Chapter 3

By eight that night, Marlin still wasn't home.

For once, I didn't call him. I ate dinner in silence, cleaned up, and went to bed.

My phone rang. It was Marlin.

"Maya, I can't come home tonight. I'm staying at the hospital."

My heart lurched for a second.

"Another inspector showed up at the drink shop for a surprise check, ready to report Chelsea to the company. But how could I let her take that kind of grief?"

"He hit me. I ended up in the hospital, and he ended up in a holding cell."

So it turned out that, for Chelsea, he could throw everything away.

He was even pleased with himself about it.

Yet he wouldn't give an inch for me.

My heart, which had lifted for that one moment, dropped hard.

I said nothing, just listened to Marlin recount the afternoon in an excited rush.

He seemed to have forgotten that we'd argued, that things between us had gone sour.

Then the line went quiet, and Marlin lowered his voice.

"Maya, can you come to the hospital and keep me company? My chest hurts a little."

In the end I didn't go. I hung up quickly.

That night, my phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

Messages from Chelsea.

Her smug little taunts looked like a joke to me.

"Actually, that inspector was someone I hired to pose as one. I just wanted to know how far Marlin would go for me."

"He didn't disappoint. Twenty-some years of history, after all. How could your five years ever compare?"

"Maya, you lost. Marlin cares about me, not you."

Winning or losing like that meant nothing.

I was about to delete Chelsea's messages.

Then I thought better of it and sent one back.

"Since you like him, he's all yours."

The plan had been for Marlin and me to get married once my parents' restaurant got back on its feet.

Now it was clear the restaurant would never reopen.

And our wedding would never happen either.

Early the next morning, I canceled the wedding photo shoot I'd booked.

Then I deleted all the wedding planning off my phone.

The owner messaged me.

"The shoot is only a few days away. Are you sure you want to cancel? You booked this half a year in advance."

I replied, "Sure."

Half a year ago, I'd dreamed about our wedding, mine and Marlin's.

I logged every step, every little detail on my phone.

Terrified of missing anything.

But a marriage takes two. When only one person cares, it all feels pointless in the end.

When Marlin came home, the bruises were still on his face.

He stood in the doorway, his eyes full of sullen reproach.

"Maya, you're so cold. You don't even care about me."

"Chelsea looked after me all night."

I pulled all the laundry down from the balcony and bundled it into my arms.

"You got into a fight for someone else, and someone else took care of you. Isn't that how it should be?"

Seeing how cold I was, Marlin reined himself in.

He came over and pulled me into his arms.

"Still angry?"

"Don't worry. I've already worked it out with the company. The shop can open in a few days."

The cloying sweetness of his cologne made it hard to breathe. It was Chelsea's favorite.

I shoved him away hard, and the laundry in my arms fell to the floor.

"Marlin, I canceled the wedding shoot."

"Let's postpone the wedding."

My answer had nothing to do with what he'd said, yet he wasn't upset. He even agreed.

"The company's got things going on right now anyway. I don't have the time."

"A few days won't make a difference."

Marlin always liked to say in a few days, wait a few days.

I just didn't know how long that few days was supposed to be.

And I didn't want to wait anymore.

Because my flight was tomorrow.