AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The air catches in my lungs as one more piece of the picture of the life I imagined cracks and fizzles into dust. First, I have to marry the wrong guy. Now I’m being told that I won’t even have any of the four children I hoped to have.
“Why?” The word comes out on the edge of a sad breath.
Our eyes lock and all my future husband does is shake his head. At least he’s not smiling or giving me that snarky grin I hate.
“No.” His emotionless tone is as flat as it was on the night he denied me having my own room.
But this is a different request, one that was important to me, but I suppose he doesn’t need to have children to get his beloved position in his company or I’d be pregnant already.
“I see.”
“You’re on the pill, yes?” He intensifies his stare and furrows his brows.
“Yes, I am.”
“Good.” He straightens as if to signal the end of that very awkward conversation I landed myself in. “When will your sister be back? I take it she’ll be part of the wedding party."
The double-edged blow of that question and the previous discussion drains me. Now I’m momentarily speechless for a whole other reason. How do I explain that my sister doesn’t care enough about me to attend my wedding?
“Layla won't be attending the wedding. She’s busy." I try to keep the hurt and disappointment out of my voice. Surprisingly my tone is so calm that I sound believable even to my own ears.
“Your sister’s not coming to the wedding?” The skeptical stare he gives me is completely understandable.
“No.”
“What is she busy doing?”
“She left for a yoga retreat months ago and has been living it up in the Maldives ever since."
He looks at me as if he thinks I’m joking. I wish I were.
“That's what my sister is like,” I add for more context, as if that will perfectly explain everything.
“But it's your wedding.” The skepticism in his eyes shifts to his voice.
“That doesn't matter to her.” I didn’t manage to hide my disappointment just then, and Hunter seems to notice.
“Very well. Sorry she won't be there.” That’s perhaps the most empathy I’ll ever receive from him.
“Me too. How many guests do we have?” I purposely change the subject because that stab of disappointment is cutting into me again.
Hunter sighs and leans on his elbows. “There will be two hundred people from my side. Your father has confirmed a hundred and fifty from yours.”
A hundred and fifty. Are Ryan and his family included in that number? I'd feel so bad if they weren't invited.
Over the last few days I’ve felt this tug of war in my mind over Ryan as I’ve tried to figure out what to tell him when I next see him. Every time I think about him I come up against that wall in my head that I can’t see around. It’s going to be so strange walking down the aisle and getting married to Hunter when I had such intense feelings for Ryan, but I want him to be there.
“Are Ryan and his family invited? They're like family to me.”
My question suddenly shifts the air between us, opening the door to a different sort of tension, then Hunter’s gaze turns so cold a shiver crawls across my skin like a snake.
“Ryan and his family are welcome to attend the wedding. So, yes, they are included on that list. That said, we need to talk about Ryan.”
The knots in my stomach tighten as if someone is pulling on them with a truck. "What about Ryan?”
“Really?” He gives me a narrowed look. “I'm amazed you have to ask me that given the circumstances in which we met.”
I glare back at him, wishing so badly that I could take back that night. I would give anything to go back in time and tell myself not to make such a foolish mistake. “You're never going to allow me to live that down, are you?”
