3: 3

For the first time, I didn't look away from him.

Curtis sighed.

"Come on, she's just a kid. Why hold it against her?"

His voice softened.

"We finally get a break. Don't be upset. How about I take you to the theme park later, hm?"

I thought of my birthday last year.

On the phone, I'd said I wanted to go to the theme park in Harborview.

And he'd said, "Isn't that childish? You're too old for a place like that."

But today he was the one offering to take me.

I swallowed the tightness in my throat.

I told myself.

Let it go. He didn't mean it.

I hadn't come here to fight.

I nodded.

He smiled, visibly relieved.

The park was packed wall to wall.

Curtis went to buy the tickets, Maggie right beside him.

She pointed at a character cutout nearby.

"So cute, Curtis, look!"

He glanced over and said something.

From the moment we passed the turnstiles, she was hanging on his arm.

Taking photos the whole time.

In front of the castle. On the carousel.

Even a balloon vendor on the path had to be photographed.

She ran him like her own personal photographer.

And not once, the whole time, did he get annoyed.

Once, I'd asked him to take a picture of me with one of the cartoon bears.

He'd held up the phone and jabbed at it twice, impatient.

All three came out blurry.

The last one only got the bear's backside.

But now, here he was, half crouching to find the right angle.

And after each shot he'd lean in to check the preview.

The two of them, heads together over the screen.

The sun was blazing, and I felt cold all over.

They did the roller coaster, then went for the drop tower.

I sat on a bench and waited.

Next to me a couple was sharing a single ice cream.

I felt an odd little pang of envy.

By the time they came out, the sky had shifted.

Maggie tugged at Curtis, saying the haunted house was next.

Curtis didn't mind. "Let's go. Line's about half an hour."

I stood up, and for a second my vision went black.

"Curtis, I want to go back."

His mouth pressed thin, the impatience spilling right out.

"Anna, everything's fine. What are you throwing a tantrum for?"

"I'm not—"

"We've been catering to your mood all day, since this morning."

His voice climbed half a step.

"And you just have to ruin it right now, is that it?"

I opened my mouth.

I badly wanted to say I'd thrown up twice since morning.

To say my legs were shaking.

But I couldn't get it out.

Maggie watched me with a coldness I couldn't quite read.

"Enough already, Annie. You've been giving me dirty looks this whole time, and I put up with it.

"Curtis and I had plans to go somewhere else, and it all got canceled because you came. What more do you want?"

She paused after that, then gave a little laugh.

Flipping her mood like turning a page.

"Forget it, forget it, Curtis, I won't hold it against her. Even if she is a total buzzkill. I don't know how you stand her."

She turned her head and shot me a look.

"Or how about we go with Annie to try on wedding dresses?

"You two were on video the other day and she kept going on about it, right? We're already out, might as well go take a look."

I stood there.

So she'd been right beside him during all our video calls.

Suddenly I wanted to laugh.

Fine.

I'd been planning to cancel the wedding anyway.

"Okay. Let's do what she says."

4: 4

We had barely stepped into the bridal shop when the clerk spotted Maggie and broke into a wide smile.

"Miss Cox, you're back! Here to try on gowns with your boyfriend again?"

"That mermaid style last time looked gorgeous on you. We just got a few new arrivals in today, would you like to—"

Then she noticed me.

"And this is...?"

Maggie laughed.

"Oh, this is Curtis's fiancée. I'm just tagging along today to help her look."

Curtis said nothing.

So he'd already brought her here before.

I thought back to our video call last month.

I'd shown him the gowns I'd saved online and asked which one he liked.

He hadn't lifted his eyes from his screen.

"Whatever you want is fine."

I'd asked when we could go to the shop to try them on.

He'd said we'd figure it out later.

So his "later" had meant coming here with someone else.

Maggie looped her arm through mine.

"What are you spacing out for, sis?"

"Today's all about you. I'm still waiting to drink at your and Curtis's wedding."

She turned to the clerk.

"Could you pull a few that would suit her? Nothing fancy."

The clerk glanced at me and grabbed one at random.

"This basic style is lovely too. Want to try it?"

Maggie pushed it into my hands and steered me toward the fitting room.

The fabric strained across me, the cut all wrong, the waistline sitting too high.

When I stepped out—

Someone snorted.

I don't know who laughed first.

"She looks like a chubby melon..."

"You know what, she kind of does."

"This is really Mr. Harding's girlfriend? For real?"

"She's nothing compared to Miss Cox."

Their eyes drifted to Maggie.

The corners of her mouth curled up, like she was laughing at me for not knowing my place.

Just then, someone walked in.

The moment he saw Curtis and Maggie, he hurried over:

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Harding! I was just wondering when I'd get you and Miss Cox in here."

"The weather's perfect today. Why don't the two of you do a proposal?"

His smile turned eager.

"We've been short on proposal shots lately. You two just stand by that backdrop wall, and the effect would be—"

People started egging them on.

"Do it, do it!"

Maggie's smile turned sly.

"Curtis, since everyone's saying it, why don't you propose to me? It's just for fun anyway."

Curtis stood in front of her, the corner of his mouth lifting.

Like he was caught up in the mood, like she'd left him no choice.

He went down on one knee.

She reached out her hand, laughing.

Around them, people clapped and cheered and snapped photos.

I turned and walked back to the fitting room.

Changed into my own clothes.

By the time I came out again, the room had gone quiet.

Curtis's brow furrowed at once:

"Anna, can you just—"

I cut him off.

"Curtis, let's break up."

A moment passed.

His expression went from stunned to furious.

"Anna, you're getting more and more out of line!"

"You think breaking up is some game? Do you need the whole world to bend to you before you're satisfied?"

I looked at him.

When we first got together, he used to call me at three in the morning.

Back then his eyes only saw me.

Now his eyes held everything except me.

"Whatever. I'm leaving."

I walked to the front desk, my voice low:

"Hi, I'd like to cancel a wedding scheduled for three months from now."

She paused. "You are...?"

"Anna Sawyer. September twentieth, the Grandview Hotel."

She checked her computer. "Are you sure? The reception deposit has already been paid..."

"I'm sure."

I pushed the door open and walked out.

The sky had gone dark by the time I got back to the apartment.

I packed as fast as I could.

And boarded a plane to Ashford.

That night.

Curtis came back to the apartment with Maggie.

Something felt off.

Anna's things were all gone.

Was she really leaving?

His thumb hovered over the message box.

Before he could type anything, a call came through.

"Hello, Mr. Harding. We received notice from Ms. Sawyer today that she wants to cancel the wedding booking scheduled for three months from now. Is it off, then?"