Page 56 of Secret Dynasty

“What’s wrong?” I asked her when I saw the look on her face.

“It’s Holden,” she said.

“What about him?” My heart skipped a beat and then stopped altogether when she told me, “He took off. He’s not coming to the wedding.”

Chapter Thirty

Iris gasped and rushed toward the door, abandoning the champagne on a side table. “That must be what has made Caroline so upset. I should go check on her.”

I nodded, my whole body going numb. She left to calm the mother of the groom, but I stood there. Meanwhile, Eliza badgered Evie for information.

“He was supposed to take Spencer for his stag night,” Evie told her in a conspiratorial voice, “but then he canceled last minute.”

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that there wasn’t time for you to have a hen night but there was time for Spencer to have a stag night?” Eliza said bitterly.

“I didn’t want a hen party,” I told her, “and you know why.”

Evie looked at both of us in turn, curiosity peaking on her face.

“There was no point. I only have one bridesmaid that can go to a bar,” I lied.

“Okay,” Evie said, but I could tell she wasn’t buying it.

“What happened? Why did he cancel? Where did he go?” Eliza asked, steering the conversation back to the topic of Holden.

I was going to be sick. Their voices faded as I made my way to the corner chair and sank slowly into it. It didn’t matter where he’d gone. He wasn’t here. Spencer would be furious, and the blame for his disappearance would fall squarely on my shoulders. That wasn’t what bothered me. It was the guilt I felt for being glad I wouldn’t have to face Holden as I said my vows to Spencer.

“Mom thinks that he had a fight with Spencer, and he took off. He does things like that,” Evie said sadly. I noticed that she didn’t look at me as she spoke. Did she suspect the truth?

No one would be surprised that the brothers got into a fight, even on one’s wedding day. It was an easy story to swallow. That might be what they wanted to believe, but I knew the truth. This wasn’t about Spencer. This was about me.

I stared out the window. A hedge blocked the view past Sparrow Court. As far as I could tell from here, the outside world didn’t exist. Of course, that was the entire point. It was the Byrd family’s personal kingdom and my beautiful cage.

“Hey,” Eliza said softly, interrupting my melancholy. “Read this.” She handed me the card that had arrived with the champagne.

I took it with trembling hands and read the four words written on it. I looked up at her, choking back a sob.

Next time, dirty girl.

There wouldn’t be a next time. He was gone. I was getting married. It wasn’t a promise. It was a farewell.

“That’s what I thought,” she muttered.

“What does it say?” Evie strained to read the card, but I pressed it to my chest out of her view.

“Believe me, you don’t want to know,” Eliza told her.

“This isn’t about Spencer, is it? Holden left because of you,” she said, but her tone was free of any judgment.

“You shouldn’t worry about it,” I said softly. I folded the card in half and tucked it into the pocket of my robe.

“Something is going on between you two.”

She waited for me to deny it, but I didn’t have the energy. Not anymore.

“Don’t marry Spencer,” she blurted out.

Eliza and I both stared at her. I was shocked, but Eliza looked impressed.