Hearing the commotion, my parents came out of the master bedroom in their pajamas.

"Willow? What are you doing home at this hour?"

"Didn't you say Byron was throwing you a birthday dinner tonight, that you wouldn't be back?"

Seeing them, my nose stung, and the tears nearly spilled over.

How could I not be hurting?

Seven years with Byron were seven real years. I had truly loved him.

Once, I had truly believed I would walk through my whole life beside that man.

Noticing something wrong in my face, Mom shot Dad a look before turning back to me.

"All right, it's late now. Go up and rest first."

"Whatever it is, we can talk about it once you've had some sleep."

For the next two days I stayed home and didn't go out. Byron, still sulking, didn't reach out to me either.

On the third day, Isabel posted several photo grids to her social media feed.

Different outfits, different hair and makeup, but the same man standing beside her in every one.

Byron.

The comment section exploded all over again.

"Are these wedding photos? Isabel, are you and Byron actually together now?"

"Sounds like something wonderful's on the way? Congrats, congrats!"

Isabel spun out her fake little explanation in the replies.

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea, everyone. These are the wedding photos Willow and Byron booked."

"They had a fight recently, but the shoot was already booked and couldn't be refunded, so Byron just brought me along to take them."

"For me they're hardly wedding photos, though. At most they're just some personal portraits."

In that moment, the last thread of hope I'd been holding for Byron vanished completely.

No more wedding photos.

And this man standing next to someone else? I didn't want him either.

I went downstairs and looked at my parents, their faces full of worry in the living room.

"Mom, Dad, let's go over to the Fox house tomorrow."

"If we're calling off the engagement, it's best the parents on both sides sit down and talk it through."

To avoid the Fox family's dinnertime, we went a little later on purpose.

By the time we reached their place it was almost eight. The whole family had just finished eating and was sitting in the living room watching TV.

When she saw us, Kathryn Fox looked a little taken aback.

"Willow? And the two of you, what brings you by at this hour?"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner? I could've made a few dishes and we'd have had dinner together. As it is now…"

Mom cut Kathryn off flatly.

"Don't call us family. We're not family anymore."

"And we're not here to eat tonight. There's something we'd like to discuss with you."

Seeing how serious my parents' expressions were, Kathryn said nothing more and stepped aside to lead us in.

My parents had barely sat down when Byron pulled me off to one side.

"What is this supposed to mean?"

"Willow, are you really not going to be satisfied until you've blown this whole thing up?"

I couldn't be bothered to say much to him. I shook his hand off and went to sit beside my parents.

The moment I sat down, my father spoke.

"We've brought Willow here today to call off the engagement."

"The two of them aren't right for each other. I think this wedding should just be dropped."

Brent Fox panicked at once.

"Come now, you can't say things like that. They're young. Fighting, having problems, it's all normal."

"We're the adults here. We can't lose our heads over this."

I forced a smile at Brent and Kathryn.

"Uncle, Aunt, this isn't some simple squabble."

"I've thought it over carefully. Byron and I aren't right for each other. Even if we married, we'd never have a good life together."

"There's no need to keep talking us out of it. My family has already made up its mind. That's why we've come to your door."

I kept my manners intact, barely.

After all, this was between Byron and me. It had nothing to do with his parents.

The words had hardly left my mouth before Byron shot to his feet, seething.

"Willow! Do you really have to be this petty?"

"Isabel just played a little joke on you, that's all. She's our old neighbor. We grew up together. She's no different from my own little sister."

"Why can't you make room for her in your life?"

Kathryn jumped in to back him up.

"That's right, Willow, sweetheart. If you and Byron are fighting over Isabel, then you've really got it all wrong."

"Brent and I have known that girl for years. Her parents and ours get along just fine, we've been neighbors forever. There's absolutely nothing going on between her and Byron."

"Trust me, honey. This time you're reading too much into it."

I lifted my head, forcing down the anger churning in my chest.

"Reading too much into it? Byron, let me ask you a few questions, and then you tell me whether I'm reading too much into it."

"Every Valentine's Day the two of us spend, she tags along. Every Valentine's gift you buy me always comes with one for her, too!"

"Two days ago, on my birthday, she kissed you on the cheek in front of all our friends. She even posted it on her feed saying the two of you had gone official."

"Yesterday, you went with her to do a wedding photoshoot. She posted four full grids of photos. Those were the wedding photos I spent forever choosing!"

That last sentence, I nearly screamed it.

The surge of adrenaline set my hands trembling and I couldn't stop it, but I still fought to keep down the wave of hurt threatening to swallow me whole.

"And I won't even bother mentioning the rest, the late-night phone calls, going over to fix her leaky pipes."

"Byron, now you tell me. Everything the two of you have been doing, is that how an ordinary brother and sister act? Am I the one who misunderstood?"

"Back in the old days, wouldn't she be more like a mistress you keep on the side?"

Kathryn stared at Byron, disbelieving.

"Byron, is everything Willow said true? Is this how you and Isabel have been carrying on this whole time?"

"Byron! Is this how your father and I raised you?!"

Byron's lips worked, and just as he was about to force out some explanation, a figure came out of the bathroom.

She walked toward us drying her wet hair, clearly fresh from a shower.

"Byron, your body wash smells awful."

"Why didn't you use the one I bought you? I'm so used to mine..."

Isabel's voice cut off the instant she saw all of us in the living room.

"Why... why are there so many people here?"

Before any of us could get a word out, Isabel darted straight into the bedroom and shut the door.

I pointed toward the spot where Isabel had vanished and looked at the three of them.

"This is the brother and sister you were talking about?"

Kathryn hurried to grab my hand, trying to explain.

"No, Willow, this time you really have it wrong."

"Isabel's parents are away on a business trip these couple of days. Our families are close, so we just let her stay here for now."

I turned my body aside, out of reach of Kathryn's outstretched hand.

"There's no need to say all this. We came here today to call off the engagement anyway. Whoever your family lets move in is none of my business."

My mother, meanwhile, was so heartsick the tears just kept falling.

"You've swallowed all this hurt, why didn't you tell your mother?"

"Look at you, child. They've been walking all over you, and you're still covering for him."

I patted the back of my mother's hand to soothe her, lost for words for a moment.

Byron wasn't a piece of clothing you could throw away the second it tore.

And he wasn't a bag of garbage you could toss out the door without a second thought.

He was a living, breathing person, from eighteen to twenty-five now.

He'd been like a great tree standing across the whole span of my youth, and I couldn't let go. I truly couldn't.

Even now I remembered my twentieth birthday, junior year of college.

To give me a gift, Byron had crammed in three part-time jobs on top of his classes, staying up night after night.

And on my birthday, he slipped a tiny diamond ring onto my ring finger.

"Willow, this is all I can manage right now."

"But don't worry. I'll swap it out for a bigger diamond one day, and I'll marry you."

Later, I really did receive that bigger diamond from Byron.

But the boy who'd once had eyes only for me was gone, and I'd never see him again.

Isabel finished changing and stepped out of the bedroom just then, standing meekly beside Byron.

"What's wrong, Byron? Why is Willow here?"

"Are these Willow's parents? What brings them over so late?"

Over? Here?

So Isabel had already started treating this place as her own home.

A little thing like Isabel, that small scheme of hers could never slip past the ears of the adults in the room.

My parents' faces darkened at once.

Seeing this, Kathryn quickly waved Isabel over.

"Isabel, come here, sit beside me."

Kathryn clearly hadn't said anything harsh, yet Isabel grabbed Byron's arm as if something had frightened her.

"Byron, say something. What's going on? Why is the mood so strange?"

"I'm so scared."

I didn't want to make things hard for Isabel.

She did harbor that kind of feeling for Byron, but for things to have come this far, the one most at fault was still Byron.

He was the one who blurred the lines, time and again. He was the one who let it slide, time and again. He was the one who went soft, time and again.

That was what made Isabel so brazen.

I looked at Byron.

"So this is the 'little sister' you kept insisting on?"

"Ask the adults here right now. Looking at this, who seems more like your girlfriend, me or Isabel?"

A flicker of panic crossed Byron's eyes.

He put distance between himself and Isabel.

"Willow, let me explain, I…"

But before he could finish, Isabel pressed close to him again, clutching his arm.

"Byron, don't go. I'm scared."

"What on earth is going on today? Why is Willow being so harsh? Is she angry because I went and joined your wedding photoshoot yesterday?"

My father, who had been holding back his anger without a word, finally couldn't take it anymore.

He slammed his palm down on the coffee table.

"This is absolute nonsense!"

"Call it off! This marriage ends today!"