Chapter 2

The next morning, our wedding planner, Tessa, came by with the final seating chart for us to sign off on.

The tables closest to ours were reserved for both sets of parents, the wedding party, and a few of our closest relatives. I scanned the list and quickly spotted a name that didn't belong among them. That person had been assigned the seat closest to us.

Claire Howard.

I turned the tablet toward Noah. "Why is she sitting here?"

Noah was answering emails and didn't even look up. "The tables for our other friends are all full. It'd be awkward to squeeze her in by herself. What's wrong with letting her sit a little closer?"

"Why does she have to sit next to our parents? That's the problem."

He finally looked up, frowning, and lowered his voice. "You already humiliated her in front of everyone last night. Her stomach was killing her, and she kept asking me if she'd said something wrong. Irene, can you please stop making everyone out to be a villain?"

Tessa, sitting across from us, looked uncomfortable.

I took a deep breath and let it go.

But when we got to the ceremony section of the schedule, Noah pointed to the line that read "Music Before the Bride's Entrance." "Let's change this. Claire's a good singer. We can have her sing a song as her way of wishing us well."

I put my pen down. "No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want a woman who's celebrated seven 'wedding anniversaries' with my fiancé taking the stage at my wedding in a gown, holding a microphone, and wishing me well. Just the thought makes me sick."

Noah's expression darkened instantly. "Are you seriously never going to let go of what she said last night?"

"I'm not the one who said it. She did."

"It was a joke."

"And she makes the same joke with you every year?"

"Irene." He rubbed his forehead, annoyed. "It's just a wedding. Why do you have to make everything so exhausting?"

For a moment, I didn't say anything.

I'd spent seven months planning this "just a wedding."

From the RSVPs, travel arrangements, and hotel bookings to the flowers, menu, and vows, I'd handled every single detail on my own. Every time, Noah said he was busy with work and told me to decide. I'd always thought it was because he trusted my taste. I'd thought that as long as he was waiting for me at the end of the aisle on our wedding day, none of the work it took to get there would matter.

Only now did I realize that trust had nothing to do with it.

He just never thought any of it was worth his time.

That night, I started getting chills.

When I took my temperature, the digital thermometer read 103.

Every bone in my body ached, and the fever medicine barely helped. My parents had just checked into their hotel, and I didn't want to worry them in the middle of the night, so the only person I could call was Noah.

He took a long time to answer. "What's up?" he drawled.

"I have a fever. I took something, but it won't go down."

I could hear water running steadily through the phone. Then I heard Leah's voice. "Noah, where'd you put the towel that was by the bathroom door? The floor's soaked."

My grip on the phone slowly tightened. "Where are you?"

"A pipe burst at Leah's apartment, and maintenance can't come until tomorrow morning. I came over to help her shut off the main valve."

"Can you come home now?"

I almost never talked to him like that, practically begging.

The line went quiet for a few seconds.

"Okay," he said. "Give me half an hour."

I wrapped myself in a blanket and sat on the couch to wait.

The living room light stayed on the whole time.

12:30. One. Two. Three.

The fever left me drifting in and out. When I woke again, it was already light outside.

At seven in the morning, a text from Noah finally popped up.

"Was wiped out last night and fell asleep on Leah's couch. Is your fever down?"

Less than ten seconds later, a second one came in.

"Oh, and let's have Claire sing at the wedding after all. She's been practicing for ages. Don't let all that go to waste."

I leaned back on the couch and stared at those two texts for a long time.

Then I swiped the notifications away and locked my phone.

I didn't answer either one.