Chapter 9

The ceremony began. Adrian stood at the front, Serena's hand through his arm, her dress glowing under the lights.

His mind wasn't here. It kept drifting.

Seven years ago, at a different venue entirely. Eliana in a borrowed dress, her groom gone, standing very still in the middle of the room. She hadn't cried. She'd turned and pressed a bouquet into Adrian's arms with a gleam in her eye that he had spent years trying to understand.

A bride, barely used. Do you want her?

He'd wanted to tell her: I have been wanting you for years. I have been making plans for years. I was going to come up here alone tonight and pretend, and now I don't have to.

"Adrian." Serena's whisper, sharp and small. "The vows."

He turned back to her. The words were three syllables — I do — and his throat was completely blocked.

"I —"

The floor shifted. The chandeliers above him multiplied and swayed. He heard his own heartbeat get very loud.

"Eliana," he said. "I do."

The room went quiet.

Then he fell.