Chapter 4

When I got home, the living room lights were still on.

A new cake sat on the table. This time, the chocolate plaque read, "Happy fourth anniversary, Wendy. Don't be mad anymore."

Shane stood beside the dining table and pulled out a ring box.

"I went too far with what I said today."

The ring was a style I'd once casually mentioned liking.

So he remembered after all.

Why did he always wait until I'd been disappointed beyond measure before bringing these things out to coax me?

I turned my head away and ignored him.

After a moment of silence, Shane opened the ring box for me, his voice softening.

"Trust me one more time. Next week, I promise I won't be late."

Then his phone lit up on the table.

Sophie had sent him a message.

[Shane, everyone's calling me a homewrecker in the comments.]

[I really can't take this anymore.]

[Is Wendy still mad? Could she say something for me?]

Shane immediately turned off the screen.

I looked at him.

He avoided my eyes and closed the ring box.

"Make a post. Just say we couldn't get the paperwork done today because you weren't feeling well."

I gave a small laugh.

So that was what this was about. He wanted me to clean up Sophie's mess for her.

I pushed the ring back toward him.

"I'm not posting anything."

Shane's expression darkened instantly.

"She has a review for a public-service campaign tomorrow. If this gets around, it could seriously affect her.

"Wendy Mercer, don't make this uglier than it needs to be."

He came over and gripped my shoulders.

"Post one sentence, and everything stays the same. The wedding photos, the ceremony, the courthouse appointment. I'll explain things to your mom myself."

The moment he mentioned my mother, my chest tightened.

"What did you tell her?"

Shane looked away.

"She asked me this morning for the courthouse photos. I told her you were upset and decided to reschedule at the last minute."

I went rigid.

The night before, my mother had spent hours going through old photo albums, asking whether I wanted to wear the red cord bracelet my grandmother had left me.

She'd said getting legally married was something to celebrate. It shouldn't feel lonely.

But according to Shane, I was the one who'd gotten emotional and canceled at the last minute.

"What gave you the right to tell her that?"

His expression turned cold too.

"What was I supposed to say? That Sophie got sick, so I took her to the hospital and left you alone at the county clerk's office?"

"Wasn't that exactly what happened?"

"Does every truth have to be said out loud?"

His patience finally snapped.

"Wendy, we're adults. We should know how to spare each other some embarrassment."

I looked at him and suddenly found the whole thing almost funny.

He protected Sophie's dignity.

He protected his own.

Mine was the only humiliation he kept using to cover up everyone else's mistakes.

I picked up my phone from the table.

Thinking I'd agreed, Shane's expression eased slightly.

"Just keep it simple. Don't make it sound snarky."

Right in front of him, I opened Sophie's post and read through the comments beneath it.

[So who exactly is Mrs. Carter supposed to be?]

[Three's a crowd, and somehow the actual fiancée looks like the third wheel.]

[She was sick. Isn't your fiancée being a little petty?]

Standing beside me, Shane lowered his voice.

"Once you post it, I'll take you to that breakfast place you like."

I looked up at him.

"Shane, I only have one question now.

"What if I don't post it?"

The gentleness slowly disappeared from his face.

"Then we'll put the wedding on hold."

My phone vibrated in my hand, but suddenly I couldn't bring myself to look at it.

"Say that again."

"You're not in the right state to get married right now."

He looked straight at me, speaking each word clearly.

"I don't want to come home every day to a wife who treats Sophie like an enemy."

The ring box was still sitting on the table, and the frosting on the cake had already begun to sag.

Suddenly, I remembered the first time Shane held my hand four years ago.

He'd told me, "Wendy Mercer, I'm protective of my own. If anyone ever hurts you, I'll be the first one to stand up for you."

I wondered if the Shane who'd said that four years ago would find the man standing in front of me just as unfamiliar as I did.

When I still didn't move, Shane pushed my phone toward me.

"Post it."

I stayed still.

His voice hardened.

"Wendy Mercer, don't push her until she breaks down."

I looked at him and suddenly couldn't even see the point in arguing anymore.

I'd sat alone at the county clerk's office for three hours, humiliated in front of everyone there, and he hadn't said a single word in my defense.

Now he wanted me to cover for Sophie.

I picked up my phone.

Shane stood beside me and watched as I typed each word.

[We couldn't complete our marriage paperwork today because I wasn't feeling well. It had nothing to do with Sophie.]

He glanced over it.

"Add one more thing."

I looked up at him.

"What?"

"She's just a friend."

I lowered my eyes and added the line.

[She's just our friend.]

For one absurd moment, I almost couldn't believe it.

I was the one about to marry him, yet even my hurt had to step aside for her first.

The moment the post went through, Shane visibly relaxed.

"See? Was that so hard?"

Sophie's call came almost immediately afterward.

She was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.

"Shane, people are still calling me a homewrecker on my page... I'm really scared..."

Shane glanced at me.

"I'm coming over right now."

I asked quietly, "You're leaving again?"

"I need to deal with Sophie's situation first."

"What about me?"

His hand paused on his coat.

"You stay here and calm down."

I laughed.

"Shane, I am calm."

He either didn't understand what I meant, or he did and simply didn't care.

Before leaving, he pushed the ring box back in front of me.

"I'm leaving the ring here.

"When you've straightened out your thoughts, you can put it on yourself."

The door closed quietly behind him.

But inside me, the last thing still holding together shattered completely.

I didn't hesitate again.

I changed my flight from three days later to that night, deleted the post, turned off my phone, and left with the suitcase I'd already packed.

Before boarding, I checked my phone one last time.

No calls from Shane.

No messages either.

Good.

This time, I wasn't going back.