Chapter 2
Heavy footsteps hurried down the hallway outside.
Julian appeared in the doorway.
He came through the open doors and walked straight up to Sienna.
"The guests are waiting. Sienna, are we going through with this wedding or not?"
Sienna clung to the front of Graham's jacket, her hands shaking badly.
Her eyes red, she turned to look at Graham beside her, a broken sob escaping her throat.
"Julian, I'm sorry. I'm not over him. I can't stand there and say those vows to you."
A wave of audible gasps swept through the guests.
Julian stared at her, the last trace of tension fading from his eyes.
He didn't even look angry, just turned and gestured to the lead wedding coordinator standing in the side aisle.
"Cancel the rest of the ceremony. Get security and have the guests escorted out."
He didn't argue, turning to leave before Sienna could say another word.
Every eye in the room swung toward me like a spotlight.
Whenever appearances needed to be kept up, I'd always been the one to pick up the pieces.
Smile, smooth things over, shield Graham from everyone's scrutiny, spare both our families the embarrassment.
After seven years, it was almost instinct.
But now I stood in the middle of the aisle, looking at my groom beside his ex-girlfriend.
I let go of the card with my vows.
I didn't smooth things over, didn't reassure our panicked parents, didn't offer so much as a word of explanation.
I gathered up my skirt, turned, and pushed through the emergency exit at the side of the room.
"Natalie!"
The door thudded behind me as Graham came after me.
Breathing hard, he grabbed my wrist.
His palm was hot and slightly damp with sweat as he urgently pulled me toward him.
"Natalie, listen to me."
His chest heaved, his eyes full of helpless panic.
"I swear to God, I didn't know she was going to do this today. I had no idea."
He tightened his grip on my hand, trying to convince me.
"This whole thing is insane. I really didn't know she would do that."
"Believe me, Natalie. I never imagined anything like this would happen."
"You didn't know she was going to barge in today."
My voice was painfully hoarse, but every word came out clearly.
"I swear I didn't," he cut in urgently.
"Okay." I pulled my hand free and took half a step back. "Then did you already know she didn't want to marry Julian?"
The urgency on Graham's face froze.
His open mouth pressed into a thin line, and he swallowed hard.
His gaze began to dart away, shifting from my eyes to my hair, then down to the floor.
I looked down at the wedding ring on my finger, my eyes stinging, my chest so heavy I could barely breathe.
Looking at the man I had loved and lived with for seven years, I was desperately searching for a single reason—any reason at all—to still marry him.
"Graham," I said, looking into his eyes as I asked one last question, "if she'd come back to you yesterday, would you still be marrying me today?"