My little sister and I never got along when we were growing up. She always seemed to resent me, and I didn’t really understand why. So when she actually asked me to be her maid of honor, I was over the moon. I thought maybe, just maybe, things were finally changing between us.
But nothing could have prepared me for the shock of the bridesmaid dress she picked out for me. It was such a sneaky prank that it nearly made me cry — until I found the perfect way to get back at her.
The wedding invitation was sitting right there on my kitchen counter, staring at me like it was laughing. It was so elegant, with fancy cursive writing and pretty flowers all over it. My little sister, Sadie, was getting married — and she wanted me, Nancy, the one she’d tormented my whole life, to be her maid of honor. I laughed out loud.
“What’s so funny?” my best friend Liz asked, sipping her coffee across the table.
I held up the invitation and said, “Sadie wants me to be her maid of honor.”
Liz nearly spit out her coffee. “No way! The same Sadie who stuck gum in your hair on your high school graduation day?”
“The very same,” I said, touching my short hair — a reminder of that awful prank.
Liz looked worried. “Are you sure you want to do this? Your relationship with her has always been… well…”
“A dumpster fire?” I finished for her with a smirk. “Yeah, I know.”
Sadie was always the younger sister stuck in my shadow, but not because she wanted to be. I was the sick kid — always in hospitals, always needing attention. Our parents had to spend most of their time taking care of me, which meant Sadie was often left alone. That made her angry, and she showed it with mean jokes, pranks, and sometimes just ignoring me like I didn’t exist.
“Maybe she’s changed,” I said quietly, hoping it was true.
Liz gave me a sharp look. “People don’t change that fast, Nance. Be careful.”
I nodded but hoped. Maybe this wedding could be the start of something real between us.
The bridal shop was full of white dresses and soft pastels. Sadie stood there in the middle, looking like a princess in her gown.
“Nancy! There you are!” Sadie called out, waving me over. “What do you think?”
I smiled honestly. “You look amazing, Sadie. Really.”
For a moment, I saw a tiny spark of the little girl who used to beg me to play dress-up with her. But then that flicker was gone, replaced by the cold, sly smirk I knew too well.
“Great. Now, let’s find you a dress that doesn’t make you look like a beached whale,” she said, turning away and grabbing dresses from the racks.
There she was — the Sadie I knew.
While we looked through the dresses, I had to ask, “Sadie, why did you pick me as your maid of honor? We’re not exactly close.”
She paused, holding a dress halfway off the rack. “You’re my sister, Nancy. It’s expected.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right. Wouldn’t want to disappoint the family, huh?”
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Let’s just find a dress, okay?”
Weeks flew by with dress fittings, flower arrangements, and a lot of forced sisterly moments. Despite myself, I started to enjoy some of the time we spent together. Sadie seemed softer, less sharp-tongued than before.
At our last dress fitting, I thought maybe, just maybe, things had changed for real.
“You know,” Sadie said, standing next to me in front of the mirror, “I never thought we’d get here.”
“Getting you married off?” I joked.
She rolled her eyes. “No, dummy. Here, together, without wanting to kill each other.”
I smiled, surprised. “Yeah, it’s kind of nice, isn’t it?”
Sadie nodded, a small smile touching her lips. “Maybe we can keep this up after the wedding. You know, actually be sisters.”
My heart felt lighter than it had in years. “I’d like that, Sadie. I really would.”
The wedding day came, full of excitement and nerves. I headed to the bridal suite, dress bag in hand, ready to be the sister I’d always wanted to be for Sadie.
“Nancy! Thank God you’re here,” Sadie said as I walked in. “The other bridesmaids are running late.”
“No worries. I’m on it,” I said, hanging my dress and starting to help with her hair.
As I pinned up her golden curls, we caught each other’s eyes in the mirror. For a second, I saw the little girl she’d been — the one who’d always followed me around, despite everything.
“You look beautiful, Sadie,” I said softly.
“Thanks, Nance.”
Suddenly, the other bridesmaids burst in — giggling and carrying champagne. I stepped back to let them fuss over Sadie and went to get changed.
I unzipped my dress bag, excited to slip into the beautiful lavender gown Sadie and I had picked out. But as I pulled out the dress, my heart stopped.
“What the…?” I gasped.
The dress was huge — way too big, like it was meant for a giant. I held it up, trembling. “Sadie, there’s been a mistake. This dress is enormous!”
Sadie looked at me with fake surprise. “Oh no! Did you lose weight or something?”
I stared at her, understanding the cruel joke. “I lost thirty-three pounds, and no one noticed? Are you kidding me? We had fittings last week! This can’t be an accident.”
She shrugged, avoiding my eyes. “Well, I guess you can’t be my maid of honor now. Don’t worry, Jess can take your place.”
Her voice was cold, and the hurt hit me like a punch in the stomach. All the progress I thought we’d made disappeared in an instant.
“How could you do this?” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes.
“Oh please. Did you really think things had changed? That we were suddenly best friends? Grow up, Nancy. This is my day. I’m not letting you steal the spotlight like you always do.”
I stood there clutching the huge dress, feeling like that sick little girl all over again — small and forgotten.
Just then, a sharp voice cut through the tension.
“What’s all this fuss about?” Aunt Marie stepped into the room, her eyes narrowing at the scene.
“Aunt Marie, I—” I started, but she held up a hand.
“Save it, honey. I had a feeling something like this might happen,” she said, pulling a box from somewhere. “Open it.”
Inside was a dress that took my breath away. It looked just like the bridesmaids’ gowns but was better — sparkling with tiny beads, a richer, more beautiful color.
“But how did you—” I asked, stunned.
Aunt Marie smiled mischievously. “I overheard Sadie bragging about this plan to her friends. Didn’t believe it at first, but just in case, I had my seamstress make this. Guess I was right.”
I felt shocked and hurt that Sadie had actually planned to sabotage me.
Aunt Marie squeezed my shoulder. “Now go put it on and show your sister what real class looks like.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. Sadie might have tried to ruin me, but thanks to Aunt Marie, I wasn’t going down without a fight.
I slipped into the dress, heart pounding, and walked back into the bridal suite.
Sadie’s jaw dropped. “What?? How did you—?”
I smiled sweetly. “Oh, just a little magic from Aunt Marie. Don’t worry, I won’t steal your thunder.”
Sadie’s face changed — shock, anger, then something like shame.
“You look amazing, Nancy,” she said quietly.
For a moment, we just stood there, years of anger and jealousy hanging between us.
Then Sadie’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’ve been such a witch. I always felt like I was living in your shadow.”
I reached out and took her hand. “Sadie, there was never any competition. I was just trying to survive.”
She squeezed my hand. “I know that now. God, we wasted so much time, didn’t we?”
The wedding ceremony was beautiful. Sadie walked down the aisle, glowing, and I stood beside her feeling a warmth I hadn’t felt in years — the joy of being there for my sister.
At the reception, Sadie pulled me aside.
“Nancy, I need to say something.”
I braced myself for the old fights.
“What is it?”
She took a deep breath. “Thank you. For being here, for looking gorgeous, for everything. I’ve been so caught up in my own insecurities, I never saw how much you were going through. Can we start over?”
Tears filled my eyes. “I’d like that, Sadie. I really would.”
She pulled me into a hug, and for the first time in forever, it felt real. As we laughed and wiped away tears, I caught Aunt Marie’s eye across the room. She raised her glass with a wink.
Maybe this was the start of a new chapter for us. It had taken a wedding, a dress disaster, and a meddling aunt — but finally, we were sisters.
Later, as the dance floor filled up, Sadie grabbed my hand. “Come on, sis. Let’s show these people how it’s done.”
And as we twirled and laughed under the sparkling lights, I realized something important — sometimes the best revenge isn’t about getting even, but moving forward together.
