I’d arranged the venue to save my daughter’s wedding. Minutes later, a rich man humiliated me in front of everyone for being “just a janitor.” I bit my tongue until my daughter walked in and introduced him as her fiancé. I had just two days to reveal the truth before my daughter said “I do.”
I couldn’t stop smiling as I mopped the hardwood floor. I’d worked as a janitor at a luxury venue for years, but that day, my daughter would walk through those doors to check the place out for her wedding.
Just the previous night, Isabel had called me in tears.
“The venue canceled on us, Dad,” she’d sobbed. “The wedding is this weekend! What are we going to do?”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I think I have the perfect solution.”
I spoke to my boss first thing that morning. There were no events booked for the main hall that weekend, so it would be perfect for Isabel’s wedding.
“Of course, I’ll accept a last-minute booking,” Mr. Greene replied. “You’ve been with us 15 years now, Carl. It’s the least I can do.”
Isabel was ecstatic when I told her. She promised that she and Trevor would fly in today to see the venue.
Isabel had moved to Chicago four years earlier, and that day, I was finally going to meet Trevor, the successful businessman who had swept her off her feet.
When the heavy main doors swung open, I turned expectantly. A man in an expensive suit strode in and glanced around the hall. When he spotted me, he scowled.
“Seriously? I thought we were viewing a luxury venue, not walking into a janitor’s closet.”
“Excuse me? Sir, this room is being readied for—”
“For me,” he cut me off. “And I don’t want you in here when Isabel arrives. We’re trying to picture a wedding here, not a mop commercial.”
My jaw dropped at the mention of my daughter’s name. That couldn’t be Trevor, the man Isabel described as kind and charming. But the expensive suit and the casual use of Isabel’s name… My heart sank.
“Come on, don’t just stand there gawking.” Trevor shooed me away. “Get out of here, janitor. No one wants you ruining the aesthetic.”
This man is supposed to become my son-in-law?Not on my watch!
Fury built in my chest. I headed for the door. Not because he’d sent me away, but because I was determined to find Isabel and tell her about her fiancé’s disrespectful behavior.
Before I could reach the entrance, the doors opened again, and Isabel burst in like sunshine personified.
“Dad!” She rushed across the floor and threw her arms around me. When she pulled back, she spotted Trevor and smiled at him like he was the sun. “You’re already here? Did you two meet?”
Trevor’s persona shifted like an actor stepping into character. The sneer transformed into a warm smile.
“We just said hello,” Trevor said as he moved to Isabel’s side and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Look out there, Izzy! Isn’t that view of the lake gorgeous? We could get married out there and hold the reception in here. What do you think?”
“Oh, my God! That would be amazing!” Isabel beamed at me as Trevor guided her toward the sliding doors lining one side of the hall. “Thank you so much for organizing this, Dad! You’re literally saving our wedding.”
I stared in horror as Trevor gestured to different parts of the hall and described how they’d adjust their decorations for the new space, how he’d already tasked his PA with finding local vendors for everything else.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I tightened my grip on the mop handle. In just two days, Isabel would marry that smooth-talking liar. I had to expose him before Isabel said, “I do.”
That evening, I sat across from Isabel at Rosie’s Diner, our usual spot. She chatted nonstop about the wedding preparations, and it made me feel sick.
“Sweetheart, there’s something I have to tell you. This afternoon, before you arrived, Trevor… He was very rude to me. I guess you never told him I was the janitor there because he spoke to me like I was dirt.”
Isabel’s bright smile faded. “It’s not like that, Dad. Trevor told me you two had a weird moment when he arrived, that it seemed like you misunderstood something he said. He’s been feeling terrible about it.”
“What? No! That’s not what happened, Isabel.”
“Dad, weddings are stressful. People say things the wrong way. I’m sorry you got the wrong idea, but Trevor respects you so much. It’s been killing him that you guys got off on the wrong foot.”
A chill ran down my spine as I took in my daughter’s patient expression. I’d underestimated Trevor completely. He wasn’t just some casually cruel jerk. He was calculating.
He’d known I would tell Isabel what had happened, and had already convinced her I was in the wrong.
How was I supposed to combat that?
The next day, wedding vendors streamed through the venue. Trevor stood in the center of it all, barking orders.
“Those centerpieces need to be exactly 18 inches apart,” he snapped at a trembling florist. “And I specifically said cream roses, not ivory.”
I approached through the chaos. “We need to talk.”
Trevor didn’t even look at me. “I’m busy, go away.”
“There was no misunderstanding yesterday, Trevor. Tell Isabel the truth before tomorrow.”
“Or what?” Trevor peered down his nose at me. “Will you mop the floor with me, janitor?”
“You can’t fool her forever. Isabel deserves better than this charade.”
“Listen carefully, old man,” Trevor whispered, his lip curled into a cruel smirk. “Isabel will take exactly what I give her and never question a thing. She’s beautiful, compliant, and comes from humble beginnings, which means she’ll be grateful for whatever scraps of affection I throw her way. And if you try to turn her against me, I’ll make sure she never speaks to you again.”
My vision blurred with rage. I was tempted to grab Trevor and drag him outside to settle our differences man to man, but he was already turning away, calling out instructions as if the conversation had never happened.
The wedding morning arrived, and I was all out of time. I’d tried being reasonable, but I was no match for Trevor, or the hold he had over my little girl.
But I couldn’t stop trying. There was too much at stake.
I’d been up all night trying to come up with a plan to stop the wedding. I’d even considered sabotage, but sometime around 2 a.m., I realized the only way to free Isabel from Trevor’s clutches was to outsmart him.
I’d settled on an elegantly simple plan and marched down the corridor to the bridal suite to execute step one.
I rapped on the door. Isabel answered, looking radiant in her gown.
“Dad! I’m so nervous I can barely breathe. Is it normal to feel like this?”
I took her hands. “Isabel, I need to speak with you.”
“Now?” Isabel glanced over her shoulder. “But they’re just about to—”
“Please. Just five minutes.”
She agreed and reluctantly followed me to a quiet alcove near the service entrance.
“Wait here,” I said. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”
I found Trevor in the main hall, adjusting his boutonniere. “We need to talk. Now. For Isabel’s sake.”
“I’m preparing for my wedding, janitor. Get lost.”
I pulled out my phone. “Have this conversation with me willingly, or I’ll play what you just said to me over the venue’s sound system for all your wedding guests to hear.”
Trevor’s eyes narrowed, then he shrugged. “Lead the way, then. Let’s get this pathetic last stand over with.”
I led him back to the corridor, positioning myself so our conversation would carry to Isabel’s hiding spot.
“I’m offering you one final chance to tell Isabel the truth about who you really are.”
Trevor laughed sharply. “Your daughter is going to be my wife in two hours, and there’s nothing you can do about it. She believes every word I tell her because she’s desperate to escape her working-class background.”
“She loves you,” I snapped. “Don’t use that against her.”
“Your daughter is marrying up, old man. She gets luxury and security, and I get a gorgeous, compliant wife to show off at business functions. You’re just a janitor. You couldn’t possibly understand strategic partnerships.”
My heart broke for my daughter. “She deserves to know what kind of man she’s really marrying.”
“Oh, please! She’s getting exactly what she wants,” Trevor sneered. “A handsome, successful husband who can give her everything her upbringing couldn’t. The fact that I find her useful rather than genuinely compelling is irrelevant.”
“Is that what you really think of me?” The voice came from behind Trevor, soft and broken.
He spun around to see Isabel standing in the alcove doorway, pale-faced and trembling.
Trevor’s composure was shattered. “Isabel! Sweetheart, no. You don’t understand. Your father set me up. He’s been trying to sabotage our relationship.”
But Isabel was looking at me now. “You tried to warn me. And I didn’t believe you. I’m so sorry, Dad.”
“Isabel, listen to me,” Trevor reached for her desperately. “This is just pre-wedding nerves. Your father manipulated this entire situation.”
Isabel stepped back. “You said this marriage was ‘a mutually beneficial arrangement.’ You said I was just a piece of arm candy.”
“You’re twisting my words,” Trevor protested. “I love you, Isabel.”
“No, you don’t.” Isabel worked her engagement ring off her finger and pressed it into Trevor’s palm.
Trevor stared at the ring. “You can’t do this to me now! The guests are arriving. Everything’s ready!”
“We’re done, Trevor. Now go.”
“You’re making a huge mistake. You’ll never find anyone else like me… You’ll spend the rest of your life in mediocrity, just like your father.”
“I certainly hope so,” Isabel replied. “Mediocrity sounds way better than a lifetime with someone who sees me as nothing more than a trophy.”
Trevor let out a snarl before turning on his heel and storming off. The moment he was out of sight, Isabel pressed her hands to her face and sobbed. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around my daughter.
“Thank you,” Isabel whispered through her tears. “Thank you for loving me enough to risk everything. Thank you for seeing what I couldn’t see.”
I held her tighter and stroked her hair. “You’re going to be okay. You’re stronger than you know, sweetheart. And you deserve someone who loves you for who you are, not what you can do for them.”
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