving.

She tossed her keys on the dresser. Keep the money I gave you. Consider it a settlement. Just leave Tyler alone. Hes fragile right now.

The dam broke. Hes fragile? What about me, Mallory? I gave up everything for you. I moved cities, I changed careers

Enough! she snapped. I know what you did. I was there. I gave you the choice today because I knew how much youd sacrificed. Im trying to be fair here, Benjamin. Don't be ungrateful.

I stared at her, the heat in my eyes turning into cold, bitter tears.

Eight years.

Wed shared cramped, leaky apartments. Wed split packets of ramen because we couldn't afford an extra egg. Id quit a high-paying corporate track to help her launch her startup because I believed in her dream more than my own. My parents called me a fool. Tyler called me a fool.

And now, she was telling me to be grateful.

She saw the look on my face and softened her tone, the way youd talk to a wounded animal. She stepped forward and tried to wrap her arms around my waist.

Benjamin, look at me. The choice is still yours. If you want to move past this, we can. We can have a private ceremony tomorrow. Just us.

I felt sick.

But you have to understandTyler has suffered, too. Every time you held me, every time you kissed me in public, he was in the dark, watching. His heart was breaking while yours was full. You got the sunshine, Benjamin. He stayed in the shadows for you.

Her words were like poison-tipped needles.

The memories flooded back. Every "three-person" vacation where I felt like the third wheel on my own honeymoon. The way she always had Advil ready the second Tyler mentioned a headache, but forgot my birthday. The way shed instinctively reach out to rub his back when he felt car-sick, walking right past me.

And Tyler would always laugh it off. See, Benjamin? Thats a real woman. She looks out for her mans best friend. Don't ever let her go.

I saw it then. The sadness in her eyes back then wasn't for me. It was for him.

What do you see in him, Mallory? I asked, my voice hollow. Was it what he told me? That he was so 'hungry' for you he couldn't stop? Is that all it is? You just needed someone more aggressive?

The door creaked open. Tyler was standing there, looking like a kicked puppy, holding a gift bag.

Benjamin, don't talk to her like that.

He pulled out a watchthe Patek Philippe Id mentioned wanting months ago. It must have cost him five figures. I told you it was a mistake. Why do you have to make it so ugly?

He looked at me with those watery, pleading eyes. In the past, I would have folded. I would have apologized for my anger and tried to make things right. But now, I just sat on the edge of the bed and watched the performance.

My silence frustrated Mallory. She turned on me, her voice rising to a screech.

Fine! You want the truth? Yes! We were hungry. We were desperate!

She took a step closer, her face contorted. Remember the day your dad died? When I called you from my 'business trip' and I was breathless and crying on the phone? I wasn't crying for your loss, Benjamin. I was breathless because Tyler was behind me, making me feel things you never could

Mallory! Stop! Tyler lunged forward, clapping a hand over her mouth, his face twisted in horror.

The room went tomb-silent.

Whatever was left of my heart died in that moment.

The day my father passed. Id been alone in that hospital hallway, howling with grief, while she and Tyler used my agony as a soundtrack for their lust.

She hadn't even shown up for the funeral until the very end, claiming her flight was delayed. And afterward, shed held me for nights on end, whispering, Its okay, Benjamin. Hes a star in the sky now. Ill protect you for him.

It was all a lie. A sick, twisted game.

Mallory seemed to realize shed gone too far. She reached out, her hand trembling. Benjamin, I I didn't mean that. Im just upset.

I tasted copper. Id bitten through my lip.

I didn't speak. I simply stood up and began systematically destroying the room. I smashed the bedside lamps. I ripped the "Just Married" photos off the wall.

Get out!

The glass from our wedding portrait shattered, a jagged line cutting right between our smiling faces on the floor. Tyler tried to step toward me, and I hurled a heavy crystal vase at his head.

Ow!

He ducked, but it grazed his temple. He slumped against the wall, clutching his face.

The flicker of guilt in Mallorys eyes vanished, replaced by protective fury. She grabbed my wrist, twisting it until I dropped the frame I was holding.

The wedding album hit the floor, spilling dozens of photos across the carpet.

Photos of the night she said yes. Photos of the day I introduced her to Tyler. Photos of my 25th birthday, where I blew out the candles while they both watched me.

What did you wish for, Ben?

I wish for the three of us to be together forever.

Mallorys grip loosened. Her eyes tracked the photos on the floor. She looked like she was about to say something, but Tyler beat her to it.

Mallory my head. Theres blood. Im bleeding!

She snapped out of it instantly. She stepped right over our memories, treading on my face in the photos, to get to him. He had a nasty gash on his forehead, blood matting his hair.

She hovered over him, helping him up, guided him toward the door without a single backward glance at me.

At the threshold, she stopped, though she still wouldn't look at me.

He was your best friend, Benjamin. You shouldn't have hit him. Hes already given up so much for you.

Then, they were gone.

Given up so much?

We grew up together. I gave him my clothes when his dad lost his job. I gave him my lunch money. I gave him my loyalty. And now, apparently, I owed him my wife, too.

I slid to the floor, staring into the empty hallway.

That night, my phone buzzed. It was Tyler. He sounded drunk, his voice thick with tears.

Benjamin Im so sorry. Please don't hate me. I don't want to lose you.

Weve been brothers since we were five. Don't let a woman come between us. Please

Then a new voice took overa bartender. Sir, your friend is trashed and were closing up. If you don't come get him, Im putting him on the curb.

I sat in the dark for a long time.

I thought about his parents funeral, how I promised them Id look out for him.

One last time. For the ghosts of who we used to be.

When I arrived at the bar, I saw them before they saw me. They were in the shadows of the alleyway out back. Mallory had him pinned against the brick wall, her hands in his hair, kissing him with a desperate, punishing hunger.

Tyler, stop pushing me away! she sobbed into his mouth. You know I love you. Why do you keep doing this to us?

Tyler tried to pull back, his voice a broken rasp. But hes my brother. I cant take his happiness. I cant.

What about our happiness?

She clung to him, and I saw the moment his resolve snapped. He pulled her into his arms, crushing her against his chest.

I love you so much, he choked out. But what about him? What do we do?

Mallory didn't hesitate. If he wont let us be, we leave. We go somewhere else.

I stood behind a pillar, watching the two people I loved most plan their escape from the wreckage theyd created.

I thought of Tyler saving up three months of pay to buy me a laptop for college. I thought of Mallory slicing fruit and feeding it to me while I studied. They used to compete to see who could be better to me.

Now, those memories were just ash.

I pulled out my phone and opened my email. I found the offer letter from the firm in Seattlethe one Id turned down months ago to stay here for Mallory.

I hit Reply.

I accept. I can start Monday.