Chapter 2

I'd just arrived home and dropped my bag when my phone lit up with a call from Lily.

I stared at the screen for a second before answering.

"Grace, are you free? Can we talk?" she asked, her voice hesitant. Then she started sobbing. "I'm pregnant."

My fingers froze around my phone.

She kept going. "I don't know what to do. I never meant to come between you two. I was going to end it, but Adam wouldn't let me."

"He knows?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied, her voice breaking. "He said he'd take responsibility. But I know he still loves you most."

I stared out into the night, my voice calm. "So now that he's stepping up, you think I'm the one who doesn't belong."

"No, that's not what I mean," she hurried to explain. "I just didn't want you to think we planned this. We could have never told you."

I let out a soft laugh. "You really know how to put things. You almost had me feeling sorry for you."

"Grace..."

"Don't worry about it," I interrupted. "I've had some time to think. When it comes to relationships, there's no point in talking about who's right or wrong."

Lily paused on the other end, and then asked, with a hint of surprise in her voice, "So you're not going to do anything about it?"

"I already told you, the wedding is still happening."

"You're still willing to marry him?"

"Yes."

"What about me, then?"

"You'll be there, of course. You're my bridesmaid, remember?"

She was stunned for a moment. "You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious." I looked down at the diamond ring on my finger and smiled gently. "You've always envied me, haven't you? Well, now you get to stand beside me on the most important day of my life. You should be happy."

She started stammering something, but I hung up before she could get a word out.

A few minutes later, several messages came in from Adam.

[Grace, Lily told me you know about the pregnancy. I... I don't really know what to say.]

[But I need you to know that I love you. I'll deal with things with her.]

[Please, let's not call off the wedding because of this, okay?]

I stared at the line that said "I love you" until my phone screen went dark.

I took the wedding invitation out of my bag, crossed out his name, and wrote someone else's in its place.

Once I was done, I took a photo and posted it online with a simple caption. [The most important day of my life. Thank you all for being part of it.]

Three minutes later, Adam called me, unable to hide the urgency in his voice. "Grace, what do you mean by this?"

"You wanted me to be understanding, didn't you?" I leaned back on the couch and kept my tone soft. "Well, I am. The wedding is still on, and you and Lily can both come. We all get what we want."

"Who did you put on that invitation?"

"The best man," I smiled. "A wedding needs a bride and a groom, and a bridesmaid and a best man. Since Lily is already my bridesmaid, I figured you two could work out who stands where."

There was a long silence on the other end before he finally muttered, "You're crazy."

I replied calmly, "You're right. It's about time I went crazy."

*****

The next morning, I met Adam at a café.

He wore that familiar gray-blue shirt, and the dark circles under his eyes made it clear he hadn't slept much.

I ordered a cup of black coffee, and before he could say a word, I handed him a printed guest list.

He blinked in surprise. "What's this?"

"The confirmation list for the wedding guests." I kept my voice steady. "We agreed to go ahead, didn't we?"

He hesitated, and then asked carefully, "Is this really what you want?"

"Of course." I smiled. "We both decided on this. Don't tell me you've changed your mind."

"No." He shook his head quickly, as if he was afraid to say the wrong thing. "I'm just worried that you still feel hurt about everything."

"Of course I feel hurt." I looked him in the eye. "But I hate wasting things even more."

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then stopped.

I pulled out another sheet and handed it to him. "And here's the list of who's doing what at the wedding."

He glanced at it and paused when he saw his name. "The best man is me?"

"Of course." I gave a small nod. "You're my fiancé. Who else would it be?"

His expression stiffened. "But you have Lily down as the bridesmaid."

I looked at him and let out a quiet laugh. "What, neither of you wants to show up now?"

Adam's face shifted. "Grace, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"It's simple." I stirred my coffee slowly. "Lily always said she thought of me as a sister, and she cried about stepping aside. So this time, I'm giving her the chance to stand beside me on my wedding day."

His voice dropped to a cold murmur. "You never planned to let this go, did you?"

"You're just now figuring that out?" I said softly. "I guess it's not too late."

His grip tightened around his cup. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "After everything we've been through, you're really going to do this?"

I met his eyes. "Adam, the moment you turned me into a joke, there was nothing left between us."

I stood up, tucked the papers into my bag, and kept my tone light. "Time's running out. Don't forget to go try on your tux."

As I walked away, Adam stayed where he was, his face pale and tense.

Later that day, Lily texted me. [I ordered the latest Velvet Vows bridesmaid dress. We can go to the fitting together.]

I replied: [I got one too. You'll wear yours, and I'll wear mine. Let's not mix them up.]

She sent back a cute emoji: [Sure thing.]

I stared at that emoji until my phone screen slowly went dark.