Chapter 4

When I got back to the place Alex and I shared, the wedding things were still all over it.

Unopened boxes of wedding candy sat by the door, the party favors were stacked in the corner of the living room, and the place cards I had spent a whole night picking were spread across the couch.

Every card had gold foil along the edge. I was so afraid of getting one wrong that I lay over the coffee table writing until three in the morning.

Alex came out of the study and put a jacket over my shoulders.

He said, "You worked hard, Mrs. Reed."

I pulled the jacket on, and the address landed square in the middle of my chest.

The jacket was still on the coat rack.

I took it down, folded it, and set it on the couch.

Then I started packing.

I didn't really own much.

A few clothes, a few books, a laptop, my documents, my bank card, and one old wooden box.

The box held everything I hadn't been able to throw out over the years.

The first movie ticket Alex ever gave me.

The keychain he brought back from his first business trip.

The petals from the night he proposed pressed between the pages of a book and dry enough by then to break at a touch.

At the very bottom, I found a family photo.

In it, Sophie sat between Mom and Dad while I stood at the far edge with half of me cropped off.

I stared at that half a shoulder, and my fingers stopped there for a long time.

In the end, I closed the box and put the whole thing in the trash bag.

My phone kept ringing.

Mom called eighteen times.

Dad called six times.

Alex called over thirty times.

Sophie sent a whole string of voice messages.

I didn't even bother to listen.

I emailed the planner to confirm the cancellation and then called the hotel manager.

He heard me out and sounded uncomfortable. "Ms. Harper, Mr. Reed called a moment ago and said the wedding is going ahead."

My knuckles tightened around the phone.

I said, "I signed the contract."

"You did."

"I paid the deposit."

"You did."

"Then do it the way I said."

There were a few seconds of silence. "All right. I'll take care of it for you."

After I hung up, I sat on the floor and tore every invitation apart.

The paper made a crisp sound as it split.

The scraps covered the floor, like a party that fell apart before it started.

I had just taped the last box shut when the lock turned.

Alex pushed the door open with Sophie behind him.

She was holding a bag of medicine, her eyes swollen and her lips with no color in them.

Alex's face darkened when he saw the boxes on the floor.

"You're moving out?" he asked.

I smoothed the tape down. "Yeah."

He stood in the doorway without moving, his shoes on the shredded invitations.

"Emily, you've made a scene all day. That's enough."

Sophie said quietly, "Emily, Alex is really worried about you. So am I."

I didn't look up. "Leave the keys."

Alex frowned. "This is supposed to be our home."

"I signed the lease. I paid the deposit and the rent."

A flicker of embarrassment crossed his face.

Sophie pulled at his sleeve fast. "Alex, I didn't come here to bother Emily. Mom asked me to talk to her."

I pushed the box to the door.

"Talk about what?" I asked.

Sophie bit her lip. "Emily, the invitations are out. If you cancel now, everyone is going to ask. Mom and Dad are getting old. They can't take people talking."

"And?"

"So could you go through with the wedding first? Everything else we can work out later," she said.

I looked at her.

There were tears in her eyes and softness in her voice, and every line of it landed on my back.

Go through with the wedding first.

Save the family's face first.

Lay the way out for the Reed family first.

Put me on the stage first, get the ring on, get the toasts down, and keep a smile up for the whole room.

And the part of me that had split open, we could work out later.

Every single time, it was later.

I asked her, "Sophie, do you honestly not know who the bride is today?"

She froze. "I know. It's you."

"Then why were you wearing the veil?"

"I—"

"And why did Alex have to fix your earring?"

Her tears came up again. "Emily, the way you're asking, it sounds like I did something disgraceful."

Alex cut in, "That's enough."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"I only asked a couple of questions, and that's enough? You guys have been at this for years. How is that not enough?"

The room went dead silent.

Alex's brows furrowed. "Emily, don't be so harsh."

I picked up my phone, opened the album, and handed him the test shots the photographer had sent me.

In the photo, Sophie had the veil on, and Alex stood behind her fixing her hair.

Lights, flowers, white veil.

Anyone looking at it would take the two of them for the couple.

I asked, "Is that harsh?

"The photo says it better than I ever could."

Alex stared at the picture, and his face changed by degrees.

He went to explain, opened his mouth, and closed it again.

Sophie panicked. "Emily, it's only the angle."

I nodded. "And when you posted it on Instagram, was that the angle too?"

She froze.

I opened her Instagram.

Ten minutes earlier, she had put up a candid shot one of the clerks had taken.

Sophie: [Helping my sister try on wedding dresses and almost got taken for the bride. LOL]

Someone commented: [You two look so good together.]

Sophie replied: [Oh, stop it.]

After those words, there was a laughing emoji.

Alex's face darkened.

"Sophie, delete it," he said.

Sophie's tears rolled down. "I didn't think it through."

I took my phone back.

"You never have to think."

I looked at Alex.

"Because somebody always cleans it up for you."

I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door.

Alex blocked my way. "Where are you going?"

"That isn't your business."

"I'm your fiancé."

"Not anymore."

I took the ring out of my bag and placed it on the cabinet by the door.

The ring made a soft clink against the wood.

Alex stared at the ring and swallowed.

"Emily, if you walk out that door today, don't regret it."

I picked up my suitcase.

"Same to you."