Chapter 3

For a moment, I seemed to forget how to breathe.

Toni gently closed her eyes. "Yeah. He's Walt's junior at the same university. Hugh always said his late sister was a bit of a controlling tyrant. She interfered with everything he wanted to do and constantly imposed her will on him. He said living under her thumb was suffocating."

Dakota was indignant all over again. As she continued trying to fix the bridal veil on Toni's head, she grumbled, "Then I'm glad she's not around to control him anymore! A sister like that would make anyone feel suffocated!"

The lump in my throat hardened into a rock. Tears welled in my eyes.

Our parents' divorce had been bitter and messy to the very end. They were arguing over custody of their children when they got into a car accident and died. Just like that, I was left alone with 10-year-old Hugh.

I was determined to make sure he got a proper education. I went to school during the day and worked at a restaurant at night until my palms were covered in calluses, all so I could earn enough money to pay for his schooling.

I worried that he might fall in with the wrong crowd, so I forbade him from associating with ne'er-do-wells and confiscated his vape and cigarettes.

I also worried that some puppy love might distract him from his studies. I would ride my bike on a huge detour just to stop at a distance and secretly watch the school entrance.

I thought I was protecting him. I thought he knew that.

But all along, he thought I was locking him in a cage.

Toni suddenly chuckled as if she'd remembered something amusing. "Hugh was crying like a big baby while we were driving here. I couldn't get him to calm down no matter what I tried! Now that I think about it... it's kinda wholesome."

I sneered. On the day Walt and I got our marriage license, Hugh had been nothing more than a stoic, unenthused witness. His eyes hadn't even gotten wet.

He'd even told Walt, "Sorry you have to marry her."

And now the bastard had sobbed his heart out over some "sister" he'd picked up from God knew where.

Dakota clapped her hands. "That's it, Toni. You're winning at life! Familial love, romantic love, and platonic love. You're the most loved woman in the entire world!"

Toni looked away with a bashful smile. She pulled out her phone and showed us her photo album. "Look! We took these photos on our trips over the years."

One showed the four of them posing in front of what looked like a mountain villa. Walt stood in the middle with his left arm around Toni and his right arm draped over Hugh's shoulder. Stephanie stood beside Toni, and all four of them grinned at the camera.

As Toni scrolled farther down, even more photos appeared: beaches, restaurants and cafés that had gone viral on social media, New Year's parties...

I noticed something else. All four of them had gone on every single trip. Not one of them ever seemed to miss an outing.

Then a photo of Toni lying in a hospital bed caught my eye.

I pointed at the calendar in the background. "W-When was that?"

Toni glanced at the photo, and her smile widened. "Oh, this? I had a fever and went to the hospital. It was really no big deal, but all three of them panicked. They came to visit me and even stayed with me for a few days!"

She chuckled, her voice as joyful and jaunty as a little girl recounting a sweet memory.

My heart sank the moment I realized what day it had been.

It was the day Walt and I lost our unborn baby.