Chapter 2

Anger rose in me, and I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"So it was you who insisted on bringing Isabel back here?"

Otis glanced at me carelessly, his brush never pausing over the canvas.

"Sure. A hotel's nowhere near as comfortable as staying at home."

I forced myself to stay calm.

"But have you thought about it? Isabel has jet lag to get over, and we have to leave for work in the morning. It's inconvenient for everyone."

"And this is the new home we bought for the wedding. Do you really think it's okay to bring someone in without talking to me first?"

He finally set down the brush and met my eyes with a frown.

"Evelyn, it's such a small thing. Is it really worth all this?"

"Isabel's a friend I grew up with. You're about to be my wife. Isn't helping me take care of a guest just the normal thing to do?"

Something clamped around my heart like a big hand, a dull, heavy ache spreading through it.

So it was because we were getting married.

I took a deep breath and asked it anyway.

"Have you ever noticed you care less and less about me?"

Otis went quiet, and it was a long time before he spoke.

"Evie, we're going to be family soon."

"If I still had to weigh every little thing when it comes to you, that would be exhausting."

The answer was exactly what I'd expected, and somehow that dulled the pain a little.

It wasn't my problem. It was that this man just wasn't right.

The words "Let's break up" were already on my lips when his phone rang and cut them off.

"Otis, I've been putting together my art show lately, and money's a little tight. Could you..."

Otis understood before the sentence was even finished.

"I'll wire you five hundred thousand dollars."

"Are you out of your mind?"

The moment I spoke, he frowned and stepped out, only coming back after he'd hung up.

"What are you doing? That's Kent Gilbert, my best friend."

"Your best friend. He's borrowed money this many times. Has he ever paid it back?"

I curled my lips into a mocking smile.

That was Otis. He helped people without limit, without any line at all.

Even now, with the wedding to prepare for and money needed everywhere, he was sure to put others first.

"Evelyn, I already told you, we're family now. When a friend's in trouble, am I supposed to just stand by and do nothing?"

I had no strength left to argue. I went back to my room and sent my parents a message.

【Mom, Dad, I'm not getting married.】

Almost the next second, their call came through.

"Evie, what are you making a fuss about now? Otis is such a good partner. What more could you possibly find to nitpick?"

My mother chimed in from beside him.

"That's right, Evie. When your dad was in the hospital a while back, Otis ran himself ragged for us. He's done more than enough."

He played the dutiful part in front of everyone, and it was my feelings he ignored most of all.

I couldn't hold it back. It all poured out of me, everything I'd swallowed down, every feeling from these six months of wedding prep.

Before my parents could even answer, Otis pushed the door open again.

"Evelyn, it's this late. What's all the noise about?"

"Isabel's already asleep. Keep it down."

He seemed to have forgotten.

Every time he stayed up all night doing line art, he'd play his music out loud, and the constant knock of brush against board never stopped.

Even when I reminded him before bed, being woken in the middle of the night was a regular thing.

Otis went on talking to himself.

"Tomorrow I'm going with Isabel to look at apartments. She's a girl on her own, I don't feel right about it."

My heart felt soaked in water, swelling with a rising sourness.

"Tomorrow's the wedding dress fitting. We set it a month ago."

"I had a hard enough time booking it around your art show schedule."

He froze for a second, as if only now remembering.

"Then you go on your own tomorrow first. I'll see if I can make it over."

Only after he'd left the room did I slowly raise the phone.

"Mom, Dad, you heard that, didn't you."

"This marriage. I really don't want it anymore."