MARRIED TO MY SISTER'S FIANCE
e day, and sitting at the breakfast table with Adrian and Isabelle. The three of us were forced t
erythi
ine between wife and sister had blurred so much that I couldn't tell where one role ended and the other began. My reflecti
ents, I saw something I couldn't quite name. Was it guilt? Desire? Regret? It didn't matte
but I couldn't figure out her game. Was she here to recla
, eyes dull. Her face had lost that radiance it once had-the sparkle that had mad
lawyer yet?" Adrian's voic
, fingers trembling ever so slightly. "Not yet," she said quietl
a lawyer, Isabelle. You just need
e snapped, her voice a little too shar
but there was an underlying ache to it. "Why did yo
g to her hands. "I didn't come back for you, Adrian," she
-two people so tied to each other by fate, by promises, and by lies.
the tension. "I've got an earl
me. Isabelle didn't eve
on me. The air in the room was thick, heavy with unspoken words. I
ked my phone, I saw messages from Isabelle-apologies, confessions, half-thought-out explanations-but I nev
belle wasn't at dinner, and Adrian didn't look at me when I entered the room. His attenti
you weren't coming back,"
y instincts told me to leave the room, but
eyes narrowing slightly. "You're
y chest tightening.
way you look at me. You've been avoiding me ever since she showed
did
be a part of this game, Ivy. But you made a choice. You ch
n't have a choice, Adrian. Yo
ly against the floor. "Then why are
everything I've known is a lie. You've made this impossible, Adrian. I've wa
een us. "You think I don't know that? You thi
. "You've never once talked to me about a
e quieter now, almost vulnerable.
hould try,"
softening ever so slightly. But before either of us coul
bel
and swollen, as though she'd been cry
both an explanation
o fists at his sides. "What's there to explai
e I couldn't stay. I couldn't be the person you wanted me to be. I couldn't be the perfect fiancé
You could've told me that
she said, her voice cra
dn't been running from Adrian. She'd been running from herself. From the pressure. F
was strained. "Why come back? Afte
e I couldn't stay away anymore.
n's tone was harsh, but
eserves a father. A real father. Not someone who
n the air like a
widened. "Yo
, her gaze
're
said firmly
le
e length of the room. His footsteps were heavy, as thoug
e muttered, his voice low. "I don't know how t
he said softly. "And by accepting that I'm no
. "I never wanted you to be perfect, Isabelle. I
ever left her voice. "I couldn't be r
een them was thi
drian's eye
a silent understanding. We were both standing on the pre