The bride stepped out for a few minutes during the wedding to go to the restroom, but at the door she was stopped by a cleaner who whispered, “Your groom put something into your glass. I don’t know exactly what it is, but don’t drink it” 

The bride believed his words. When she returned to the hall, she quietly switched the glasses, and then something happened that horrified everyone 

Nina closed the door of the ladies’ room behind her and only then allowed herself to stop. She stood in front of the mirror and could not comprehend that she was now a bride.

She knew she was supposed to be happy, but inside there was nothing.

Music thundered behind the wall. The toastmaster shouted into the microphone, the guests laughed, someone clapped. Her father had most likely already drunk more than he should have. He loved celebrations, and this one especially. Nina, however, felt only exhaustion and a strange sense of unease.

She adjusted her veil and took a deep breath when the door slowly opened. In the doorway appeared the gray head of an elderly hall employee. His name was Michael. He had worked for their family for many years.

“Girl, don’t drink from your glass,” he said quietly, without lifting his eyes. “Your groom put something in it. White powder. I saw it from the storeroom.”

He said it quickly, as if afraid he might change his mind, and immediately closed the door.

But how could that be possible?

Greg seemed so reliable. He had entered her life after her first husband died two years earlier. Everything had happened suddenly. A highway accident. They said the brakes had failed.

It was at that very time that Greg had been by her side. A friend of her father. Confident, calm, businesslike. He helped with the funeral, handled the paperwork, and drove her father to doctors when heart problems began.

Her father was happy. He saw Greg as a reliable man and a future partner. He was already talking about business and a position.

But now the cleaner’s words would not leave her mind.

Nina returned to the hall. Greg was sitting at the head of the table, telling something loudly.

In front of them were two glasses, tied together with ribbons.

Nina sat down beside him. Greg leaned toward her and placed his hand on her knee under the table. His touch was firm and unpleasant.

“Where were you?” he asked quietly. “The toastmaster is already waiting. The main toast is coming up.”

“I needed to fix my dress,” she replied, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

Greg smiled, but his gaze remained cold.

“Done? Now pull yourself together.”

The music grew louder. The toastmaster raised his glass. Greg turned away for a moment, and at that moment Nina carefully switched the glasses.

And then something happened that left the bride frozen in terror  Continued in the first comment  

Greg drank the glass almost in one gulp. He was smiling as he set it on the table, but within a minute his face changed. The smile vanished as if it had been wiped away. He frowned, looked around, and suddenly gripped the edge of the tablecloth.

“I don’t feel well,” he said and tried to stand up.

The chair creaked, and Greg swayed. At first the guests thought he had drunk too much, but the laughter quickly died down. His hands began to tremble more and more, his breathing turned ragged.

Nina sat beside him and did not move.

Greg tried to get up again, but this time he simply slid off the chair and collapsed onto the floor. Someone screamed, someone jumped to their feet.

While an ambulance was being called, Greg lay on his back, breathing heavily. He was conscious and looked at Nina, as if trying to say something.

When the doctors arrived, they took him away. Confused guests, a crying father, and Nina were left in the hall.

Only later that night, at the hospital, did everything become clear.

The powder was not poison. It was a strong sleeping pill with an additive that caused temporary loss of control and confusion.

Greg had counted on Nina losing her strength immediately after the toast. He knew she barely drank and that the bride’s glass would be emptied to the last drop.

He did not need love or a family.

Her father’s business was arranged in such a way that after the wedding Greg would gain signing authority and access to the accounts. That very evening he planned to take Nina home, claim that she had felt unwell from nerves, and sign the documents in her name while she was unconscious.