Everyone Knew but Me

Once I found out which hospital my best friend was at, I went straight there without stopping.

The second I pushed the door open, Lucas Wynn was bending down to kiss the woman in the bed, his whole face soft with it.

Gifts for the newborn were stacked everywhere around them.

The whole perfect picture cracked apart the moment I walked in.

There were so many of our mutual friends in that room, including my best friend and several of the people I'd trusted most in the world.

A hush went through the room, and I heard someone catch their breath.

The woman in the bed looked at me, puzzled. "Who are you?"

I opened my mouth, and then I caught Lucas's warning look.

"Just an old classmate. Haven't seen her in years."

I almost laughed.

Ten years together, and Lucas didn't dare admit who I was.

My best friend, Hannah Pike, took my hand and pulled me toward the hall.

"Iris, don't upset Celeste while she's recovering. Whatever this is, we can deal with it another day."

I stared at that familiar face and thought about more than a decade of video calls and late-night conversations.

She'd watched me sleep four hours a night to save for a home. She'd listened to me plan a future out loud.

And she never once told me that future didn't exist.

She hauled me out of that room, and the first thing out of her mouth was a warning.

"Celeste just had a baby. Don't go in there and make a scene."

I asked her one question. "How long has this been going on? Why didn't you tell me?"

She was quiet for a moment. "They've been together six years. All of us knew. We didn't tell you because we were afraid you'd blow up."

It hurt so much I could barely get air in.

Lucas and I had been together ten years. Six of them in different cities.

I'd brought up getting married more times than I could count, and he always blamed the distance or said it wasn't the right time yet.

He told me once that he wasn't marrying me until we owned a place.

That was why I worked myself raw, stayed up building my career, saved every dollar I could get my hands on.

For six years Lucas said he was too busy to come see me in Rosebridge.

I took leave over and over and flew back to Harborwick, and every time he said work was crushing him and gave me a rushed hour before he left.

I never once questioned it. I thought he was just exhausted.

Turns out he'd saved all his patience and all his tenderness for somebody else.

Hannah saw the property deed in my hand, and her expression shifted. Then she seemed to decide there was no point pretending anymore.

"So what if you had ten years? Lucas has always wanted Celeste. Why do you think a company president spent all that time playing broke around you?

"You were killing yourself at work while he was off traveling with her. Money goes where love goes, Iris. Wake up."

She pulled out her phone and showed me the proof.

Lucas and Celeste kissing under northern lights. Holding hands on a dune. Leaning into each other on a snowfield.

Every photo had a date on it. The earliest was March, six years ago.

That was the worst stretch of my life. My job status was still up in the air, my mother was seriously ill, and I couldn't breathe under the weight of it.

Every time I called Lucas back then, he somehow never picked up.

He'd already been with her.

My phone buzzed. A message from him.

"Go back to your hotel. I'll explain later."

I pulled my hand out of Hannah's and shoved the door open again.