A deep flush creeps across my cheeks as Tyler pops our wedding video into the DVD player.

Kirsten and Mack are sitting on the couch to my left watching the TV with bitter faces. They’ve already seen what’s about to play, and they don’t look very excited about witnessing it again.

“Should we make popcorn?” Tyler asks, trying to lighten up the mood.

His parents stare forward, not even cracking a smile. If the mood got any heavier in here, we’d collapse through the floor.

“I didn’t want to believe your cousin Nick when he told me that your marriage was a sham,” Mack says, staring forward with his arms crossed over his chest. “I didn’t believe it until I saw this video.” He shakes his head, refusing to even look at us.

My chin dips down and my stomach hardens as Tyler sits beside me. “We can explain everything,” he says as the DVD starts.

Oh, no. I cover my face with my hands to escape the humiliating version of me on the screen. There’s no explaining that.

The video starts with Tyler and me in The Pineapple Chapel, swaying on our feet as Drunken Asian Elvis chugs scotch straight from the bottle. My hair is a hot mess like I styled it by sticking my finger into an electrical socket, and my face looks like I took makeup lessons from a raccoon. I’m wearing a white plastic dress with the pineapple bra, only it’s not doing its job because I have a tit hanging out in plain view.

Tyler doesn’t look any better. His suit is a ripped-up mess as he stands there, scratching his balls while Drunken Asian Elvis takes another long chug from his bottle. Tyler seems to have an attention span of a nano-second because he gets bored and wanders over to the pineapple-shaped podium and begins humping it.

My neck, face, and ears feel impossibly hot as I glance over at my in-laws who are watching with clenched jaws and flared nostrils.

“Oh, my God,” Tyler groans beside me. “This is so humiliating.” And this is coming from a guy who has an N’Sync poster on his wall. I mean, what’s more humiliating than that?

Drunken Asian Elvis tries to sing Suspicious Minds but forgets most of the words, which would normally be bad, but of course, Tyler and I top him, forgetting each other’s names later on in the short ceremony.

“I, Tyler, take… what’s your name again?” he asks, slurring every single word as he stares at me with half closed eyes.

I curl my hands around my middle as I watch with nausea creeping up my throat. This is the most unromantic wedding I have ever seen.

“Rainbow Solstice the First,” I answer. At least I can remember my own name. “But you can call me your Cum Dumpster from now on.”

“Classy,” Tyler whispers beside me. I slap his thigh. He shouldn’t talk.

We watch the rest of the painful marriage ceremony, and I’m exhausted and more embarrassed than I’ve ever been in my life when it finally shuts off.

“So, that’s our wedding video,” Tyler says, turning off the TV when it’s done. “We wanted something classy yet simple.”

“How could you?” Kirsten asks, turning to her son with hurt and disappointment written all over her face. “You lied about all of this? Are you two even dating?”

We look at each other, but neither of us answer. Are we dating?

“Great,” Kirsten says, throwing her hands in the air. “I guess I have my answer.”

“We’re dating,” Tyler says firmly. Despite the horrible circumstance I’m in, I let out a smile. It’s the first time either of us said that we’re a real couple.

“I just don’t understand why you would lie about something like this?” Kirsten says, looking like she’s on the verge of tears. “We threw you that lovely party and you made us look like fools in return. Your Aunt Margaret called me and was deeply disturbed by your video.”

“Aunt Margaret got a copy?” Tyler asks with a wince.

Mack sits up. “I’ll tell you why he would lie about something like this. So that I would give him the company. Isn’t that right?” he asks Tyler, turning to my husband with an accusing look on his face.

Tyler’s eyes fall to his lap.

“Actually,” Mack says as he stands up. “I don’t want to hear any more of your lies. You are officially out of the running for the top position at McMillan Worldwide Inc.” He takes a deep breath as he stands up straight with his chest puffed out. “Nicholas will be getting the company. My decision is final.”

“Dad!” Tyler says, leaping to his feet. “You can’t be serious. Over this? I’ve worked my ass off every day at that company for the past six years. This is my birthright!”

“It was,” Mack says softly. He looks crushed as he turns to his only son with old, tired eyes. “And I really wanted to give it to you, but I can’t. Not after this.”

“Dad!” Tyler calls out as Mack leaves the room with his head down. “We can talk about this. We were just having a little bit of fun.”

“A little bit of fun?” Kirsten repeats, looking heartbroken. “What is fun about deceiving your entire family with a sham of a marriage? I thought I was going to get grandkids,” she says with her chin trembling. She covers her mouth with her hand and runs out of the room so we can’t see her cry.

“Fuck,” Tyler says, collapsing back down on the couch. He runs his hand through his hair as he stares at the floor, shaking his head in disbelief.

I feel like I’m going to be sick as I collapse down beside him. Nick is getting the company, which means that the factory in Summerland will surely be closed. Everyone in town will lose their job, and Tyler and I will be right there with them, getting pink slips of our very own.

I was right all along. You can’t have a career and love. I should have stuck to my gut instead of following my heart. If I did, none of this would be happening.

“What now?” I whisper to the crushed man beside me.

He takes a deep breath, staring at the floor as he answers. “What does it matter? We’ve lost everything.”

“Maybe we should get that annulment,” I say, wanting to take back the words the second they pass through my lips.

I’m hoping he’ll say no. I’m hoping he’ll tell me he loves me and that he’s willing to fight for us. I’m hoping he does the right thing and takes me in his arms and shows me how much he loves me with a passionate kiss.

But he just slumps down in the couch and sighs. “Maybe.”

It’s one word, but it’s enough to break me. “Okay,” I say, feeling my heartbeat slow to a stop. I have to get out of here before I start crying.

We shuffle back to the car, not saying a word as we get in. Tyler is the first to speak when we’re on the highway back to his place.

“The thirty-day deadline for the annulment is next week,” he says, gripping the steering wheel hard as he coasts down the dark highway.

“I’ll take a flight in for it,” I say, feeling like I’m going to throw up. “The whole getting married thing was a mistake. It’s the right thing to do.”

He nods and doesn’t say a word for the rest of the drive back to his place.

I sit there trying to convince myself that it is the right thing to do, but more than anything, I keep wondering why it feels so wrong.