Three Days Short of Forever

At the morgue, I saw Mom's face and broke down in tears. My mother, Florence Blume, had raised me all on her own and had never asked for a thing. And yet, I still wasn't able to fulfill her last wish.When I found out how sick she was, I begged my boyfriend of six years, Kyle Grayson, to marry me so that she could die in peace, knowing that I wouldn't be alone.I begged for 27 days, but he kept putting it off.On day one, Kyle said his childhood sweetheart, Ruby Callahan, had her car quit on her, and he was rushing over to pick her up. On day two, he was helping her move.And it went on like that—one excuse stacked on another. On the 26th day, he told me Ruby's stomach was acting up, so he had to tend to her.If Ruby hadn't posted their marriage certificate on social media today, I would still be in the dark. I'd given Kyle ten thousand outs, but it had never once occurred to me that he was already married.I knelt beside Mom's hospital bed.Toward the evening, Kyle called me. H

I closed the box and passed it back to Kyle. His brows creased at that.Something seemed to click in his mind before he said a little awkwardly, "It's already past midnight. One more day, and I can divorce Ruby. I haven't forgotten what I promised you. Tomorrow, I'll put the ring on your finger, and we'll go get married."The sweet talk didn't move me."Okay, I hear you. I'm tired. I'm going to get some rest."Kyle's smile faltered. It was the first time he realized I was brushing him off. Panic flashed in his eyes, and he reached for my hand.That was when Ruby walked out of the bedroom in my pajamas. Sleepy-eyed, she glanced at me, then hooked her arm through Kyle's and cooed, "Holly's already back, Kyle. Come on, wash up and get some sleep."Kyle shot me a quick look and blurted, "Ruby had a falling-out with her family, so I let her crash in the guest room tonight."He kept his eyes on me, like he was afraid I would take it the wrong way.I nodded, playing it off. "It's fine

"27 times."Kyle let out a sudden laugh. The sharp edge of the divorce decree nicked his palm."While Holly was pleading with me for 27 days, you managed to get 12 stomachaches, seven car breakdowns, four claims of violence from your family, and your dog somehow had acute gastroenteritis four times."Ruby, do you actually think I'm an idiot?"In the city hall's lobby, a few couples who were waiting to get married quietly raised their phones to record the scene.The color drained from Ruby's face, and her styled curls clung to her damp temple. "You promised you'd deal with my family, and now you're pretending to be some grieving saint? Where was that when Holly was—""Shut up!"Kyle drove his fist into the queue number display screen, the glass splintering on impact.Ruby found her voice again. "You know full well her mother…"The shattered screen threw back a warped reflection of Kyle. All the things he'd been avoiding came flooding back to him at once.Me at 3:00 am, hunch

"That cheap picture frame should've been in the trash years ago! Kyle, wake up! Holly's probably in some guy's bed right now—"A bucketful of dirty water was dumped over Ruby's head.Wayne Carlson from the administration department stood there, the empty bucket shaking in his grip. "Ms. Callahan, I've been waiting to do that since the second you ruined Holly's cactus."…The damp, salty breeze drifted in through the half-open window. I finished the last stroke and looked up to find Samuel leaning in the doorway.He carried two cups of coffee, his eyes crinkling into a smile behind his gold-rimmed glasses."The wing motif on the final draft of 'Caged Bird' has three more cracks than the first."My hand faltered. The wings in the drawing were broken but still straining upward. It was exactly how I'd felt that night when I'd hunched over in the storage room, sketching.I accepted the coffee and took a sip, the bitterness unfurling across my tongue."Cracks are the cost of breakin

Kyle stared at the scar on Ruby's wrist, the one she'd once claimed had been caused by her violent family members, and scoffed. "People like you are too filthy even for hell."Ruby's eyes went wide. She spun away and vanished into the crowd.Three days later, a yacht explosion from a Southeast Alvarician country was reported. A passport recovered from the wreckage belonged to Ruby.…The rainy season hit Nautilum without warning. I hurried into the studio with an armful of sketches. And there was Samuel, standing in the doorway with an umbrella still up."Running a little late, Ms. Stockwell?"He smiled as he shook the rainwater from the umbrella. His gold-rimmed glasses were fogged over from the cold.Suddenly, a rough voice cut through the rain. "Holly…"Kyle stood at the corner, soaked through, his expensive suit wrinkled and ruined. He gripped a faded velvet box, his knuckles white."I came to keep my promise."His hands trembled as he flipped it open. The diamond ring lo