Chapter 2

"Daphne, the only thing I can't let go of is you. When I'm gone... I'm scared you won't be happy."

As I stumbled, Mason caught me, then looked at my mom with quiet certainty.

"Mrs. Devlin, I give you my word. I'll take care of Daphne."

He rushed the wedding plans, telling everyone to move up the timeline. He even took time off work to handle everything himself.

Back then, he'd held my face in his hands, his eyes warm and steady.

"If your mom gets to see you married before she passes... if she can be there on your wedding day... she'll finally be at peace.

"I'll make sure she sees you happy, Daphne. I promise."

He kissed the corner of my mouth.

The memory faded.

So did the warmth, leaving behind nothing but bitterness.

I had no idea what Mason was thinking.

At this point, I didn't care.

After I finalized the new dress with the sales associate, Molly and I grabbed a cab home.

The first thing I saw when I walked in was our huge engagement portrait.

The day we took those photos was Gigi's first day on the job.

Apparently, they'd known each other since school. When she found out Mason was getting married, she'd eagerly offered to help.

While carrying the framed portrait, she tripped and almost dropped it.

I'd nearly had a heart attack.

Mason didn't react.

He just walked past me, looked at Gigi, and asked, "Did you twist your ankle?"

Maybe that was the moment I stopped wanting the wedding for myself.

The only reason I still planned to go through with it was for my mom's peace of mind.

The fingerprint lock beeped, and the door clicked open.

Footsteps came up behind me, stopping at my side.

Mason studied our engagement photo for a moment.

"This picture has a lot of flaws.

"But your mom wasn't doing well then, so we had to rush the shoot."

I stayed quiet, waiting for whatever came next.

A second later, he looked at me.

"Gigi's right. A wedding isn't something you rush.

"The dresses you tried on today were nothing special. We should have one custom-made.

"When it's ready in a month, we'll go over the rest of the wedding plans."

A month.

My mom didn't have a month.

The breeze slipped through the open window as I answered, my voice eerily calm.

"Mason Jablon, we're done.

"I'm getting married next week."

The room went dead silent.

His face hardened. "Don't be ridiculous.

"One week isn't enough. There's still a ton left to do.

"The venue's booked. We've already gone over the schedule." I stared at him. "So what's left?"

He frowned, finally realizing he couldn't brush me off this time.

"Are your pre-wedding jitters really this bad?

"If they are, I'll find you a therapist. You should—"

"Next weekend. March ninth," I cut in. "The wedding's happening as planned."

I pulled out my phone and opened the updated invitation design.

Mason snatched it from my hand and slammed it onto the floor.

"Enough!

"I thought you only accepted my proposal because of your mom.

"But now I get it. You're just desperate to get married."

He took two sharp breaths, his voice turning cold.

"I know you're getting older and in a rush.

"But I'm not marrying you just because you're desperate."

Mason stormed out, slamming the door so hard the whole apartment shook.

The engagement photo, barely hanging on, crashed to the floor.

Glass shattered around my feet.

I crouched down and picked up my phone. The screen was spiderwebbed from where Mason had thrown it.

A video call came in.

Careful not to touch the cracked glass, I answered.

Molly's voice came through right away.

"I heard what happened. Mason hated the dress you picked and wants to have another one custom-made. There's no way the wedding can happen next week now.

"But don't worry. If it's too hard for you to tell your mom, I'll do it for you."