The Officiant's Revenge

It had been five years since the world thought I committed suicide. Today, my billionaire exboyfriend finally married my evil stepsister.

This wedding of the century, held at a luxurious Manhattan penthouse hotel, was being livestreamed by Vogue and every major social media platform.

Every cascading floral arrangement, every draped silk backdrop, and the entire flawless schedule followed the exact blueprints I designed five years ago.

Of course, there was one tiny deviation. Because I was the one standing at the altar, officiating it.

Chapter 1 Winston's conglomerate was a toptier entertainment empire spanning Hollywood and nationwide streaming platforms. Countless media outlets flocked to his wedding.

Twitter and TikTok were absolutely flooded with trending hashtags: America's Sweetest Billionaire Power Couple, Textbook Soulmates, and Vogue needs to put them on the cover of their annual romance issue immediately.

This divine couple literally saved my faith in marriage. Up on the brilliantly illuminated stage, Harlow began to play her breakout hit, Floating Life.

But the moment she lifted the piano lid, my old diary fell out. Winston's face turned livid.

He tore off his tie, grinding the heel of his leather shoe into the diary. "Even dead, you're still trying to leech off Harlow's clout.

Vesper, you manipulative bitch, you absolutely make me sick." Beside him, Harlow shrank back, her lower lip trembling.

Her fingers, sporting a flawless French manicure, gripped tightly onto Winston's haute couture suit jacket.

She squeezed out a few crocodile tears. "Winston, does my sister still hate me for stealing you away?

Even if she picked up bad habits growing up in the slums, I don't blame her…" Our parents shook their heads in pure disgust. "We never should have brought her back.

Dead or alive, she's nothing but a repulsive nuisance." The live comments tore into me, calling me a lingering ghost and a reincarnated demon.

I—acting as the officiant—calmly bent down, picked up the diary, and flipped to the first page. "Mr.

Winston," I announced into the microphone. "It appears the composer of Floating Life is actually your exgirlfriend." Hearing this, Winston snapped. "How much did Vesper pay you to publicly slander Harlow?" The live chat instantly exploded. [ "What the fuck?

Where did they find this braindead officiant? Is she possessed or something?" ] [ "Speechless. Harlow already posted the entire creative process for Floating Life.

The vlog is literally still up on YouTube. How is anyone questioning this? Unfuckingbelievable." ] [ "Exactly!

Harlow wrote it based on her own emotional journey of secretly having a crush on Winston.

Like that slut Vesper could ever understand pure love." ] [ "With how much Vesper slept around, the only music she could write would be trashy club beats." ] Seeing the chat growing increasingly toxic, I deliberately turned the diary to face the closest camera lens.

On the faded, yellowed pages, a musical staff was handdrawn in ballpoint pen. A simple melody was jotted down across the lines. Someone in the front row softly hummed the notes.

It was the exact melody of Floating Life. But judging by the aged paper and the faded ink, it was written a very long time ago.

Tears immediately welled up in Harlow's eyes. "I… I don't know what's going on, but I swear I composed this piece myself." Our mother pulled her into a heartbreaking embrace. "It's just a stupid notebook.

There are plenty of ways to fake something like this.

It proves absolutely nothing." Winston's gaze turned icy. "There's an interlude in Floating Life that samples the dismissal bell from our elite prep school.

Only Harlow and I attended that academy." The moment he said that, the production crew scrambled to pull up the audio file of the bell and blasted it over the venue's speakers.

The chat completely agreed. [ "Vesper was literally dragged out of foster care by the family when she was nineteen.

Forget elite prep schools, I bet the bitch can barely read." ] [ "I bet some jealous hater orchestrated this whole stunt to drag Harlow's talent through the mud." ] [ "Um, is anyone else swooning?

Winston listened to Floating Life so carefully that he remembers a tiny detail like that. CoupleGoals" ] [ "Harlow, our goddess, we believe you! Vesper could never compare to you.

She was so insanely jealous, she probably predicted you'd blow up and paid someone to pull this stunt.

Literally trying to ruin your big day from the grave." ] Words like "Vesper" and "Bitch" swallowed the screen.

Chapter 2 The corners of Harlow's mouth twitched upward before she quickly suppressed the smirk, playing the magnanimous victim. "Death wipes the slate clean.

I've already made my peace with it. Even though my sister hurt me back then, she paid the price. "We all have to look forward.

I don't want to dwell on her past mistakes anymore." Winston's face darkened at her words. "She's the one who cheated first, and now she's pulling stunts for clout.

Even in death, she refuses to let go.

I want to see exactly what other tricks she has up her sleeve." Seeing the livestream engagement skyrocketing, the director frantically gestured offcamera for me to keep turning the pages.

I flipped to the second page, my hand deliberately trembling just enough to almost drop the diary.

Across the yellowed paper, massive, grotesque splatters of blackened blood stained the pages. The live chat froze.

Then, it detonated, the sheer volume of comments threatening to crash the broadcast feed. [ "Is Vesper out of her fucking mind?

This is repulsive!" ] [ "This bitch is so desperate for fame she's completely lost it. Acting like this is real." ] [ "Fake blood from a Halloween prop shop, right?

This woman will use any dirty trick just to get attention." ] [ "Remember when she went live crying with that fake depression diagnosis?

Then she conveniently dropped dead a few days later." ] [ "Some hero probably got sick of her attentionseeking ass crying about wanting to die, and just did her a favor." ] [ "LMAO!

Good riddance!" ] Funny? I found it hilarious, too. My brutal death was nothing more than a digital carnival for strangers. They didn't know me. They had never met me.

They just fed on the toxicity, hurling vicious attacks based on pure clickbait. They didn't care that their selfrighteous justice was built directly on top of my shattered bones.

I swallowed the dry ash in my throat, my face an emotionless mask, and simply turned the page. I held the real diary entries right up to the camera lens. [ "July 12, 2016.

I snuck over to the elite prep school to watch him again today. He's so gorgeous, like an actual prince.

Standing hidden in the crowd, listening to him sing… it felt like floating on clouds. ] [ "My chest got all warm and fuzzy.

The brick walls around that prep school are insanely high, though. I almost sprained my ankle jumping down." ] [ "July 30, 2016. I found his student ID. His name is Winston.

Even his name sounds perfect. ] [ "Should I return it? But… this is the only piece of him I have." ] [ "August 3, 2016. I got Winston's number! AHHHH!

I was literally spinning in circles I was so excited. ] [ "I have to finish writing that melody tonight. I hope, someday, I can play it for him." ] I stopped reading there.

But through my perfectly measured pacing and professional vocal inflection, the audience could practically see the raw, pure euphoria of a teenage girl consumed by her first crush.

I gave the cameraman a subtle nod to push in for a tight macro shot of the pages. Back then, my love for Winston was naive and blindingly bright.

Even when I was starving, even when I had to pull exhausting shifts at my parttime jobs after school, just thinking about Winston made me smile like an idiot.

He was the only source of light in my otherwise pitchblack youth. Dead silence fell over Winston. He stood frozen at the altar.

His jaw muscles clenched so tight they looked ready to snap. The color slowly drained from his face as his gaze stayed locked on the monitor displaying the diary.

His Adam's apple bobbed in a hard, heavy swallow, his knuckles turning stark white as his fists clamped rigidly at his sides. Chapter 3 Harlow's face turned an ugly shade of pale.

She frantically latched onto Winston's arm, fresh tears pooling in her eyes. "I didn't know my sister loved you that early on.

If only I hadn't brought you into her room back then… "I killed her. It's all my fault." Hearing her cry, the muscles in Winston's jaw jumped.

The momentary softness in his eyes shattered, his gaze turning to ice.

He pulled Harlow into a protective embrace. "Harlow, how could you possibly blame yourself? "Vesper was the one who couldn't resist the temptation and cheated.

She tried to destroy you to cover it up. She brought every bit of this upon herself." As he spoke, the veins on the back of Winston's hands bulged against his skin.

He pressed a kiss to Harlow's forehead. "She's the one who did those repulsive things.

She isn't worth a single one of your tears." Our parents, who never had an ounce of affection for me to begin with, immediately rushed to coddle her. "Harlow, when the social services agency contacted us to drag that little piece of trash back from foster care, I should have flatout refused," our mother sneered. "She gave you trauma that hasn't healed to this day.

She's absolute poison." "Don't let this weigh on you," our father added, his teeth grinding audibly. "Finish the wedding with Winston, go on your honeymoon, and relax.

Forget about all this garbage." He glared at the diary in my hands. "You are the child we raised. We know exactly what kind of person you are.

Vesper grew up surviving in the gutters; she was rotten to her absolute core. "That's why she's acting like a vengeful ghost now, trying to ruin our peace.

If she dares to keep haunting this family, I'll have my lawyers completely sever her trust fund tomorrow and have her grave relocated to the potter's field!

We didn't even have to lift a finger before she went and got herself killed. Good riddance." They stood together—a pictureperfect, harmonious family.

And I remained exactly what I had always been: the intrusive outsider ruining their aesthetic. I adjusted the microphone and continued reading the diary. [ "September 3, 2017.

The police said they finally found my biological parents. I was so ecstatic I couldn't sleep all night.

The next day, I wore a brand new outfit just to meet them. ] [ "But Mom and Dad didn't seem to like me at all. Harlow started crying the second she saw me.

I didn't know how to comfort her.

Mom told me Harlow was the child they adopted after I went missing, and she warned me not to be petty and to get along with her. ] [ "I nodded blankly and let Harlow take my hand.

Suddenly, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. Blood was somehow welling up from her palm.

Before I could process what happened, a hard slap cracked across my face. ] [ "They all cursed at me, calling me a vicious bully.

But I swear, I didn't do anything!" ] [ "September 7, 2017. Winston is actually my neighbor!!

If I look out my bedroom window, I can see straight across to his balcony. ] [ "This morning, he was watering his plants, and he actually smiled at me.

My heart was hammering so hard." ] [ "December 25, 2017. Harlow threw a huge fit about wanting a massive Christmas, and she raked in a mountain of presents.

I took all the cash I saved from my minimumwage shifts and bought gifts for everyone in the family, and for Winston too. ] [ "But before I even had the chance to hand them out, I found them tossed in the trash.

Mom was holding Harlow, gently comforting her. 'There, there, it must be some junk one of the maids dragged in. ] [ "How could such cheap trash ever be worthy of my precious, beautiful girl?' I swallowed the lump in my throat and ran outside to dig my presents out of the garbage bins. ] [ "That's when I ran into Winston.

He told me he loved the guitar I got him. And then… he asked if I would be his girlfriend. Oh my god! Is this a dream?!" ] Chapter 4 [ "December 30, 2017.

Winston and I are officially dating!! Hahaha!!" ] [ "March 5, 2018. Being in love with Winston is happier than I ever imagined.

We watched the sunrise together, camped on the beach, went exploring in the desert… He never once complained that my gifts were cheap. ] [ "Winston is an absolute treasure.

I will love him forever." ] [ "May 20, 2018. Today is my birthday. It's the first time Mom and Dad actually smiled at me.

They said they were going to throw me a birthday party. ] [ "Honestly, I don't even need a party, or even a small cake.

As long as they stand by my side and smile at me like they did today, I'll be completely satisfied…" ] [ "May 21, 2018.

I took a sip of the drink Harlow handed me, and then I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in a filthy, rundown motel room, surrounded by a bunch of heavily tattooed bikers reeking of cheap liquor. ] [ "Winston was standing right beside the bed.

The look in his eyes was a chilling, absolute zero I had never seen before.

His fingers clamped around my throat, choking the air out of me as he demanded to know why. ] [ "He cursed at me, calling me a shameless slut.

But as he screamed those words, tears were streaming down his own face.

I didn't understand what was happening. ] [ "I only drank one cup of juice, and then my memory goes entirely blank. I'm so sorry, Winston.

I never want to celebrate my birthday ever again…" ] [ "May 30, 2018.

Lately, I've been standing outside Winston's front door every single day, begging him just to see me once." But he always drives me away, while Harlow gets to walk right into his bedroom in broad daylight. ] [ "I saw her kissing him while he was asleep.

She told me Winston belonged to her now, and that someone who grew up in the gutter like me never deserved him in the first place. ] [ "That night on my birthday… that was the price I had to pay for being greedy." ] [ "July 17, 2018.

The melody is finally finished." But Winston doesn't want to hear it anymore." ] After I finished reading, a stunned silence washed over the crowd.

Through the pages of the diary, they only saw a girl starved for family affection, yet constantly ostracized.

Even the lover she viewed as the only light in her life ended up despising her.

They couldn't understand how such a desperately lonely girl could morph into the universally despised bitch everyone claimed she was.

Somewhere in the venue, a little girl started quietly crying.

But on the live stream, the toxic barrage in the chat never stopped. [ "Could it be that Vesper, that absolute slut, got caught cheating and then drugged Winston just to trap him?" ] [ "She's been ran through by so many guys, she was probably pregnant and just trying to pin the baby on Winston for the child support.

Thinking about it gives me the creeps." ] [ "No wonder she targeted Harlow later.

It's because Winston got with her sister and she was insanely jealous." ] [ "Completely shameless!" ] [ "Even if she had mommy issues, that doesn't excuse doing something so repulsive." ] The live chat was once again completely swallowed by a tsunami of hate. "Everyone, please remain calm.

Let's keep reading," I said into the microphone, flipping to the next entry.

But the following pages were entirely consumed by the agonizing pain of losing Winston, intertwined with a suffocating terror of being blackmailed.

Vesper tried every desperate tactic imaginable to win him back. She delivered breakfast to him every single morning, rain or shine.

Because Winston casually mentioned he liked the stars, she drove out to the mountains at 3:00 AM just to photograph the night sky for him.

Slowly, Winston's icy demeanor began to thaw. As the officiant reading the entries, I almost felt happy for her, thinking the young couple could finally sit down and clear the air.

But entirely too soon, the diary took another horrific turn. Chapter 5 [ "October 18, 2017. I saw Harlow coming out of Winston's bedroom late at night, her clothes disheveled.

She told me they slept together. ] [ "She said, 'Don't even dream about taking Mom, Dad, or Winston from me. A piece of trash that's already been ran through by other men?

You think Winston would ever settle for sloppy seconds? Keep dreaming.' ] [ "I refused to believe her. I have to ask Winston.

Even if he really doesn't love me, I need to hear it directly from his mouth." ] On the monitor, Winston's brows pulled together. He turned sideways, his gaze locking onto Harlow.

His jaw muscles flexed as his fingers tapped restlessly against his thigh. He shook his head slightly, staring down at the woman clinging to his arm. [ "October 20, 2017.

Why is Harlow hanging out with the same bikers who assaulted me at the motel on my birthday? Doesn't she love Winston? Why was she kissing one of them?" ] [ "November 1, 2017.

Kidnapped for ten days. Highres photos of my body are plastered all over the dark web.

Mom and Dad screamed at me to get the hell out of their house. ] [ "Winston blocked my number entirely. Walking down the street, I can feel the stares burning into my skin.

Everyone is laughing. I went to the police. ] [ "But they already scrubbed the evidence clean.

When the cops finally brought them in, those men laughed and claimed I was a willing participant." ] [ "December 20, 2017.

The doctor diagnosed me with severe clinical depression, and the fullride scholarship to the Ivy League university I fought so hard for was ruthlessly revoked due to the scandal.

But the real nightmare was Harlow. ] [ "She walked right up to me and whispered that she orchestrated every single piece of it.

She said she couldn't sleep peacefully until I was completely destroyed. ] [ "When I screamed and confronted her, she purposely threw herself backward down the sweeping marble staircase.

Blood pooled out from beneath her. The family frantically rushed her to the ER. When they got back, they beat me. ] [ "'You vicious, evil bitch!

It was bad enough when you played your little jealous games behind her back, but now you're literally trying to murder her!' I swore I didn't push her.

They forced me to my knees on the cold tile, demanding an apology. ] [ "When Harlow woke up in the hospital, she just kept sobbing, begging me not to hurt her anymore.

Then, when we were alone, she pulled out a paring knife. She shoved the blade straight into my mouth. ] [ "Her face twisted into something demonic as she slashed.

I only felt the suffocating rush of hot, metallic blood. I couldn't speak anymore." ] The diary entries stopped there. The live chat went blank for several seconds.

Finally, a few tentative comments floated up on the screen. [ "Could it be that she was actually innocent all along?" ] [ "That is insanely tragic.

This is exactly like that classic Beverly Hills richneighborhood trope where the fake heiress schemes against the biological daughter." ] Watching the monitor, a faint spark of anticipation fluttered in my chest.

Was someone out there actually willing to believe me?

But right then, Winston let out a harsh, derisive scoff. "You actually expect anyone to believe this garbage?" he sneered, his voice dripping with absolute contempt. "Vesper was a pathological liar.

I experienced it firsthand.

She might be able to fool the rest of the world, but she can't fool me." With a sharp, authoritative wave of his hand, he signaled the production crew to cut the feed and end this farce immediately.

But just as his hand lifted, the officiant's voice echoed through the venue's speakers once again. [ "December 25, 2017.

I was kicked out…" ] That single, brief sentence made Winston's brow furrow intensely. He shot a lethal glare at the officiant, sharply gesturing for her to shut up.

But the officiant completely ignored his authority, her eyes fixed on the page, continuing to read.

Chapter 6 The live chat fractured into two opposing sides: [ "Who the hell even writes a diary these days?

Vesper definitely faked this just to disgust us!" ] [ "Wait… my little sister actually went to the same school as Vesper.

She said Vesper was always super gentle and introverted in real life.

She didn't seem like the type of girl who would willingly take those kinds of photos." ] [ "LMAO, you can never tell what someone is really like.

Some bitches just love playing the 'innocent but secretly a freak' trope." ] [ "But in all those photos, Vesper looked completely unconscious.

What if she really was drugged?" ] Ignoring the war raging in the comments, I simply turned the page. [ "May 20, 2018.

I was working off my debts, sweating inside a cheap hot dog mascot suit in Times Square, when I looked across the street and saw Winston and Harlow kissing in front of the floortoceiling windows of a VIP private dining room at a Michelinstar restaurant.

Everyone praised them as the perfect match. ] [ "Back when my roommate and I used to livestream on TikTok just to earn living expenses, Winston always scoffed at us, calling us pathetic clowns begging for change online.

But when Harlow wanted to enter the entertainment industry, he personally backed her entire career. ] [ "Our parents pulled every string they had to promote her.

Whenever my name was brought up, their faces twisted with sheer disgust.

When I finally got back to my cramped apartment, I flushed all my antidepressants down the toilet." ] [ "May 30, 2018. Those bikers found me again to extort more money.

I ignored them. ] [ "Whatever. I literally have nothing left to lose." ] [ "June 7, 2018. Someone anonymously mailed me a oneway ticket to France. I know it was Winston.

But I refuse to leave." ] [ "June 20, 2018. Winston was caught in a massive mudslide during his business trip. I happened to be working a parttime job nearby.

I stole a motorcycle and rushed into the disaster zone to save him. ] [ "I dug him out of the mud with my bare hands while he still had a breath left." ] The diary entries abruptly ended there. [ "June 20th?" ] [ "Wait, wasn't that the exact day Vesper pushed Goddess Harlow down the stairs, causing her permanent physical trauma?" ] [ "Yeah, it was." ] [ "The hospital security footage was crystal clear.

She definitely pushed Harlow down the stairs." ] [ "Right!

That blew up into a massive scandal." ] [ "I remember Winston was literally in the ICU fighting for his life, and the second he woke up, he was told his girlfriend was rushed into emergency surgery." ] [ "Yeah, and after Winston was discharged, Vesper actually left the hospital with him." ] [ "I heard that right after that, Vesper tried to drug Winston so she could sleep with him, and that's when the family finally kicked her out for good." ] [ "After that, Vesper completely disappeared off the grid.

Everyone said she killed herself because she was too ashamed to show her face." ] [ "Okay, but here's the real question: How does someone kick all their own ribs in before committing suicide?" ] [ "Who knows?

A psycho like her is capable of anything!" ] The live chat was an endless barrage of chaotic noise.

But I calmly continued flipping through the remaining blank pages of the diary, until I reached the back cover.

A small, hollowedout compartment was hidden inside, containing a tiny black box. "This appears to be a flash drive," I announced coolly.

I produced a USB adapter, plugged the drive into the venue's master control laptop, and doubleclicked the only video file inside.

Harlow shot up from her seat, rushing the stage and shoving me. "Stop it! Stop it!

You are not allowed to play that!" But I stood like a stone pillar, entirely unresponsive to her frantic pushing.

In a panic, Harlow lunged for the laptop, violently yanking the power cord from the wall socket.

But the massive projector screens didn't even flicker—the system was running perfectly on backup battery power. The video began to play.

The audience finally saw Harlow from an entirely different perspective. Harlow walked into the frame.

With a lazy, arrogant wave of her manicured hand, the massive bikers who were relentlessly beating me finally stepped back