Chloe donates $10K toward her brother’s wedding, but his fiancée, Madison, wants more; she demands Chloe’s late mother’s wedding dress. When Chloe refuses, Madison throws a tantrum. But karma comes fast, and before the day is over, Chloe makes a move no one saw coming, one that changes everything.

I lost my mom four years ago.

It was the kind of loss that cracked something inside me, a grief so deep that it didn’t fade. Instead, it just settled into my bones.

We were so incredibly close… and before she passed, she made me promise her one thing.

“I want you to wear my dress on your wedding day, Chloe,” she had said. “Whether it’s for the ceremony or the reception… Just promise me, baby. It will be like having me there with you.”

I intended to keep that promise. The dress had been tucked away safely in my closet ever since, just waiting for the right moment.

And then came Madison.

Madison, my brother Jake’s fiancée, had been in our lives for just over a year now. She was… difficult, to say the least. I mean, if I’m being honest, Madison was the kind of person who spoke in demands and dramatic sighs rather than requests and smiles. She thought that generosity was an obligation rather than a gift.

But Jake was happy, so I swallowed my opinions and played the role of the supportive sister.

Which is exactly why, three months before their wedding, I invited them both to a cozy coffee shop.

But honestly, I should have known that Madison would find a way to ruin it.

We had just settled into our seats and placed our orders when I took out an envelope and slid it across the table.

Jake reached for it first, but before he could open it, Madison snatched it out of his hands.

She peeked inside, her manicured nails tapping the table as she pulled out the check.

Ten thousand dollars.

No, it wasn’t a mistake. I legitimately just wanted to spoil my brother and help him where I could.

Jake and I weren’t that close anymore. He tried to reach out when our mother passed away, but I preferred to mourn in silence. And later, when I reached out to him, he hadn’t met me with any warmth.

Now, I wanted to make things better for us. With us.

“I know weddings can be expensive,” I said, smiling. “I want you two to have a beautiful day, and I hope that this will help make it perfect.”

“Wow! Chloe! This is… incredible. Thank you, Sis,” he said, his eyes wide.

As for Madison?

She barely looked impressed. She set the check down like it was something to be expected. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sighed.

“Well, I guess that’s a good start,” she said breezily. “It’ll help, but we still have so many expenses. Our day is going to be the most beautiful wedding anyone has ever seen.”

Good start? Seriously?

Before I could respond, she leaned in, her tone shifting into something far too casual.

“Actually,” she continued. “Jake and I talked about something important. And we’ve decided that I’ll be wearing your mom’s wedding dress for my ceremony. And something much fancier for the photoshoot and reception. I’ll send you an address for delivery. I need it to go to my dressmaker for alterations.”

I felt the words like a sharp slap across my face.

We’ve decided? Jake?!

“Excuse me?” I said, forcing the words out.

Madison rolled her eyes like I was being dramatic.

“Oh, come on, Chloe. It’s just sitting in your closet, collecting dust. And you don’t even know if you’ll ever need it. Don’t fight us; this is just as important to Jake as it is to me.”

I froze.

I knew then that Jake had told her about the dress. About my mom’s final wish. And then… they had decided to make it about them.

But was this really how Madison saw it? As something to be taken? By her? A woman who had never met my mother?

“Madison, my mom wanted me to wear that dress. It was her last wish. Our entire family was there when she said it. I’m not going to fight you because this isn’t up for discussion.”

Madison scoffed.

The waitress arrived with our coffee orders.

“I’ll be right back with the slices of cake,” she said, beaming.

“Chloe,” Madison said slowly, as though she was speaking to a child. “Your mom’s not here anymore, is she?”

I saw red. I was livid. I wanted to throw the scalding coffee at her. I wanted to overturn my chair. I wanted to scream.

“Here you go!” the waitress said, placing our plates of cake on the table. “Enjoy! And Chloe, compliments from the chef.”

I smiled at her because I was a regular at the coffee shop. But the smile didn’t stay on my face for very long.

“Come on, no need for a tantrum, Chloe,” Madison said, adding sugar to her coffee.

Jake shifted uncomfortably in his seat, staring down at his coffee like he wished it would swallow him whole. But he said nothing.

Absolutely nothing. Where was his backbone?

I clenched my jaw, reminding myself to breathe.

Don’t snap, Chloe, I told myself. Don’t tell her where she can shove her entitlement and attitude.

But before I could say another word, a familiar voice interrupted.

“Excuse me, can I steal you for a second, love?”

I turned to see Mark, the coffee shop manager.

And my boyfriend.

Mark and I had been together for two years. Jake had met him once, but judging from the look on his face, he probably didn’t remember.

“Sure,” I said, grateful for the save.

Mark gently took my hand and led me just far enough away that Jake and Madison couldn’t hear.

“I thought you were meeting the owner?” I asked. “And that we were going to meet for dinner tonight? Are we still doing that?”

“I did, and I just got back to the shop,” he said. “I heard everything, Chloe. And I can’t just stand back anymore.”

I blinked.

“Mark? What are you talking about? If it was about my reaction… I’m sure you can understand. That dress is my mother’s!”

“Baby, breathe,” he said. “Give me a second.”

Before I knew it, Mark disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later, he returned, holding a bouquet of roses.

“I was saving this for dinner tonight, but now seems like just as good a time,” he said, smiling.

And then, right there in the middle of the coffee shop, he got down on one knee with a velvet box in his hand.

“Mark!” I exclaimed.

His eyes met mine, steady and full of warmth.

“I should have done this a long time ago,” he said. “I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. Marry me, Chloe.”

Silence fell over the coffee shop. And then there was applause. Loud and thunderous applause from Mark’s staff.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Everything was different. Everything had shifted in that moment.

The dress? The money? Madison’s entitlement?

None of it mattered anymore.

“Yes,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “A thousand times yes, Mark.”

Mark slipped the ring onto my finger, and this time, the entire coffee shop erupted into applause, including my brother.

Madison, on the other hand? Her face was twisted in pure rage.

“Are you freaking serious?!” she shrieked, standing up so fast that her chair nearly toppled over. “You’re stealing my wedding?! What the hell, Chloe? You brat!”

“You’re… engaged,” Jake said.

It came out as a fact, but he was… I couldn’t place my finger on it.

“I am, indeed,” I said.

“Since when? Two seconds ago! It doesn’t count!” Madison shouted. “You little…”

“Now there’ll be two weddings on that day! How your mom would have loved to see her kids get married on the same day,” Mark said, trying to hide his grin.

“No! No way! This is supposed to be my moment!” Madison gasped. “I’m not… this is unacceptable. Chloe!”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to learn how to share, sis,” I said.

Jake groaned, rubbing his face.

“Madison, let it go. It’s her life. It’s their lives.”

She was seething.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered, grabbing her purse. “This is so unfair. You and your fiancé can pay for the coffee and cake.”

She stormed out of the coffee shop, leaving Jake sitting there, awkwardly looking at me and Mark.

For the first time in a long time, I saw something new in my brother’s face. Realization.

After Madison left, Jake sighed and shook his head.

“Look, I’m happy for you, Chloe,” he said, looking down at the cold coffee on the table. “But… I think I need to rethink some things.”

And with that, he left too.

“Are you okay?” Mark turned to me, still holding my hand.

“More than okay,” I smiled.

“Are you?” I asked.

“You’re going to be my wife! Of course, I’m okay!” Mark exclaimed. “Now, sit down. I’ll get you another cup of coffee and maybe some nachos for comfort?”

“You know me so well,” I said, sitting down.

The house was quiet when I slipped into my bedroom, my fingers grazing over the garment bag hanging in the closet. Mark had just dropped me off at home.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay the night?” he asked in the car.

“Yes,” I said, smiling. “I just want to have a moment with my thoughts this evening.”

He didn’t push. He just promised to see me the next day.

I hadn’t opened the bag in years. I took a deep breath and carefully unzipped it, letting the soft ivory fabric spill over my lap. The scent of old lace and faded perfume filled the air.

“Mom, you’d have lost your mind today.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them. I let out a small laugh, shaking my head.

“Madison is crazy! God, what an understatement. I don’t know what Jake sees…”

I traced the delicate embroidery along the bodice, my chest tightening.

“But it’s safe now. Madison will never touch your dress, Mom. You made sure of that, didn’t you?”

A lump rose in my throat.

“I wish you were here.”

The admission was quiet, but it carried weight. The kind of weight that had been pressing on me since the day she left.

But for the first time in years, I felt like I had done something right. Like she would have been proud.

A soft knock at my door made me wipe my eyes quickly.

Jake stepped inside, holding a plate.

Our mom’s favorite.

I looked up at him, really looked at him, and for the first time all day, he looked tired.

He sat beside me on the bed, placing the plate between us. Neither of us spoke for a long moment.

Finally, he sighed.

“She crossed a line, didn’t she?”

“Jake, she bulldozed through the line,” I said.

His lips pressed together. He nodded slowly, like he had already known but needed to hear it out loud.

“I don’t know why I froze,” he admitted. “I heard her. I knew she was out of line. But I just sat there.”

I watched him, waiting.

He exhaled, staring at his hands.

“I guess… I’ve spent so much time defending Madison that I don’t even know where I stand anymore.”

There it was. The truth.

Jake had been making excuses for Madison for so long that he had stopped questioning whether he even believed them.

“You don’t have to have the answers right now, Jake,” I said gently. “But if you’re already feeling like this… don’t ignore it. Okay?”

He nodded, eyes dark with something I hadn’t seen in him before.

Maybe doubt. Maybe acceptance.

We sat in silence, sharing ginger cake, just like we had when we were kids.

And then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled envelope.

The same one I had given them earlier.

He placed it on the bed between us.

“I can’t take this, Chloe. Not if I don’t know where Madison and I are going. And you’re going to need it, sis. You’re getting married, too.”

This wasn’t just about the money. It was about so much more. And for the first time in a long time, we were just Chloe and Jake. Not the sister trying to save him, not the brother trying to defend his choices.

Just us.

And that was enough.