Chapter 9

~ LENA ~

I was very sure I’d closed the door. Yet, there she was, leaning lightly against the frame like she’d been there all along. Or maybe she’d just arrived and I’d been too lost in my thoughts to notice.

She looked a little younger than me, twenty-one maybe, and confident, like she belonged in this house as much as the walls did. I couldn’t ignore how beautiful she was, wearing a crop top and tight bum shorts that showcased her long legs.

Her posture was relaxed, her smile soft and pleasant. But something about it didn’t sit right.

“Kim, isn’t it?” she said, her eyes sweeping over me slowly. Not in an admiring way. Rather like she was assessing me. “I have to say…Nathan wasn’t wrong. You really are beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I replied, forcing my voice to stay steady.

The way her eyes lingered on me made me feel uncomfortable. I shifted slightly, suddenly aware of how exposed I felt standing there in the wedding dress.

“Um…” I hesitated. “Who are you?”

Her brows lifted a fraction.

“Who am I?” she repeated, as though the question itself amused—or offended her. “Don’t tell me Nate never mentioned me.”

Nate.

The way she said it—casual, familiar—hit something sharp in my chest.

“I…” I paused. “No. I don’t think he did.”

Her lips curved into a wider smile that felt tight beneath the surface. “Really? That’s surprising. I’ll definitely have to bring that up with him later, because I don’t understand how he could have forgotten to mention me.”

She left the door, slowly advancing.

“More especially as I’m his favorite person.” Standing in front of me now, she extended her hand. “I’m Ashley. Nathan’s stepsister.”

“Oh.” I took her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Her grip was deliberately firm. Almost too firm.

She didn’t let go of my hand right away. “The pleasure is all mine. I mean…it’s nice to finally put a face to the woman who’s managed to make my Nathan believe in love again.”

My Nathan.

The phrase echoed loudly in my head.

She released my hand at last, tilting her head slightly as she studied me again.

“I have to admit,” she continued, “I was shocked when I heard he was getting married—and so quickly too—considering the fact that you two have been dating for what, a few months?”

I forced on a small smile. The conversation was beginning to get awkward. It was obvious she wasn’t pleased.

“Sometimes when people know what they want, they don’t waste time,” I replied calmly.

“Of course,” she agreed. “Especially when a rare opportunity presents itself with a man like Nathan.”

Her words held a deeper meaning I couldn’t ignore.

“I’m…not sure I understand what you mean.”

Her smile widened into a chuckle. “Oh, nothing bad. You don’t just strike me as the kind of woman who would usually catch Nate’s attention. He has very…refined taste in women.”

My brows knit together instantly at the polite insult. But before I could respond, another voice cut in.

“Ashley, darling.”

Someone else had entered the room. It was Deborah.

“Don’t tell me you’re already pestering our bride-to-be,” she said, though her tone held no real reprimand.

Her eyes moved to me—and unlike Ashley’s, there was warmth there. Real warmth. Perhaps I had misjudged her earlier.

“Hello, dear,” she said kindly. “I’m sure Nathan hasn’t told you much about me yet. I’m Deborah. His stepmother.”

“N-nice to meet you, Mrs. Blackwood.”

“Oh, please.” She smiled, waving it off like I sounded silly. “Ditch the formalities and just call me Deborah. Or better still—you can call me Mom, like Nathan does. After all, you’ll be getting married to my son in a few days’ time.”

I nodded, trying to smile even as I glanced at Ashley and met her cold stare.

Deborah’s gaze softened as she looked me over. “You look absolutely breathtaking, dear. You’ll make such a beautiful bride.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.”

“Deborah,” she corrected. “I insist.”

“Okay.”

“Good.” She turned back to Ashley. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s give Kim some privacy.”

Ashley smiled, her eyes flickering to mine one last time, lingering, promising something unspoken.

“Of course,” she said.

They left together. Only after the door clicked shut did I exhale a huge sigh of relief. Slowly, I turned back to the mirror, my hands beginning to tremble slightly.

Why hadn’t Julian said anything? Why hadn’t he warned me about Nathan’s bratty stepsister? It certainly could have prepared me for this encounter.

Ashely was meeting me for the first time, but already I could feel the hostility. The way she’d looked at me, sizing me up. It wasn’t the appraisal of a sister meeting a future sister-in-law for the first time. It was something else. Something dark. Almost like…that of a woman staring into the face of her rival.

I swallowed hard, trying to shake the thought, but the knot in my stomach only tightened.

Did Nathan and Ashley have a history? Or was I simply imagining things because I was already on edge?

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, the wedding dress clinging to me like a promise I had to keep.

Everything is going to be fine, I told myself. I’d been telling myself that a lot lately.

But even as the words formed in my mind, something inside me resisted them. A quiet, persistent warning I couldn’t ignore.

Why didn’t I believe it? Why did my instincts keep circling back to Ashley? Why did it keep telling me that this wasn’t the end of her problems?

If anything, it was only the beginning.