Chapter 4

He kissed my hair.

Turned around to take Sophie's call.

Didn't notice the couples photo on the nightstand was gone.

That evening, the doorbell rang.

Sophie stood in the hallway wearing Ethan's white buttondown, the hem barely covering her thighs.

The perfume on her skin was the one I'd given her for her birthday last year.

She'd been there for me through breakups, hospital stays, and the hardest days of building my business.

She had my door code, my studio address, my wedding itinerary. She knew every fight Ethan and I had ever had.

I'd treated her like the closest friend I'd ever have.

She took every secret I'd handed her and used them to walk straight into Ethan's arms.

Sophie opened her palm.

The wedding ring sat there.

"Ethan said he still needs to give this to you next week."

"Told me not to lose it."

She held it out, a smile barely hidden behind her eyes.

"I wore it all day."

"You don't mind, do you?"

Inside the band, the names I'd engraved by hand had been ground away.

Replaced with hers.

Even the tiny star pattern I'd hidden inside—something I'd only ever told her about—had been destroyed completely.

I took the ring.

Sophie's triumphant smile had just surfaced when I let go.

Clang.

The ring hit the bottom of the trash can.

"Sophie, you know my taste."

"But you don't know me."

I met her frozen stare headon.

"Damaged goods don't stay in my collection."

"It's all yours."

…

A black velvet box sat on the coffee table.

Ethan flipped it open.

A diamond necklace threw off shards of cold light under the lamp.

Three days before the wedding, he'd actually come home instead of running to Sophie. Even pulled out my chair himself.

"I know the other day upset you."

He picked up the necklace and moved behind me.

"After we're married, I'll keep my distance from Sophie."

The cold chain grazed my neck.

I tilted my head away.

"You think a necklace cancels out that wedding?"

Ethan's hand hung in midair. The patience drained from his face.

"We never even applied for a marriage license."

"That wedding had zero legal standing."

"I was just helping her fulfill her grandmother's dying wish."

"Claire, you didn't used to be this cold."

The table was covered in wedding vows, dress catalogs, and the guest list.

Two cups of coffee had gone stone cold.

He hadn't looked at a single page since he walked in.

"If on our wedding day, Sophie and I both needed you at the same time—who would you choose?"

The living room went silent.

Ethan looked away, absently flipping through the guest list.

"That's a ridiculous hypothetical."

"Sophie already agreed to be a bridesmaid."

"Once we're married, everything goes back to normal."

I pressed my hand down on the pages he'd scattered.

"Answer me."

His phone screamed to life.

Sophie's name pulsed on the screen.

Ethan picked up immediately.

Her tearful voice leaked through the speaker.

"Ethan, Grandma just got worse."

"The doctor says a family member needs to stay with her tonight."

"I'm scared to be alone… can you come?"

The chair scraped across the floor with an ugly screech.

Ethan grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.

I pushed the vows to the edge of the table.

"We still need to confirm the dress, the schedule, and the guest list today."

"We'll do it when I get back."

"The wedding is three days away."

His hand was already on the doorknob.

He turned back, irritation all over his face.

"A wedding's just a ceremony."

"A human life matters more."

"Claire, don't be selfish. Not now."

The diamond necklace still glittered on the table.

Like some absurd consolation prize.

I looked at him.

"If you walk out that door, don't bother coming back."

Ethan blinked. Then frowned.

"Stop this."

"I'll be back once I've handled it."

"Wait for me at home."