Chapter 2

So there was more than just going back to the original world.

There was a second choice.

Through the crack in the door, I watched Aaron's face.

Waiting for his answer.

"Virginia's great, but at the end of it, she and I aren't from the same world."

"Three days from now, all of this ends."

Nadia smiled, satisfied.

"Aaron, I've always been scared you'd start playing it for real and actually fall for Virginia."

Aaron didn't answer.

He kept his head down, thinking about something I couldn't read.

A long moment passed.

Then Nadia spoke up again.

"You didn't forget to slip something into tonight's milk, did you?"

"No."

"Good. Wouldn't want her waking up suddenly and ruining our time alone."

Drugged milk.

A wave of dizziness hit me so hard I nearly went down.

I wanted to burst in and demand whether these three years had held even a shred of real feeling for me.

But I turned and went back to my room.

That night I tossed and turned, and I don't know when I finally fell asleep.

When I woke, the pillow was soaked through with tears.

Two unread texts sat on my phone.

[Nadia was dying to see the sunrise, so I took her out early.]

[Once you're up, just meet us at the dress shop.]

I splashed water on my face and left.

When I got to the bridal shop,

I called Aaron more than a dozen times, and not one went through.

Right up until I'd finished trying on the dress,

Aaron never showed.

The clerk looked at how lost I seemed, and something flickered in her eyes, close to pity.

"Miss Donaldson, do you still want to keep waiting for your family?"

I shook my head.

"Just go with the last one I tried on."

Then I pointed to the rack on the other side.

"And put down the groom's suit and the bridesmaid dress I picked out too."

I stepped out of the bridal shop.

The clear sky had suddenly filled with dark clouds.

The next second, the rain came down in sheets.

I opened the app to hail a car. Estimated wait: three hours.

In the end I called Aaron after all.

He picked up.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. We were so worn out after the sunrise that we accidentally fell asleep in the car."

I paused, then said,

"It's raining and I can't get a car. Can you come to the bridal shop and pick me up?"

The line was noisy, and I could faintly make out Nadia laughing.

Aaron agreed without a second's hesitation.

"Just wait for me at the shop. I'll be there right away."

I sat in the front hall of the bridal shop and waited for him.

An hour went by.

Aaron didn't show.

I called him again.

"Aaron, where are you?"

It was Nadia's voice that came through.

"Ginny, you'll have to get yourself home. My period just came out of nowhere and stained my pants, so Aaron's washing them for me."

"Oh, and on your way back, remember to grab me a bag of brown sugar."

I said nothing.

I hung up.

I opened the ride app. The estimated wait had climbed to four hours.

I walked out of the bridal shop.

The glass along the roadside threw back the sorry state of me.

Soaked hair, a face gone bloodless.

My face was wet all over, and I could no longer tell the tears from the rain.

The walk home took me an hour.

I pushed the door open. Nadia lay on the couch wrapped in a blanket, and Aaron was rubbing her lower belly with his hand.

"I told you not to drink before your period, and you still put away that much last night."

Hearing the sound at the door, they both looked up at me.

The rain had left me shivering all over from the cold.

Aaron froze for a beat, then got up at once and came toward me.

"What did you do to get yourself into a state like this?"

He draped a towel over my head, then made me a cup of hot ginger tea.

"Drink it and go take a hot shower. Don't get sick."

Nadia sat up, propping her chin in both hands.

"Ginny, you're not jealous that Aaron's home taking care of me, are you? You didn't stand out in the rain on purpose just to play the victim?"

The worry in Aaron's eyes thinned a little.

"Don't go getting jealous over nothing. Nadia's your best friend, and I'm looking after her for you."

Nadia picked it right up.

"That's right, Ginny. Aaron's only good to me because of you."

"Come to think of it, I'm the one who should be jealous. Once the two of you are married, I'll be the outsider."

And with that, they exchanged a look and lowered their heads, laughing.

They were laughing, at how thoroughly they'd played me.

Once, I thought meeting them was the happiest thing that would ever happen to me.

It wasn't until now that I understood their kindness to me was a trap, carefully laid.

My nails dug into my palms, and my heart had already gone numb.

"Then I won't be marrying Aaron."