Chapter 12

Margaret hesitated, then said it. "He told me you two hadn't broken up. That it was a fight. He asked me to talk sense into you. Not to marry a man you don't know just because you're angry. Sonia — is that true?"

She knew about the cradle engagement. In their recent calls, Sonia had mostly sidestepped any mention of Zachary.

She had assumed they'd split up, and the family's portfolio was shaky, and Sheldon was — by every metric — a better match than Zachary. That's why she'd proposed the merger.

But if Sonia and Zachary were only fighting, was she destroying her niece's future?

And what would the Sterlings think if they knew Sonia was still in love with another man?

She gripped Sonia's hand. "Tell me the truth. If you still love Zachary, I'll find another way. I won't gamble with your life."

Sonia's eyes stung. She squeezed back. "It's okay. Zachary and I are done. We called off the engagement. It's final. If he comes back, pretend you don't know anything."

Relief hit Margaret visibly. She pulled them both in for dinner.

Through the whole meal, Sheldon took care of Sonia without making a show of it. She frowned, he moved the carrots off her plate. She glanced at the shrimp, he was already peeling.

It had been so long since anyone put her first like that. She felt herself relax, by degrees.

Margaret saw it all and, finally, let her shoulders drop. She told them to come back for dinner often.

"We will," they said at the same time.

They caught each other's eye and laughed.

Meanwhile, Zachary was wandering New York streets aimlessly, crushing a soda can in his fist.

He had no idea where Sonia was. No idea who she was marrying.

He'd finally pried her aunt's address out of one of her Ashford Bay friends. The moment Margaret had realized who he was, her face had shut down. She'd served him a perfunctory cup of tea, and no matter how he pressed, she'd claimed to know nothing — no idea where Sonia was, no idea who the groom was. Eventually she'd asked him to leave.

He had never been turned away in his life. He'd left quietly because she was Sonia's aunt. And he had absolutely no plan.

He tipped back the last swallow of whiskey. His phone rang.

He unlocked it, hoping — and saw Ember's name.

He almost hung up. His thumb slipped and he answered instead.

She burst into tears of relief. "Zach, where have you been? I've been calling for days."

"I'm sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have tried to track you. I uninstalled the app myself. I'll stop asking about anything you don't want to tell me."

"Zach, please don't be mad. I'm so alone here. Without you, the girls won't even hang out with me."

Once upon a time, he'd have dropped everything and gone to her. Now the sound of her crying just made him picture Sonia's face, wet with tears.

"Take care of yourself," he said, tone suddenly gentle. "I won't be back for a while."

"Wait!" She stopped him. "You haven't found Sonia yet? Is it because she's still bothered by me? I can go apologize. I'll clear it up for you."

Was she bothered?

He didn't know. For a second, he caught himself thinking — if Sonia saw them together, maybe she'd feel threatened, maybe she'd sulk the way she used to. Then he could swear to her, no more Ember. And they could go back to the way it was. Dating. Married. Kids.

Only a second. He shoved the thought out of his head.

His voice went colder. "No. Sonia and I will work it out ourselves."

He hung up and put her on Do Not Disturb.

Ember stared at her phone. She gave a short, hysterical scream, grabbed a fruit knife from the counter and began stabbing a photo of Sonia. Again. Again. By the end, the face was torn to shreds. She smiled at the pieces.

"Zach. As long as I'm in your life, you don't get to have her back. I won't let her forgive you."

Sonia knew none of this.

She spent those weeks in New York seeing the city with Sheldon during the day, doing fittings at Vera Wang, trying on wedding jewelry, confirming the guest list.

Not long ago, she'd done all of this before.

The first time, she'd been nauseated with dread. Every fitting was a calculation — was Ember going to be unhappy again? Zachary had once had his groomsman suit retailored to match Sonia's dress and sworn to her he'd find her an even more beautiful gown.

Now, watching Sheldon quietly conferring with the designer about adjustments, noticing things she hadn't even mentioned, she felt something she hadn't felt in years.

He caught her watching and smiled, then went back to the conversation.

When the designer left, Sonia walked over and kissed him at the corner of the mouth.

His whole face went, for just a second, stunned and delirious. His hands actually shook as he cupped her face and kissed her back, gently.

Zachary, watching through the glass storefront, nearly lost his mind.

He had been camping out near Margaret's brownstone for days, hoping Sonia would come by to visit her. She never appeared. Eventually Margaret, uneasy about having him loiter and aware things needed resolution, had told him who the groom was.

It had taken days more for him to find out the Sterling heir had been doing bridal fittings at Vera Wang.

He'd rushed over. And walked straight into his Sonia putting on a wedding gown for another man.