Chapter 2
"I haven't even brought up the wedding drama with her, and now she's the one starting trouble!" Zariah snapped.
Zariah just muttered a few curses at the mess on the floor, not even noticing how wrecked I was.
"Alyvia, don't hold me back. This time, I'm not letting her off the hook!" he said.
I reached out to grab him, but my hand closed on nothing.
When I whipped my head around, the front door slammed against the wall with a bang that made my ears ring.
I sat there on the floor, clutching the shattered photo album, for what felt like forever after he left.
It wasn't until my fingers were stiff with cold that I finally, in a daze, fished out my phone.
Tilly had just posted on Instagram.
She'd uploaded a smug selfie, and the caption was just plain obnoxious.
It read: [Someone lost to me again today. Still the same loser as always.]
I was still staring at the caption, totally spaced out, when Zariah's call came through.
"Alyvia... I just remembered we were supposed to work on the wedding stuff today," he said.
"But Tilly was just way too much! I went over there because I wanted to have your back," he added.
He said, "I'm coming back right now..."
"Don't bother," I cut him off, trying to keep my voice steady.
I swallowed the pain, refusing to let it show.
"Zariah, we should break up," I said, my voice shaking.
"You and Tilly have already turned my life upside down," I added.
I couldn't help but let my voice catch at the end.
They'd been going at it for years. Back in school, it was all about who could be number one, and later, they were scrapping over promotions and projects at work.
And then, they even started interfering in my personal stuff.
Every single time they blew up at each other, I was always pushed to the sidelines.
On dates, they'd fight over seats so hard they'd nearly flip the table, and I'd just be left standing there, awkwardly picking up the pieces.
He'd plan a surprise for my birthday. She'd wreck it, and I'd end up having to calm him down when he was all pissed off.
I'd put up with so much for so long, and now even the things I cherished most ended up in pieces.
Zariah sounded panicked on the other end of the line.
"Don't cry, okay? I was wrong. Just wait for me. I'm coming back right now!" Zariah pleaded, his voice frantic.
Less than ten minutes later, the door slammed open and Zariah rushed in, out of breath.
Before I knew it, he swept me into his arms, holding me tight.
"Alyvia, I know I was wrong. Can we not break up? Please?" Zariah begged, his voice trembling.
"I promise, I'll stay away from Tilly for good! I won't let her mess with us ever again!" he blurted out, desperate.
I looked up at him, his face twisted with guilt and worry.
He was always like this. No matter how far, he'd always rush back just to make me feel better.
He was great in every other way, except for the whole drama with Tilly.
But of all things, that was the one that hurt me the most.
I gently pushed him away, and after a few seconds of silence, my voice came out low and weary.
"Weren't you the one who said you were done with her for good?" I asked, my tone steady but hollow.
"I know what to do. Zariah, let's take her to court," I said, my voice calm but determined.
"For trespassing and trashing our things," I added, leaving no room for argument.
He froze, totally caught off guard.
"Sue her?" he echoed.
I locked eyes with him, taking in his stunned expression.
"Aren't you the one who can't stand her?" I shot back, my voice steady.
"Wouldn't having her locked up for a few months finally get her to chill out? Isn't that what you've wanted all along?" I pressed, not backing down.
With that, I stood up and headed straight for the door, didn't even pause for a second.
"Let's go right now," I said.
Just as I reached for the doorknob, Zariah stopped me, grabbing my hand.
"You're right. We should absolutely sue her!" he said.
He gently rested his hand on my shoulder, his tone soft and reassuring.
"But you're already worn out. Do you really need to drag yourself to a law office right now?" he asked.
"Did you forget my friend Jasper Duran is a lawyer? Just leave it to me. Trust me. I'll make sure Tilly pays for this!" he promised, voice steady and resolute.
At last, that tight feeling in my chest finally eased up a little.
"Yeah," I murmured.
I nodded, and Zariah instantly broke into a big smile.
He pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek, then took my hand in his.
"So, how about we go decorate the wedding venue right now?" he said, his voice bubbling with excitement.
"That last one that got wrecked doesn't even count. This time, I'm gonna throw you an even grander wedding, just to make it up to you!" he promised.
Guess I'd been holding it together too hard, because now the exhaustion crashed over me all at once.
Whatever he said after that, I didn't hear a word. I was totally out of it.
Later that evening, Zariah slid his phone over to me.
"Alyvia, look. I already blocked Tilly on Instagram," he said, sounding proud, like he wanted me to notice.
"From now on, she won't be able to mess with us anymore."
He was practically beaming, clearly hoping I'd give him some credit for finally taking it seriously.
After that, Tilly was actually gone for good. She never showed up again.
And Zariah? It was like he was on a mission to make it up to me. He went all out, way more attentive than ever, trying to prove he could really make things right.
Funny how life works. Right around then, I found out I was pregnant too.
The day he found out I was pregnant, his hands were shaking as he clutched the pregnancy test results.
Before I could even wrap my head around it, he grabbed me and spun me around in his arms.
"Forget it, we're not waiting any longer. Let's move the wedding up!" Zariah burst out.
"Alyvia, I swear, you won't have to wait for me ever again..." he promised.