Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 54520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
“Ah, you’re a lifesaver! Thank you so much.” My sister pulls me into a hug, her excitement bubbling over like champagne, before ushering me inside and closing the door with a soft click.
“So…what do you think?” She spins slow and graceful, the enchantment I’d feared was missing now shining in her eyes.
It’s a knife straight to my chest.
Still, I manage a smile. “You look absolutely stunning, Hattie.”
Her face lights up at the praise, eyes softening.
“She’d better, for the price I paid for that dress,” my mother chimes in, her tone a mix of humor and pride as she steps up behind my sister, settling the veil on her head.
Hattie gives me a secret eye roll, but her smile holds, like we’re sharing a joke. The gesture is so small, so familiar, that it cuts me deeper than the veil’s pins ever could, because I’m about to ruin it all.
Tears sting my eyes, exposing the heaviness of my chest.
My sister notices, her brows knitting in concern. “Hey. What’s wrong? You okay?”
I nod, then falter, shaking my head. “Actually, no. I need to talk to you.”
Her concern deepens. “Okay. What is it?”
My gaze shifts to my mother, standing rigid with unease. “Can you give us a minute?”
Her eyes dart between us, a hint of worry there, before she finally nods. “All right. I’ll go find your father.” She delivers a cool, fleeting kiss to each of our cheeks, then slips out, leaving a silence heavier than the closed door.
Hattie turns to me, her hands nervously clutching the skirt of her dress. “What’s going on?”
The weight presses in, threatening to suffocate me, before I push it down. “Look, what I’m about to tell you is going to be really hard to hear. Just know I love you and I’m here for you. Okay?”
Her face drains of color, voice trembling. “You’re scaring me…”
That fear drives me forward. I hold her gaze, terrified as it is, and force out the truth.
“I just saw Finch with your maid of honor…they were—” The words lodge in my throat, before I manage to get them out. “They were having sex.”
Emotions flash across her face with dizzying speed, too many to name. “What are you talking about?”
I swallow hard, my voice hollow. “I saw them when I was walking back from the lobby with your safety pin.”
Her denial is instant, sharp. “No. You must be mistaken.”
“I’m not, Hattie,” I insist, my truth unshaken. “They were behind the janitorial shed. In broad daylight—”
“Stop it.” Her voice cracks, hands trembling as she stumbles back. “Please, just…stop.”
My gaze stays anchored on hers, studying and searching, and in that stillness, I see what’s been missing all along. Of all the emotions rushing through her, one never appears—surprise.
The realization slams into me like a boulder. “You already know, don’t you?”
Her eyes dart away, but not before I catch it, the truth buried in her silence.
“Jesus, Hattie,” I choke, anger rising through disbelief. “What the hell are you thinking?”
She turns away from me. “You wouldn’t understand.”
I grab her arm, spinning her back around. “You’re right, I don’t. Why would you marry him, knowing this?”
Her eyes blaze as she lashes out. “Because I deserve to be happy, Harlow. I deserve to get married and have a family.” Her voice wavers on that last word, something devastating beneath it.
“Yes, you do. With someone who loves you and deserves you.”
“Finch loves me.” She clings to those words, but the crack betrays her.
“That bastard doesn’t love anyone but himself,” I snap, refusing to hold back a second longer. “For Christ’s sake, Hattie, he’s screwing your maid of honor on your wedding day. Wake the fuck up!”
Her lips flatten into a thin line, her silence louder than any argument.
For a breath, all I can do is stare at her, wondering if I’m missing something, but the truth is right there.
“You’re really going to go through with this? You’re going to marry him after everything I just told you?”
Her eyes drop, voice barely a mutter. “Yes.”
The single word hits like a slap, and I realize I’m wasting my breath.
“Fine.” I lift my hands, accepting defeat. “Ruin your life. But don’t expect me to stand by and watch.”
The room blurs as I turn on my heel, leaving her behind.
“Wait!”
Her voice follows, thin and desperate, but I don’t look back. The marble hallway stretches, every step a fresh fracture inside my chest.
“That’s right, run away. It’s what you do best, isn’t it?”
The blow stops me cold, forcing me back around. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Her chin lifts, braced for battle. “Every time things get hard, you bail. Say what you want about Finch, but at least he’s been there for me, unlike you.”
The laugh that scrapes past my throat is rough and filled with exasperation. “Are you kidding me? Let’s not forget why I left in the first place, Hattie. You’re the one who betrayed me here, not the other way around.”