Peace After Pain: My Unwritten Blueprint

d. It led me, five days before my wedding, to a secret Inst

to her three-year affai

ollowers: they were tragic soulmates, and I was

were full o

my best friend, Dallas, had "liked" a comment wis

had saved hers from ruin. Why

ng day, I w

allroom screens lit up with a presentation I' d prepared

pte

Matthe

ed me, five days before my wedding, to a secret Instagram account

g and delivery of my gown would be delayed by a day. A minor logistical snag, nothing more. I was an architect; my e

hitecture for the body. The silk crepe fell like a waterfall, the bodice was a marvel of minimalist engineering, and the veil, seeded with hund

xt from Dallas Mckinney, my

poisoning, I think. You and Arden go ahead. I' ll just live vicar

uick. I typed back, Feel better! We'

ncé, to let him know it would just be t

ng a deal. "Something' s come up at the office. A whale of a client just

e words felt sma

Make it up to you tonigh

my head, chasing the feeling away. I was being paranoid. This was wedding week. Everything felt magnified, superc

ork gossip blog. Tucked away in the comments section of an article about th

s the real love story is with t

just anonymous internet chatter. Trolls.

he heiress out of obligation. The maid of honor is his soulmate. I fo

. What was the account name? I had to know. My fingers flew a

unt? I love a go

ast Side apartment swung open. Arden and Dallas

ering, a famil

playfully swatting Arden' s arm. Her face was flushed, her eyes spa

topping for gelato," Arden retorted, his hand

gelato after that brutal

food poisoning. Not

ugh their laughter. "I thought

thought you h

d to each other before settling on me. A flicker of something-a shared secret, a silent c

part of me, the part that had loved them for two decades, tried to shout it down. It' s

, a heady tuberose, filled the air. "Arden was helping me pick out a surprise wedding gift for you, and

ers. He smiled at me, his handsome, practiced smile. "Ye

ared smile. It felt like a punch to the gut. My insides w

. I needed to say something normal. "Vera' s t

ed, her hand flying to

e day is nothing. We' ve got this." He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ea

d, nudging him. "To apologi

udging her back. His fingers brushed aga

breath hitched, the way a fa

ked, my voice laced with a sweetness that felt like

lled away from Arden. "Just hungry. Let' s go, I' m starvi

n reached over to put a piece of seared tuna on my plate, his hand paused for a fraction of a second over Dalla

e, Dallas was leaning he

onight, H," she slurred, her eyes glas

re wasted. You can' t stay with Heidi. You' ll j

voice eerily calm. I smiled

ed, the hot water doing nothing to warm the ice that had formed

the gossip blo

t be disappointed. It' s

h bar. The account was private, but the profile picture was a silhou

single thought, two h

ibs. I sent a follow request.

as accepted your

The first picture made

of evening light. She was wearing my wedding dress. My constellation veil was draped ove

for a secret love. Forever starts no

hours ago. While I w

en I saw it. The second

on his pinky finger, gently holding a single, perfect pearl between

. A reply to my own comment on the goss

a 'secret ceremony.' They had their wedding n

a photo. A blurry, grainy ph

Arden' s hands were tangled in the silk, his face buried in her

chinoiserie from the bridal suite at the Plaza. The suite