Chapter 2 - I Had Married The Real Vanessa Two Hours Earlier
That became the first fact investigators established.
The woman who stood beside me at the altar had been Vanessa.
My real Vanessa.
No impersonation during the ceremony.
No forged marriage.
No stranger somehow fooling me through vows.
That would have been impossible.
I knew Vanessa’s face.
Her voice.
Her hands.
The tiny scar beneath her chin.
The way she squeezed my fingers twice whenever she was nervous.
The woman who said “I do” had been her.
Everything changed after the ceremony.
Vanessa had planned to change dresses before the reception.
Her ceremony gown was elaborate and heavy.
For dinner, she had bought a simpler strapless white reception dress.
She went upstairs to the bridal suite with her wedding coordinator.
Twenty minutes later, a woman came downstairs wearing that reception dress.
Hair restyled into a neat bun.
Different makeup.
Longer veil removed.
Everyone assumed she was Vanessa.
Including me.
I remember thinking she seemed strangely quiet.
When I kissed her cheek, she turned slightly.
“Lipstick,” she said.
I laughed.
I thought she didn’t want me ruining her makeup.
The ballroom lighting was soft.
Guests kept interrupting.
Photographers were everywhere.
Music started.
We never stood alone long enough for me to really study her.
And, most importantly, I had absolutely no reason to ask whether the woman wearing my wife’s dress was my wife.
Normal people do not perform identity checks at their wedding receptions.
May you like
The impersonation worked because trust does most of the work for a disguise.
---
