It was my assistant.
“Meredith? The coordinator’s looking for you. They’re about to start.”
I stared at my reflection.
My eyes were swollen.
My mascara had been destroyed.
“Meredith? Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to take over?”
I thought about Adrian.
Alive. Smiling.
Preparing to get married while I had spent three months grieving his death.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
I wiped my face clean and picked up my florist badge.
And suddenly, I knew exactly what I was going to do next — and how I was going to make Adrian regret what he’d done to me.
For several more seconds, I remained in front of the mirror.
My hands continued trembling.
One part of me wanted to walk straight out of the building.
Another wanted to find Adrian and demand that he explain everything.
But somehow, neither choice felt remotely possible anymore.
He had allowed me to bury him.
His mother had held my hand while I wept.
Someone had organized an entire funeral.
Someone had lowered a coffin into the earth.
People had delivered food to my apartment and sat quietly beside me while I stared blankly at the walls.
For illustration purposes only
Adrian had knowingly allowed every part of it to happen.
And now he was twenty minutes away from marrying another woman.
I cleaned the smeared mascara from beneath my eyes and stepped out of the restroom.
My assistant, Kendra, found me near the service corridor.
The moment she saw my face, she frowned.
“What happened?”
“I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“Stay with the flowers. Don’t let anyone move the arrangements.”
She examined my expression carefully.
“Meredith, you’re scaring me.”
“I know.”
“Should I call someone to come help us?”
“Not yet.”
I headed toward the ceremony area.
Guests were already settling into their seats.
Almost none of the faces were familiar.
That hurt more deeply than I expected.
Adrian had somehow constructed an entire life around whatever he had done, and I had been erased from it completely.
Then I noticed Julian.
He stood near the last row.
For a moment, relief rushed through me.
Julian could explain what was happening.
I crossed the room quickly.
“Julian.”
He turned around.
Every trace of color disappeared from his face.
That reaction told me everything.
“You knew.”
His eyes flicked toward the hallway.
“Meredith, please. This isn’t the place to do…”
“You knew he was alive.”
“Keep your voice down.”
I laughed once.
The sound was ugly.
“I stood beside your family at his funeral.”
Julian rubbed his forehead.
“Please. Let me explain after the ceremony.”
“The ceremony?”
He lowered his voice until I could barely hear him.
