My Wedding, Not With You

The fall left me with a permanent vision impairment-a constant, sh

Annmarie, complained it was too cold. I overheard him call my sacrifice "sentimenta

ush to Annmarie' s side for a conveniently timed "panic

a gift, but as a contract t

mi venue, I let him hear the mountain w

about to start

' s not

pte

yn Bar

on earth that meant everything to us, to Miami, becau

and the words hit me like a physical blow. The air rushed out of my lungs, and the meticulously rendered a

and dangling from a frayed rope after a climbing move went horribly wrong. It was the place where, in the desperate, frantic scrabble to save him, a fall had left me with a

ing it for Miam

, the picture of casual arrogance. His friend and colleague, Chace Harrington, a fratern

ce a low murmur that I could just barely

on the phone he was scrolling through.

ker than our last quarterly report. She' s been planning th

h an impatience that felt like a thousand tiny cuts. "All that sentimental crap

a smirk playing on his lips. "I heard s

his tone shifting, softening with a concern he n

ng air quotes. "The same asthma that didn'

s diff

rie," Chace mused. "So, you' re r

up from his phone, his jaw tight. "I' m changing it because Mi

elationship. Brooklyn, the reliable, the understanding, the one who gave and never asked.

atisfied smirk returning to his face. "She' ll be happy where

saw my sacrifice not as a gift, but as a contract

aden' s face lit up as he answered

e voice filled the room, dripping with ma

is eyes wide with

a low, intimate purr that I hadn' t heard him u

I could kiss you!" she squealed. "The

n cold. The

n confirmed. "Had it

spoiling me rotten," she gushed. "I'

u will," h

ty grand for a dress? Who are you

nnmarie needs to look her best. She' s going to be t

found it in a small, elegant boutique, a simple A-line of ivory silk that cost a fraction

a single, perfun

ed sigh, as if the three-thousand-dollar charge was a monumental inconvenience. He' d b

ars for Annmarie. T

s simple. D

by plant, the entire five-year architecture of my life with

but from the hot, silent tears that finally began to fall. He wasn' t just having an emotional affair

e foundation, bur