Chapter 2

The next morning, when I got up, the apartment was empty.

Lowell hadn't come home all night.

He used to come straight back the moment he finished working late.

He said it was because he didn't want me to worry, didn't want me sitting there afraid, alone.

I sighed.

My phone buzzed, and I picked it up.

A message from Lowell.

"I'm downstairs. Come with me. There's someone I want you to meet."

My hand closed around the phone, then let it go.

Fine. One more time.

I went down and got in the car.

Lowell passed me a breakfast bag.

"Here. Breakfast."

I opened the bag. A cream pastry and a carton of milk.

I laughed to myself, cold. He'd even forgotten I was allergic to milk.

I set the food down.

"Still angry?"

His tone was exactly the same as always.

I said nothing.

His brow creased, so faintly it was almost nothing.

Neither of us spoke the rest of the way.

We got there fast.

A restaurant. The one he used to bring me to all the time.

He walked ahead without a word, and I quickened my steps to keep up behind him.

We reached a private room, and he pushed the door open.

A woman was already seated inside.

I didn't know her.

Lowell went in first, looked at the woman, and started introducing me.

"Janice, this is the woman I'm marrying. Luna. Luna Pruitt."

The whole of me froze. I stared at him, unable to believe it.

His expression didn't change. He turned to the woman and introduced me.

"Luna, this is my little sister. She's also one of the founders of our company."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Sister. I was just a sister?

I'd waited eight years for him, and in the end all I got was the word sister?

My heart was clenched tight, and every beat of it hurt beyond anything.

Lowell looked at me.

He looked at me with a trace of tenderness in his eyes, and reached out to take me by the wrist.

Then he yanked me inside.

I lost my footing and stumbled a step.

He pressed me down into the seat in the corner, then sat himself down beside Luna Pruitt.

My phone buzzed. I picked it up.

"More people are coming later. This dinner matters a lot to the company."

I thought he would at least say one word to explain that name.

In the end, it was still the company.

The pain in my heart was already gone, replaced by numbness, my whole body dull to everything around me.

The rest of them arrived soon after, filling the seats all the way around the table.

Lowell lifted his glass, smiling.

"I asked everyone here today to celebrate my wedding to Luna a little early."

"Thank you all for your support over the years. I hope our business ties only grow deeper from here."

One by one, the people at the table offered their congratulations.

"Mr. Sanchez and Mrs. Pruitt really are a perfect match."

"Congratulations aren't enough. Come on, arms linked, drink together!"

"Do it! Do it!"

They started egging them on.

I came back to myself and looked at Lowell.

There was pleading in my eyes.

Don't do it. Please?

Lowell met my eyes, and in the end he ignored me.

Smiling, he said to them all,

"All right, we'll do it."

The two of them looked at each other, linked arms, and drained their glasses.

When they set the glasses down, their eyes melted into each other, as if the whole world held only the two of them.

Luna rose onto her toes and kissed his lips.

He circled her waist and kissed her back.

The cheering around them got louder.

In the corner, I slowly stood up.

I pushed open the door of the private room and walked out alone.