“It’s complicated.”
“No. Complicated is changing a wedding date. Complicated is finding out your fiancé cheated on you. This is something else.”
Several guests glanced in our direction.
Julian stepped nearer.
“Adrian was going to tell you.”
“When?”
He didn’t respond.
Something inside me suddenly became still.
The grief remained, but something new settled beside it.
Clarity.
“Who’s the bride?”
Julian looked away.
“Her name is Sarah.”
“How long?”
“Meredith.”
“How long has she been with him?”
His silence continued for too many seconds.
“Before the accident,” he finally confessed in a low voice.
Nausea rolled through me.
I slowly nodded.
“So there was no accident.”
“There was an accident.”
“What?”
Julian exhaled heavily.
“Adrian was in the car, but he survived. Someone else didn’t.”
I stared at him.
“He took advantage of the accident to disappear.”
Julian’s expression tightened.
“He panicked.”
“He faked his death.”
“He thought it was the only way to get out.”
“Out of marrying me?”
Julian looked ashamed.
“Out of everything.”
I stepped away from him.
For months, I had imagined Adrian’s last moments alive.
I had wondered whether he’d been frightened.
I had wondered whether he had thought about me.
Instead, Adrian had survived and decided pretending to be dead was easier than telling me the truth.
Music began playing inside the ceremony space.
Julian reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Meredith, please don’t do anything.”
I pulled myself away.
“Don’t touch me.”
Then Colleen appeared.
She looked first at Julian and then at me before closing her eyes.
“You told her.”
“He didn’t have to,” I replied.
“Meredith, please.”
“You held my hand.”
Her face crumpled.
“I know.”
“You watched me cry over your son.”
“I know.”
“You let me stand in front of that coffin.”
Tears gathered in her eyes.
“I thought I was protecting him.”
“From what?”
She glanced toward the groom’s room.
“From ruining his life.”
My throat tightened painfully.
“So you ruined mine instead?”
She couldn’t answer.
As the ceremony music shifted, I finally saw the bride.
Sarah stood close to the entrance with an older man beside her.
She looked nervous.
