A Love Let Go, A Past Forgotten

Before registering our marriage, Yale Grant and I stopped at the mall to try on the jewelry set for our wedding. Just as I reached for one of the pieces, he suddenly stopped me. "Willa has fairer skin than you, so the jewelry will stand out more on her. Let her try it on instead." Without waiting for my answer, he began putting the jewelry on my best friend, Willa Lawson. He carefully wiped down each piece, warmed it in his hands, and fastened it around her, looking so practiced and attentive that anyone would have thought he'd done it a thousand times before. A couple passing by smiled at them. "A boyfriend that thoughtful is hard to find, sweetheart. You'd better hold on to him!" Willa glanced shyly at Yale, her cheeks turning pink. He made no attempt to correct their misunderstanding. Instead, he quietly handed his card to the sales associate. "I'll take everything." Not once did he ask for my opinion. This was already the tenth time that day he'd had Willa take my place. When we got into the car, he'd insisted that Willa sit in the passenger seat because she was slimmer and wouldn't obstruct his view. He'd put her in charge of all the wedding preparations because she was more attentive to detail. He'd even let her choose my wedding dress, claiming she had better taste. Somehow, Yale always managed to find something wrong with me, another reason I should step aside for the supposedly perfect Willa. If he thought she was so much better than me, she could have this relationship that had gone nowhere, too. The clerks' office was our next stop. When Yale reached for my hand, I pulled away. "No, thanks. Willa is better than me in everything. Why don't you have her take my place and marry you?"