Chapter 5 - The Rehearsal Ruined
By 9:00 PM, my mother and Aunt Linda had fled back to Napa, unable to bear the overwhelming shame and the icy stares of the family members they had spent years looking down upon.
Our party at Oak & Vine continued late into the night. It was filled with genuine joy, dancing under the festoon lights, and stories shared around the stone fire pit. For the first time in my life, I felt truly seen and celebrated by the people who actually mattered.
Meanwhile, forty miles away, Savannah’s rehearsal dinner was a complete disaster.
According to texts I received later from one of Savannah’s bridesmaids who had grown sick of her drama, Savannah spent the last two hours of her rehearsal dinner screaming at her mother in the country club powder room.
“How could you let her buy a vineyard?!” Savannah had shrieked. “Why didn't you know about this?! Everyone at dinner is talking about Lila’s party! Half of my cousins left my dinner to go to her estate!”
To make matters worse, Savannah’s fiancé, Derek, was furious. His family came from modest roots in Oregon, and when he found out that Savannah had intentionally lied to exclude her own grandmother and extended family from the wedding events to fit a "high-society image," he confronted her in front of his parents.
"You told me your grandmother was too frail to attend!" Derek had shouted at Savannah in the hallway. "And now I see videos of her drinking wine and smiling at your sister's vineyard! You lied to me, Savannah!"
When the morning of the wedding arrived, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
The wedding ceremony was scheduled for 2:00 PM at an upscale chapel in St. Helena.
At 11:00 AM, while I was sitting on my balcony drinking fresh coffee, a white Mercedes pulled up my driveway.
Out stepped Savannah, wearing her silk bridal robe, her hair half-styled, her face pale and streaked with mascara tears.
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She didn't wait for Marcus to open the door. She marched up the stairs to my private terrace, her fists clenched.
"You ruined my life, Lila," Savannah choked out, her voice trembling with pure, unadulterated hatred. "You ruined my entire wedding weekend."
