Chapter 2

The suggestion sent a fresh wave of cheers through the ballroom. People looked from Adrian to me, still unsure whose marriage the party was supposed to celebrate.

I glanced at Claire. She was watching Adrian instead, as though waiting for him to decide whether he wanted to play along.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” I set down my drink. “Adrian is the man Claire married today.”

The laughter died. Most guests had heard Claire call Adrian her foster brother, so seeing them arrive hand in hand had already left several people exchanging uneasy looks.

Claire finally turned toward me, her brows drawing together. “Do you have to say it like that? The marriage was only so Adrian could get treatment, and you already agreed.”

“I stated a fact.”

“You made it sound as if he stole your place.” She lowered her voice. “Adrian and I grew up together. He is family to me. Are you really jealous of someone who is practically my brother?”

For years, whenever Adrian called after midnight and said he could not sleep, Claire had left our bed and stayed at his apartment until morning. He kept a key to our place, and when I changed the entry code after finding him in our kitchen at three in the morning, she gave him the new one the next day.

At the dinner celebrating her promotion to vice president, the seat marked Partner had been beside Claire. Adrian sat in it while I was placed at another table with employees I had never met.

I had argued over those boundaries before. Claire always promised to change, and the next crisis always sent her running back to him. She treated every objection as proof that I distrusted her, while each concession became permission for Adrian to move closer.

“Maybe I shouldn't have come tonight,” Adrian said.

He avoided the guests' eyes and managed a strained smile. “I only wanted to get treatment. I never meant to humiliate Ethan in front of his friends. If he can't accept this, we can start the divorce tomorrow, and I'll withdraw from the program.”

“You can't withdraw.” Claire caught his wrist immediately. “Your doctor said you need to complete the full course of treatment. We agreed on one year, and none of this is your fault.”

She faced me. “Ethan, you agreed to this earlier. Now you're making him feel as if he did something wrong in front of everyone. Apologize, and we can put this behind us.”

This was not the first apology she had demanded from me. In the past, I would argue until she finally admitted she had crossed a line. She would hold me, promise to set boundaries with Adrian, and make the same promise again after his next crisis.

I had fought because I still believed there was a place for me to protect. Now my canceled wedding confirmation sat on my phone directly above my Nairobi itinerary, and ten days from now I would be on another continent.

“Fine. I was wrong.”

Claire had wanted an apology, yet her fingers tightened around Adrian’s wrist. She searched my face for the anger that usually followed.

In the past, I would have argued because arguing meant I still wanted my place back.

This time, she could give it to him.

I had already canceled the wedding.

She thought I was admitting that I had misjudged Adrian. My real mistake had been trusting every promise she made after choosing him.

I picked up my phone and started toward the exit.

“Ethan.”

Claire followed for two steps before Adrian caught her arm.

“Everyone is still waiting.” He glanced at the guests holding up their phones. “It's only one picture. Don't let the party end because of me.”

Near the door, I remembered the watch Claire had given me when we set our wedding date. I unclasped it, intending to return it before I left.

By the time I turned around, Adrian had one hand at the back of Claire's neck. He pulled her close and kissed her.

The metal watchcase dug into my palm.

Claire went rigid, her arms remaining at her sides while the first cheers rose around them. For one stunned second, she did not move.

Then she saw me over Adrian’s shoulder and shoved him back.

“Ethan...”

She hurried toward me and reached for my arm. I stepped aside before she could touch me, then placed the watch in her open palm.

“A wedding gift. Keep it.”

Claire looked down at the watch and closed her fingers around it. I crossed the ballroom without waiting for an explanation, leaving the music and whispers behind when the doors closed.

I had just reached the hotel lobby when hurried footsteps struck the floor behind me.

“Ethan!”