Chapter 1

Five wedding dates. Five no-shows. Same two people every single time. My fiancé and my best friend.

Group chat buzzes. Vanessa.

"Ugh sorry babe! Work blew up, can't do the maid of honor thing today. Next time I swear!"

Then Ethan. Cold as always.

"Hey. Got pulled out of town. Let's just push the wedding. Or just do it without me, whatever."

I'm gripping my dress so hard my knuckles are white. I can't breathe.

I scroll back through the chat. My stomach turns.

Their last messages are some back-and-forth about a case. My questions about the wedding? Just sitting there. Nobody even bothered.

It's always like this. I'm the one who doesn't exist.

Ding.

Vanessa just posted on Instagram.

"Sunrise hikes and you. Everything just hits different. Two hopeless romantics lol."

I shut my phone off. It hits me like a truck.

Seven years with him. Ten years with her. Four cancelled weddings.

And I let it slide. Every. Single. Time. They're busy. They've got big careers. Sure. Fine.

They skipped my birthday. They skipped my mom's funeral. They bailed on four weddings.

And dumb, dumb me just kept forgiving.

Then I found this account. Every time they stood me up, they were together. Road trips. Concerts. This whole secret life I wasn't part of.

I'm done pretending.

Something in me just flatlines.

I leave a comment under her post.

"Cool, so you want the wedding too? Or just the groom?"

The post vanishes. Poof. Her whole account goes private.

Her texts start blowing up my phone.

"Aria omg please let me explain, it's not what it looks like..."

I swipe them all away. I don't feel a thing. No point. I'll be gone soon anyway.

I pull up Nathan's number. Hands steady. Heart dead.

"Give me a week. I'll take the job."

I stand up and yank the veil off. I look around this room. Flowers. Ribbons. Everything perfect for a wedding that was never gonna happen.

My eyes burn but nothing falls.

"Ugh, Ethan doesn't even DESERVE you. If I was a guy I'd lock you down so fast."

That was Vanessa. Right here in this room. Cracking up, hanging decorations, zipping me into dresses. Then she made sure I never made it down the aisle. Five times.

Phone rings. Wedding planner. She sounds stressed.

"Ms. Wells? Ceremony window's passed. Same deal as last time? We pushing it again?"

Nails digging into my palms. Sting keeps me steady.

"No. Kill it. We're done."

Dead air. Then, real careful: "Okay but... you're locked into the annual package and that's nonrefundable. You sure about this? Eight years is a long time, honey. Whatever's going on, I'm sure you two can—"

"He's the problem. So I'm taking out the trash."

I look down at my hand. That cheap little ring he gave me when we had nothing. I twist it off and toss it in the garbage.

Pale mark on my finger. Only proof any of this was ever real.

"Baby, I know this ring is trash. But one day I'm gonna put something on your finger that'll blow your mind."

That ring? I saw it two weeks ago on Vanessa's Instagram. Cartier. Twenty grand easy. He never spent a fraction of that on me.

Eight years and what did I get? Knockoff bracelets off a sidewalk table. Perfume from the CVS clearance bin.

Eight years. That's what I was worth to him.

I cancel the wedding for real. She doesn't fight me.

I hang up and collapse on the couch. Hollow. Gutted. Like someone scooped out everything inside me.

Three a.m. Front door flies open. He storms in windblown and wild, still wearing a matching Patagonia jacket. Same one she had on in that post.

"Nessa, how come you didn't grab me one too?"

I asked her once. Totally clueless. She just laughed and slung her arm around me.

"Girl, you get winded going up stairs. What do you need this for? They had a two-for-one thing so I just grabbed a pair. He can actually keep up with me, so."

I checked later. No sale. Two hundred bucks each. A brand literally known for their his-and-hers line.

Ethan sees me sitting there like a zombie. Goes cold.

"What the hell was that comment? She saw it and lost it. I had to drop everything to come deal with this. Can you not start shit for ONE day?"

I stand up. Chest so tight I can barely talk.

"A work trip. On top of a mountain. On a trail. You think I'm that stupid, Ethan? Months of cozy couple posts and I'm just supposed to smile?"

He looks away. Voice drops. Reaches for my wrist, all soft now.

"Come on. I just didn't want her going alone. It's not safe. The trip was real. You're blowing this up."

I rip my wrist free. I look in his eyes and I see a stranger.

"When some psycho chased me three blocks and I called you scared to death, you told me to stop overreacting. But she goes on a hike and suddenly you're her bodyguard?"

I let out a laugh that doesn't sound like me.

"We're done, Ethan."

His eyes go wide for half a second.

Then this little smirk creeps across his face.