Chapter 2

Stephanie May took Toni's hand and cried out in delight, "Oh my God, you look absolutely ravishing! You're too good for that bastard at this point. You've got him beat in the looks department!"

Toni smiled. "I owe it to my makeup artist. She's the real MVP here."

I had my back to them, with half my face hidden beneath a mask, as I tidied my cosmetics case.

Stephanie shot me a nonchalant glance, then turned back to Toni.

"Nah, I dispute that. No amount of makeup could turn just anyone into a real beauty, darling, and you're proof of that. You were already a world-class beauty before the makeup! You're the most beautiful canvas any artist could ever dream of!" she declared proudly.

My fingers tightened around the mascara brush.

Toni chuckled and playfully swatted her hand away. "That's enough! No need to butter me up!"

"All right, all right. Your wish is my command, princess." Stephanie looked at the schedule in her hand. "I need to check if everything is running as smoothly as it should."

"How many times have you already checked?" Toni interjected in disbelief.

"Does it matter? I'm the leader of your bridesmaid brigade, hon! This is nothing less than my sacred duty!" she replied, raising her chin smugly.

"Today is an important day, and we shall not tolerate even the slightest mistake. I would personally glue the smallest diamond back into place if that's what it took to restore perfection!"

With that, she swept out of the room, and the commotion in the dressing room seemed to leave with her.

The weight in my chest threatened to choke me. She was the leader of her bridesmaid brigade? So what?! We were friends for more than 20 years!

When I was in high school, my parents were in the middle of a messy divorce. I kept putting off going home even after school ended. Stephanie was the one who sat with me on the steps by the track until dusk.

Then I started dating Walt, and we moved into a cheap rental with terrible insulation. Stephanie visited me one winter, took one look around the room, and left. Two hours later, she returned with a large electric heating mat that she'd lugged all the way over.

Her hands had already been red from the cold. When I asked how much it had cost, she refused to answer. I only found out later that she had paid 100 dollars for it. At the time, she made only 300 dollars a month as an intern.

Because of her, I could sleep warmly through the winter nights.

Dakota had no idea. She grinned at Toni and sighed with envy. "Gosh, what does a gal have to do to get a life like yours?! Your husband treats you like a princess, and your best friend adores you!"

Toni smiled. "We actually have a bit of a rocky history."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. We were actually hostile toward each other at first. Three years ago, I got into an argument with her in the lobby of Walt's office. He showed up and defused the situation.

"It turned out they'd been friends since college, so Walt introduced us properly. We started talking and hanging out, and before we knew it, we were best friends. We just had that chemistry, you know?"

I was stunned.

Three years ago, Walt had been transferred to a branch of his company in a distant city. His parents had been hospitalized at the time, and I had had to take care of them almost every day.

That was when I first felt a growing distance between us. He wouldn't return my messages until after midnight. His video calls often ended abruptly. Even when we spoke, he sounded distracted and disinterested.

Back then…

I grew anxious and told Stephanie about it.

"I'll go take a look tomorrow," she said. "If I find out he's been cheating on you, oho... Honey, I will castrate him on the spot!"

She called me back three days later.

"He's fine. He hasn't been doing anything bad at all. You should really stop being so paranoid," she began.

I breathed a long sigh of relief.

"In fact, I kind of think you're out of line this time, Felicia. He's been working his damnedest for your future. You know that, right?

"It's bad enough that you don't seem moved by everything he's doing. Did you really have to doubt him and assume the worst? What would he think if he found out?"

She actually managed to make me feel guilty. After that, I never dared question him again.

…

And now I knew the truth.

Those two had been in on it together!

A ringing phone startled me, and I dropped my powder brush.

I scrambled to pick it up as Walt's voice came through the phone. "Toni, how's it going? I hope you're not worn out."

A smile lit Toni's eyes. "How could I be tired? I've literally been sitting the whole time! You should worry about yourself, Walt. Don't flub your speech later!"

"I won't..."

"Don't worry about him, sis! You know I'm here to keep an eye on my bro!" another voice interjected. "If he'd been checking out other girls, you bet I would've sniffed it out instantly!"

I knew that voice. I'd heard it for more than 20 years.

It belonged to the snot-nosed brat who used to follow me everywhere, constantly chirping, "Wait up, Felicia!"

For some reason, his voice sounded like a stranger's now.

Toni chuckled. After a little more banter, she hung up.

I rose to my feet and took out a fresh, clean brush. "Sorry. I dropped the other one just now. Shall we continue?"

She nodded and closed her eyes.

The bristles swept lightly across her cheek. I kept my tone casual as I asked, "So... is that your little brother?"

She opened her eyes and looked at me through the mirror, then shook her head.

"No. I'm an orphan," she explained. "And his real sister is already dead."