LOGINThat night, long after the last of the guests had left for their rooms, Andrew and I returned to the presidential suite to find that the staff had decorated it in preparation for our stay. All the décor, right down to the bed sheets, had been switched out for matching red and gold pieces. The light
Andrew’s eyes met mine as I approached the altar. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He looked so handsome in his classic black tuxedo that I could hardly wait for after the reception to be with him. As I took my place across from Andrew, I handed my bouquet to Lily. The priestess bega
One month later, I stood in a suite at a private beachside resort, admiring my wedding dress. It hugged my curves in all the right places while still gently brushing against the ground like a low-hanging cloud. Crystals glistened in the room’s fluorescent lights, and the train flowed behind me effor
“Let’s continue this in the bedroom,” I said, breathless. Andrew nodded his agreement. I pulled Andrew to his feet as he stuck the ring box back in his pocket. Then I dragged him back to the bedroom, leading him by the tie. Not that he needed to be dragged; he would have followed me anywhere by th
Andrew texted me and said his flight was delayed by a few errands he had to run, so I waited. And waited. I waited for an entire day, and even began to worry that Andrew had changed his mind. Then I heard a knock at my door. I leapt off the couch and rushed to answer it. Stopping just short of the
Noah left the next day. I took him to the airport, we exchanged a hug and a brief farewell, and then I watched him walk through the gate. That was the last time I ever saw him. With a heavy heart, I returned to an empty apartment. All our furniture and my belongings—what little I still had—were the
I did not get much sleep that night. I could not stop playing the fight in my head, over and over. I clutched at my pillow and watched the empty dip in my bed where Andrew normally slept. He was jealous, that was all that I could think of to justify his behavior. It made perfect sense; Jeffrey and
The steady beeping of a heart monitor woke my senses first. Then came the blinding brightness of fluorescent lights bouncing off of pure white walls and the stingingly sterile smell of floor cleaner. Finally, as my vision focused, I saw Andrew sitting back in a chair next to my bed, Jeffrey forever
My new dress flowed across the red carpet as I walked up to the platform, escorted by Jeffrey, and took my seat slightly behind and to the right of Andrew’s throne. Jeffrey assumed his position behind my chair and reported into his walkie-talkie that I had safely made it to my seat. I folded my hand
Chevalier chuckled. “How chivalric.” In a flash, he pointed his gun at Jeffrey’s leg and shot him with a silver bullet. I screamed as Jeffrey fell to the ground, clutching the wound and groaning loudly. I dropped to the ground beside him, a bullet whizzing by my head as I did so. “Jeffrey—”







