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“I’m sorry.”
He inhaled a slow breath then let it out. “I know you are, baby.”
I didn’t tell him not to call me that, not now, not when he was so sad. “They’ll come around eventually.”
He stared at his empty glass for a long time. “I don’t think they will. But thanks for trying to make me feel better.”
The wedding day arrived.
I skipped dinner the night before and breakfast today, but I still felt like I was going to hurl.
If Axel had asked me to marry him before he’d broken my heart, I probably would have said yes even though our relationship had only lasted two months. But now, it felt wrong. It felt like a cage with steel bars and three locks on the door.
I got ready, had someone do my hair and makeup, and stared at my ghostly white face in the mirror. My dress fit a little loose, as if I’d somehow lost weight since my last fitting two weeks ago. But not eating day after day would do that.
I got ready in my room at the Four Seasons, the honeymoon suite that Axel and I would share tonight as husband and wife. Once I was finished, the car took me to the church, into a private room where I would wait until all the guests had arrived, and the ceremony would begin.
I really felt like I would throw up.
It was a small room with a few couches and armchairs around a coffee table. The window outside showed the gray winter sky that was somehow so bright it made me squint. My dress had lace sleeves to minimize the cold, and it had a sweetheart top before it stretched down into a mermaid skirt. It was a beautiful gown, an expensive purchase that my father was happy to cover, but I felt like an impostor wearing it.
The door opened, and my father stepped inside. “Sweetheart.” His eyes were glued to me, and he hesitated before he came closer. “You…you look beautiful.”
I rose to my feet so he could see me fully, because he hadn’t seen the dress that I picked out. “Thank you.” A diamond necklace was around my throat, a gift my father had given me a few years ago. I’d never felt so beautiful and so miserable at the same time.
He came closer and gave me a smile. “We’ve got a full house out there. Everyone came.”
“That’s great.” I couldn’t care less.
He watched me, his smile slowly failing. “I know this is hard, but you’re doing the right thing.”
“Am I?” I whispered.
He lowered his voice, as if someone might be listening. “It’s just for a short while.”
“How long?”
“A couple months…a year. Hard to say.”
A couple months with someone you didn’t trust felt like a lifetime.
“For what it’s worth, I think Axel truly cares for you.”
“He has a funny way of showing it.”
He brought me in for a hug, his cheek resting against mine. He held me there, and it was the first time I’d felt at peace in three days. He seemed to know I needed it because he kept me there for a long time. “I’ll be waiting for you out there.” He pulled away and gave me a kiss on the temple.
“Alright.”
He stepped out and shut the door behind him.
The second he was gone, all the agony returned. It was just me alone in that room, terrified to face the future waiting outside for me. My bouquet was on the table in the water-filled vase, ready for me to take, but I turned to look out the window instead.
14
AXEL
Twenty minutes passed, and Scarlett didn’t emerge.
The music didn’t start, and the guests started to chat louder, their voices echoing off the walls and the glass ceiling, growing restless.
“Maybe I should check on her.”
Theo stood beside me, my best man. “Maybe she ran.”
I turned to look at him, about to dismiss the idea, but then my heart fell into my stomach. “Come on.” We walked down the aisle at a normal pace so no one would know that the bride had probably taken off.
We made it into the hallway where Dante was waiting.
“Where is she?” I blurted.
“I spoke to her a bit ago,” Dante said. “She seemed upset. I calmed her down. I think she just needs?—”
“It’s locked.” Theo moved ahead and tried the door. “Scarlett?”
No response.
Theo turned to me and raised his arms. “We’ve got a runaway bride.”
“Fuck.”
Dante genuinely looked surprised, so I knew this wasn’t part of his plan. “I would call her, but…” He reached into his pocket. “She asked me to hold her phone.”
“Theo, grab the car.”
Theo took off to bring the car to the front.
I turned to Dante. “Stall. I’ll get her back.”
He rubbed his temple and sighed. “Please find her.”
I walked out the door and made my way to the curb right as Theo turned the corner and pulled up in front, the engine loud.
