Chapter 3
The next morning, a knock at the door shook me awake.
When I opened my eyes, the unfamiliar look of the guest room threw me for a moment. I had to remind myself where I was.
The door swung open. Ryan was out in the hallway, with a slight crease between his brows.
He asked, "Why are you sleeping in here?"
His voice was still scratchy from sleep, and there was this awkward vibe to it—barely there, but I didn't miss it.
All our years living together, no matter how bad our fights got, we never once slept apart.
I rubbed my aching temples, trying to clear my head.
After hesitating for a moment, I finally spoke up.
I said, "Ryan, maybe we should..."
"Last night, I messed up," Ryan blurted out suddenly, cutting me off before I could even get the words out.
His apology hit me out of nowhere, completely wrecking all that stubborn courage I'd been building up through the night.
He stepped closer, pressing his forehead softly against mine.
There was an unmistakable trace of panic in his eyes.
"I know you didn't call my mom. I just... had too much to drink and totally lost it," Ryan said, his voice barely above a whisper, sounding way more vulnerable than usual.
"Carrie, please don't be mad at me," he added.
Ryan was always the golden boy, so used to having the world at his feet that not even falling in love ever knocked him down a peg.
It was always me who had to cave and say sorry in our relationship.
So when he finally dropped his pride and clumsily tried to make things right, I couldn't help but feel my resolve shake.
"As for getting married..." Ryan began, his voice catching for a second.
When he brought it up, I could see him tense up almost instantly.
He just went quiet for a few seconds.
Then, as if steeling himself, he spoke up.
"Let's just do it," he said, his tone flat but with a trace of nervous energy.
I looked into his eyes, so close that I could see a nervous, uncertain version of myself reflected back at me.
Silently, I sighed to myself.
Maybe... just one more chance.
When our parents heard we'd finally decided to get married, they both let out a huge sigh of relief.
They met again and again to work out the details.
Everything was up for discussion—wedding invitations, the venue, you name it.
Ryan actually started to show a little more patience this time.
He'd join in the talks, sometimes even tossing out ideas about what our future married life might be like.
I was practically forcing myself to forget about that message, telling myself it didn't matter.
But the harder I tried to block it out, the louder those words echoed in my mind.
Every time they came back to me, I'd drift off, spaced out for what felt like forever.
In the end, we settled on a wedding date—nothing rushed, nothing way off, just one that both families were pleased with.
While we were getting ready for our own wedding, we attended Ryan's friend Jack Turner's wedding.
Ryan's group and I never really clicked, and they always seemed to keep me at a distance.
In their eyes, Emily was the one he truly belonged with.
To them, I was just the newcomer who'd slipped in when things weren't perfect between Ryan and Emily. They always kept that silent wall up around me.
Ironically, the only person I actually hit it off with was Jack's fiancée, Olivia Bennett.
When I showed up, Olivia was busy rehearsing for her big day—walking through every step of the ceremony with the planners.
Seeing her in that gorgeous wedding dress, I couldn't help but zone out a little, totally lost in thought.
I had pictured myself in a scene just like this a thousand times, but standing there now, I just couldn't believe it was really happening to me.
It honestly felt like I was just a spectator, not the bride about to get married.
Before I realized it, Olivia was standing right in front of me.
I snapped back to reality and handed her my gift.
"Congratulations on your wedding," I said.
She took it with a warm smile and gave me a playful wink.
"You're next," she teased.
I just smiled and didn't say anything.
The music from the piano filled the place, and Olivia leaned in close, her voice dropping to a whisper right by my ear.
"Emily's back. Did you know?" she asked.