Chapter 3

The table erupted in laughter.

Caleb lifted his glass and looked at Nina, though his words were meant for me. "You know how Nina talks. Don't take it personally."

"I know."

He looked surprised for a second, then smiled, apparently satisfied.

As the night wore on and the drinks kept coming, everyone got louder. One of Caleb's friends was already drunk enough to sling an arm over his shoulder.

"Caleb's finally getting married."

Another guy laughed. "Seriously. Remember when he proposed to Nina? Man, that whole setup was something else. It was even bigger than this wedding..."

He stopped mid-sentence, and the room went dead silent.

Caleb slowly set down his glass, his expression darkening. The friend who had let it slip sobered up almost instantly and looked at me awkwardly.

"Yvie, I didn't mean..."

One look around the table told me everything I needed to know.

Caleb's friends knew he'd proposed to Nina.

Their mutual friends knew.

I was the only one who hadn't.

I got to my feet, and Caleb immediately stood with me.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

"The restroom."

I walked out before he could say anything else.

Nina followed me into the restroom.

Her eyes were already red when she faced me. "Yvie, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hide the proposal from you."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid you'd misunderstand."

She took a breath before adding, "You're my best friend. If this bothers you, I won't be your maid of honor."

It sounded so considerate, like she was graciously offering to step aside.

All I heard was the irony.

Nina had always known Caleb had once given her the kind of proposal he'd never even considered giving me, yet she'd still planned to stand beside me at my wedding as my maid of honor.

Now that the truth was out, she was offering to bow out if I was "uncomfortable."

Caleb came in a moment later.

The second he saw Nina crying, he frowned at me.

"Yvie, whatever happened between Nina and me is over. You don't need to keep making an issue out of it."

"Over?"

I looked at him. "Does that include the proposal video you've kept all these years?"

His face changed instantly.

"You went through my stuff?"

Suddenly, I didn't want to argue anymore..

Even now, his first instinct wasn't to explain.

It wasn't to apologize.

It was to blame me for finding out.

Caleb was quiet for a few seconds before rubbing a hand over his brow.

"Yvie, this is exactly why I didn't tell you."

"Why? What did you think I'd do?"

"Get jealous. Throw a fit. Drag up something that happened years ago and refuse to let it go."

He said it as though the answer should have been obvious.

"Nina and I grew up together. That was a long time ago."

Then he looked straight at me.

"You're the one I'm marrying now. Isn't that enough?"

I remembered what he'd said when he proposed to Nina.

"If you say yes, I'll spend the rest of my life with you."

Once, Caleb had wanted to give Nina his whole life.

Now he was standing in front of me, asking whether his willingness to marry me should be enough.

I gave a small nod.

"Yeah. It's enough."

His expression eased, clearly convinced I'd finally backed down.

"Then stop making a big deal out of this. The wedding's tomorrow."

"Okay."

I met his eyes.

"The wedding will go ahead as planned."

Caleb visibly relaxed. "Good."

Then he added, "I'll be there on time tomorrow to pick you up."

Nina stood behind him, tears still clinging to her lashes.

I didn't look at either of them again.

As I turned to leave, my phone buzzed. It was a message from the person I'd pinned to the top of my chats.

[Got the suit. It fits perfectly.]

I stared at it for a long moment before replying.

[See you tomorrow.]

By 7:30 the next morning, my hair and makeup were done, and I was posing for the photographer's pre-wedding shots.