Chapter 5

Betsy

Her gaze darted between all of us, a flicker of panic crossing her face before she covered it with a quick laugh. “Oh, I just meant, I wonder why you’d be smoking,” she said, trying to brush it off.

Irritation was already crawling under my skin. “Like everyone standing right here doesn’t?” I shot back.

The air went still. Of course everyone smoked, including her. The silence felt loud.

Oliver cleared his throat. “You know she didn’t mean it like that,” he said, automatically stepping in to shield her.

I looked away. Naturally he’d defend her. She was his wife now.

“Why are you holding her hand?” Barnes cut in, striding right between Roman and me and breaking our grip. I’d completely forgotten Roman’s fingers were still wrapped around mine and from the brief flash on his face, so had he.

Roman raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so triggered, jeez.”

Barnes tugged me gently to his side. Roman stepped forward instead, closing the distance to Oliver. “Well, dear brother,” he said, voice low and even, “I was planning to congratulate you properly, when it was just us, maybe with a couple of drinks.”

He paused, then pulled Oliver into a brief, firm hug. When he stepped back, his eyes moved to Aqua.

“Welcome to the family,” he said simply.

Her whole face brightened, eyes glittering with sudden warmth. “Thank you,” she murmured, voice soft and genuine.

I felt the familiar twist in my chest sharpen. Jealousy was rising too fast, too hot.

I needed to get out of here, right now, before it swallowed me whole.

“Thank you for coming,” Oliver said, his smile wide and genuine. “I actually thought you couldn’t make it to my big day.”

It really is a big day for you, isn’t it? To me, it felt like the worst day of my life. He would never know—not even on his deathbed—how much I hated seeing him this happy with Aqua.

“Have you eaten?” Barnes asked quietly, his voice just for me.

I shook my head. This was the perfect excuse to slip away from everyone, from all of this.

He started guiding me toward the food tables, but before we could get far, Oliver’s voice cut through again, hurried and a little teasing. “You just congratulated Aqua and not me, Bet. Come on, that’s not fair.”

I froze mid-step, forced a smile onto my face, and turned back to him. “Congratulations on your new life, Oliver.”

And now here I was, mechanically chewing through whatever was on my plate. Benjamin, predictably, hovered near the new bride like a shadow. Roman had vanished, who knew where. Barnes wasn’t eating. He just sat there watching me, eyes steady and unreadable.

When I finally set my fork down and let out a small sigh, he leaned in.

“You know he has a bad reputation with women, right?”

I raised an eyebrow at first, pretending not to follow. But the gravity in his expression made it click, and my face soured.

“Are you kidding me?” I said. “You think I would…? No. Gross. He’s just like you—an older brother.”

Barnes nodded once, satisfied. “Good. Keep it that way.”

Then he dropped his voice so only I could hear. “Just because you couldn’t get the brother you actually wanted doesn’t mean you should go for the one you definitely shouldn’t want.”

I shook my head at the jab, half-amused, half-annoyed.

“You’re talking like he’s the only playboy,” I shot back. “You and Benjamin aren’t exactly saints either.”

Barnes let out a low chuckle. “Exactly. That’s why I’m protecting you.” He shook his head, almost regretful. “The only good one, the one who would’ve actually been perfect for you, is married now.”

He paused, studying me. “I’m proud of you for not going berserk. But… before he started dating Aqua, why didn’t you just tell him how you felt? You’ve known him longer than she ever did.”

That was a very good question. Why hadn’t I ever told him how I really felt?

There were reasons, plenty of them and they all hurt the same.

He’d said it straight to my face more times than I could count: I was like the little sister he never had. He’d ruffle my hair while he said it, that fond, protective grin on his face. Sister-zoned. Firmly.

Other times he’d call me his real female friend, the one he could actually talk to without all the games and he’d pat my head like I was a kid he was proud of. Friend-zoned. Even more final.

And then there was that one afternoon when someone casually joked that we were dating. The way his whole expression darkened. The sharp, almost furious way he shut it down, arguing with the person until they backed off. It wasn’t embarrassment. It was anger. Real, visceral rejection of the very idea.

Every single one of those moments screamed the same thing: He would never see me that way. Not ever.

So no. I never said a word.

The thought of confessing, of laying my heart out only to watch his face twist in discomfort, to hear him stammer something polite like “I’m sorry… that’s… gross” or worse, to see pity creep into his eyes was unbearable. I’d rather die a thousand quiet deaths than live through that kind of humiliation.

I kept it locked inside instead. Buried it. Guided my stupid, stubborn heart the best I could. Told myself it would fade eventually. That I could handle being close to him as long as I never crossed that line.

Except now the line had been crossed for me, by Aqua, by a ring, by vows and my heart wasn’t just bruised anymore.

It was broken clean through.

And the worst part? He still didn’t know. He probably never would.

“Let’s just say I was afraid of rejection,” I said quietly.

Barnes nodded firmly. “Yeah, that’s one.”

I sighed deeply. My stomach felt so full, I’d eaten way more than usual.

I guess the whiskey had boosted my appetite. All of a sudden I needed to take a short walk to help everything settle faster.

“I’ll go for a light walk,” I told Barnes.

He nodded approvingly. “Don’t stay out too long,” he said with a small smile.

I chuckled. “It’s only because I ate too much.”

He laughed too, and I excused myself.

I walked out of the hall slowly. The night air rushed into my lungs. I wondered what time it was now. The last time Roman and I came back inside there had barely been any sunlight left. Now it was completely dark, just the scattered lights along the path showing the way.

After a short walk I stopped.

Then I heard it, a woman’s voice, light and chuckling. “Not there.”

Probably just some lovers. I didn’t care.

The voice sounded faintly familiar, but I brushed it off.

As I turned to keep going, my eyes caught them anyway.

I froze.

Tell me I’m not seeing this right.

“Roman?” I called.

He pulled away from her instantly. She turned toward my voice.

My eyes widened.

“Jesus Christ, Roman, that's your secretary”.