A Thousand Hearts Too Late

"Apologize."

Trevor Jenson's voice was ice-cold.

The private dining room fell silent. Every eye turned to me.

I was still clutching the cashmere scarf, now covered in lobster bisque. Soup trickled down the soft fringe and onto the carpet.

"Trevor, let it go."

Giselle Winslow came over to me. "Tessa doesn't always understand what she's doing. She didn't mean it. It's just a scarf."

Trevor's mother, Belinda Gardner, scoffed. "Giselle, you're too kind. That idiot has been at Trevor's side for ten years and still hasn't learned any manners. But she's certainly learned how to throw a fit when she wants his attention."

Trevor didn't even look at Giselle. He kept his eyes fixed on me.

"Tessa, I told you to apologize."

I blinked as the system counted down in my head. "Six days and two hours until you leave this world."

I turned to Giselle and lowered my head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'll wash it for you."

Giselle's hand froze in midair. She hadn't expected me to apologize so readily.

In the past, whenever Trevor yelled at me, I would cry and bury myself in his arms.

Clutching the scarf, which now smelled strongly of seafood, I turned and headed into the private restroom attached to the dining room.

I turned the faucet on full blast and tried to rinse the lobster bisque out of the cashmere. But no matter what I did, the stain wouldn't come out.

The restroom door opened, and Trevor walked in. He leaned against the doorframe, watching me clumsily scrub the scarf with soap.

"Enough. Stop washing it."

He sounded impatient as he came over and shut off the faucet. Then he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and slowly wiped my hands dry.

"Upset?"

I shook my head.

I wasn't upset. I was leaving soon.

He thought I was sulking and gently ruffled my hair. "Giselle had someone bring that scarf back from overseas. I wore it for the first time today."

I looked at him. "Trevvy, are you going to marry Giselle?"

Trevor's hand paused.

He didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a beautifully wrapped mint. He unwrapped it and held it to my lips.

"Don't touch Giselle's things again, and I won't yell at you."

I stared at the clear, glassy mint in his hand.

Whenever I had to take bitter medicine, he used to buy me butterscotch candies from Bellrose. Later, he said they were too sweet and would ruin my teeth, so he switched to these slightly bitter mints.

But Giselle was the one who liked mints. I hated the taste of mint.

I didn't open my mouth. I held out my hand instead, took the candy, and carefully tucked it into my pocket.

The next day, a new pair of slippers sat on the shoe rack.

They were for Giselle.

They were fuzzy and pink, with little bunny ears, and sat right where anyone would see them first. The white leather shoes Trevor had given me had been pushed into a corner on the floor beneath the shoe rack.

I was about to put my shoes back where they belonged when I heard the lock turn.

Trevor walked in carrying two cups of hot coffee, with Giselle right behind him.

Giselle stepped out of her heels and slipped into the pink slippers. Her heels came down squarely on top of my white leather shoes, leaving two dark scuff marks across the leather.

I froze.

I was about to step forward to move her heels when a sharp crash rang through the room.

Giselle had knocked over the glass jar beside the coffee table. It shattered, sending countless paper hearts spilling across the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tessa. I didn't mean to."

Giselle blinked at me, looking completely innocent.

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, Trevor's face hardened.

"How many times have I told you not to pile these little things on the table? Clean this up."

I looked down at the paper hearts beneath his shoes, and my chest suddenly ached.

I had spent two weeks folding them, following a tutorial on TV. Trevor had once promised that when I folded 1,000 of them, he would marry me.

But he'd forgotten. And I didn't want to ask anymore.