Page 28 of Angel

The other half of me was terrified.

When we were alone, without the circus of this wedding, how would he treat me?

He had no feelings, let alone love, for me; he’d adored my sister, but he was now forced to contend with me.

That said, he’d tolerated me over the years; in fact, he’d always treated me with respect and kindness.

Yet, it was no small leap to imagine he’d every right now to hate me.

That truth lanced through my soul.

I held my head in my hands, closing my eyes from the revelry.

How had my life gone from a mediocre, middling existence to a dumpster fire in just a few hours?

‘Roxy?’

I glanced up as Sofia stepped into the quiet alcove.

She reached her hands out, and I half-lurched into her arms, fighting back tears.

In the last couple of months, I’d come to value Jude’s wife for her wisdom, her wicked sense of humor, and her refusal to let life crush her joy.

She helped me back onto the chair, rubbing my back as my shoulders shook with a wave of emotion.

‘I am so sorry you’re going through this, cara,’ she consoled me, her Italian accent soft and gentle, which undid me even more.

I still had Elsa’s hankie, and I used it to wipe my tears until my jag ran its course.

‘He probably hates me for this,’ I whispered.

‘He doesn’t. Angel has a lot of respect for you, but he’s a grown man who’s been pushed into a corner, and he’s fighting back, which is his right.’

I leaned my head back onto the seat and met her concerned gaze.

‘What would you do in my shoes, Sof?’

‘Let him ride out his rage, and allow yourself to heal from the initial shock,’ Sofia murmured, rubbing my tense arm. ‘Then, I’d remain the lovely, kind, amazing woman you are; providence shall fall where it will.’

I exhaled a ragged breath and bit my lip.

Sofia tilted her head, her eyes studying my face.

‘I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you in love with Angel, Roxy?’

I closed my eyes in despair, my secret now in the open.

When I opened them, I met her gaze with shame and a shrug.

‘How could you tell?’ I whispered, my cheeks burning with immediate exposure.

‘The expression on your face at the altar, and every single time you two were in the same room before today,’ Sofia murmured, giving my arm a soft squeeze.

‘I’ve loved him forever and a day,’ I confessed. ‘But he’ll never adore me the way he did Evangeline. She was his queen, his forever girl. He used to joke that his name hidden inside hers meant they were destined to be eternal. I was happy for them, but it killed me. Standing on the sidelines with a one-sided love is pure agony. Wanting someone I might never have is torture.’

Sofia nodded, her expression softening with deep empathy.

‘I can understand that. I loved Jude for a long time before he returned my feelings.’