Chapter 1
On our tenth wedding anniversary, Edward Grant booked an entire cruise ship.
He said he owed me for all those years and wanted to make it up to me with the grandest celebration.
But when we boarded, my custom-made dress was worn by his gravely ill first love, Susan May.
Even the deck's light-up sign, meant to display our names, now showed theirs instead.
Edward zipped up Susan's dress and lowered his voice to explain it to me.
"She's always regretted not marrying the one she truly loved.
"Tonight, you stay in the cabin. Let her watch the fireworks with me."
I asked him, "Then what am I to you?"
He paused, and reproach crept into his voice.
"You've got your whole life ahead of you. She might only have tonight."
Susan, eyes rimmed with tears, reached for my hand.
"Please don't be upset, Lily. I just want to borrow Edward for one night.
"After the fireworks, I promise I'll give him back to you."
Ten years ago, Edward promised to set off fireworks for me every year.
But as work got busier, the promise kept getting pushed back.
By the tenth year, the whole city was ablaze with fireworks at last.
But the person standing beside him was no longer me.
Even before the fireworks lit up the sky, my feelings for our ten-year marriage had already faded to nothing.
*****
As the first firework soared into the night, I heard the lock turn outside my cabin door.
I walked over and twisted the knob twice.
It wouldn't budge.
The cruise manager spoke through the door, "Mrs. Grant, Mr. Grant is worried you might leave suddenly and it could upset Ms. May. He's asked us to make sure you stay comfortable in your cabin for now."
Take care of me.
So locking me in a cabin counted as taking care of me.
The tablet on the table lit up, streaming the ceremony happening out on the deck.
Susan, wearing my dress, made her way down a walkway covered in white roses toward Edward.
She had a tinier waist than I did.
The dress, which was custom-made for me, had been trimmed down to fit her.
Edward stood at the end of the aisle, reaching out to take her hand.
The host smiled and asked, "Mr. Grant, tonight marks twenty years since you and Ms. May first met. Are all these fireworks for her?"
Edward paused for a moment.
"Yes," he said.
Applause erupted on the deck.
Messages from the guests popped up at the bottom of the screen.
[First love never fades, no matter how much time passes.]
[Mr. Grant has been planning this for six months. I hope Mrs. Grant isn't upset!]
Charles Ford's voice came from off-camera.
"Lily's always been the sensible one. She's had Edward all to herself for ten years, can't she let him go for just one night?"
The crowd burst into laughter.
Edward frowned slightly.
"Don't talk about Lily like that. She's not the jealous type."
It was like he was trying to defend me.
But he never corrected the part about me having him all to myself.
Susan, her eyes red from crying, took the microphone.
"Lily won't blame me. Right before we boarded, she personally asked Edward what she meant to him.
"I guess she was reminding me that everything tonight is just borrowed, none of it really belongs to me.
"So don't worry, Lily. When the fireworks end, I'll return your husband to you, whole and unharmed."
The applause was even louder than before.
People were saying how thoughtful she was.
Some even asked on camera why I wasn't out there to wish them well.
Edward glanced toward the cabin.
"She's not feeling well, so she won't be joining us tonight."
I stood behind the locked door, staring down at my hands.
Before we boarded, he'd told me to just hang out in the cabin for a while.
Now, suddenly, it was all because I wasn't feeling well.
That way, Susan's wedding could go off without a hitch, and I got to keep my supposed dignity.
My phone buzzed.
Edward texted me.
Edward: [Don't watch the livestream. Get something to eat first.]
Edward: [I had the kitchen make your favorite cod. I'll come to you as soon as the fireworks are over.]
A few minutes later, a waiter rolled in a food cart.
There was no cod on the plate, only a few pieces of steak that had already gone cold.
"Mrs. Grant, the smell of cod made Ms. May feel unwell, so Mr. Grant told us to remove it," the waiter explained.
The waiter placed a small plate of cake in front of me.
The frosting was scraped off in patches, and only half of Susan's name was left on top.
"This was left over from the main table. Mr. Grant made sure you got a piece," the waiter said.
The cruise manager followed behind, sounding overly polite.
"Mr. Grant really keeps you in mind. With all the chaos out on the deck, he still remembered you hadn't had dinner."
He glanced at my black dress and added something with a smile.
"You look nice in that. With Ms. May as the bride, it's better to keep things low-key so the guests don't get confused."
I pushed the plate away.
On the tablet, the wedding march started playing.
It was the same song Edward and I had to skip at our own wedding, because we couldn't afford a real ceremony.
Ten years ago, in our tiny apartment, he held me close and promised he'd make it up to me someday.
Now, he finally kept that promise.
Only, the one sharing that moment with him wasn't me.
Edward took Susan's hand and led her in their first dance.
He remembered to look at the camera, and he murmured an order to the staff.
"Turn off the livestream in the cabin. Don't let Lily watch for too long."
The manager immediately closed the tablet.
The music on the deck cut off abruptly.
All that was left in the cabin were the dull booms of fireworks bursting outside.
The door locked again.