That was when I understood.
“You let them.”
Clementine whispered my name.
I ignored her.
“You let them think that dead man was you.”
Andrew’s eyes filled.
“I panicked.”
“For three months?”
“It wasn’t supposed to go this far.”
I almost screamed.
Instead, my voice became quieter.
“You had 12 days until our wedding.”
“I know.”
“Did you want to marry me?”
His silence gave me the answer.
I looked toward the second wedding dress.
The room seemed to tilt.
“No.”
“Davina.”
I pointed at the dress.
“Who is that for?”
Andrew closed his eyes.
Clementine sank into a chair.
Then a woman’s voice came from the hallway.
“Andrew?”
A young woman appeared behind him.
She was holding a bouquet.
She looked at me, then at Clementine.
Her smile vanished.
“What’s happening?”
I stared at her.
Andrew looked trapped.
The woman slowly lowered the flowers.
“Who is she?”
I almost pitied her.
Almost.
I turned to Andrew.
“You were getting married.”
His face crumpled.
“Davina, listen.”
“Today.”
He said nothing.
That was enough.
The wedding dress was hers.
The jacket was his.
The silver cufflinks were the ones I had given him on our second anniversary.
Don’t miss
And Clementine had been searching for that white bag because she was helping prepare another wedding.
Andrew had not only survived.
He had planned a new life while I mourned him.
The woman’s name was Freya.
I learned that because she demanded answers too.
Andrew had told her that his previous engagement had ended months earlier.
He never mentioned that his former fiancée believed he was dead.
When Freya understood, she dropped the bouquet onto the carpet.
“You told me she left you.”
Andrew reached for her.
She slapped his hand away.
“Don’t touch me.”
For the first time, Clementine stood.
“This has gone far enough.”
Andrew looked at her.
“Mom.”
“No.”
Her voice changed.
The frightened woman from minutes earlier was gone.
“I helped you because you were my son. I told myself you were terrified after the accident. I told myself we could fix this.”
She looked at me.
“But I watched her bury you.”
Her face twisted with shame.
“I watched Davina stand beside that coffin, and I said nothing.”
I could barely look at her.
“Why are you here, Clementine?”
She wiped her cheeks.
“To stop the wedding.”
