Growing up, my parents always favored my sister, Melissa. She got the birthday cakes, the vacations, even the benefit of the doubt when she lied about me. I was used to being the afterthought.So when my fiancé Ryan and I started planning our wedding, I wasn’t surprised when my parents made an outrageous demand:

Melissa should walk down the aisle first in a white gown, as if it were her day too. I was stunned — but Ryan squeezed my hand and whispered, “Let them think they’ve won.” We agreed, took their money, and quietly set our trap.

On the wedding day, Melissa arrived late, dripping in designer white, smug and ready to steal the spotlight. But at the door, security stopped her. Her name wasn’t on the guest list. My parents shouted, but inside, the music began and I walked down the aisle — alone, as every bride should.Melissa threw a tantrum in the parking lot while Ryan and I exchanged vows in peace.

Later, at the reception, we toasted with the expensive champagne she had insisted on, cut the lavish cake my parents had paid for, and smiled for the cameras.The fallout? Melissa’s meltdown was caught on video, and it spread like wildfire through town. Her humiliation was complete — and my parents had financed every detail of our perfect wedding. For once in my life, the golden child didn’t get her way.