glowed on Liam' s phone screen late one

When can I s

lt both solid and fragile. I picked up his phone. My hands didn' t even shake. I already knew, in the way you know a storm is coming long befo

ow on his hips, I didn't scream. I

or me,

m nothing. He saw the world in terms of gains and losses, and in that moment, I could see the calculatio

But the silence between us grew louder every day. I' d spend hours cooking his favorite meals, only for him to push the food around his plate, his mind a million

t see me. He was a ghost in our life, and the loneliness was a constant weight in my chest. I was the sole he

rouder version of myself would

ress, and he looked handsome in his tuxedo. I thought maybe, in this public sp

Liam," I said, my v

cker of something-annoyance? regret?-cro

d, forcing a smile.

l like a victory. It

s, selected flowers, and agonized over invitation fonts. Liam was conspicuously absent from it all. He was always busy with a last-minute meeting, a critical deadline for his

see it myself. I pushed forward, believing that the ceremony, the vows, the public declaration woul

ss in a play I no longer understood. I walked down the aisle, my father' s arm linked with mine. I saw Liam waiting at the altar. For

was steady, but his hands were cold a

pronounc

add

of glass. Everyone turned. Standing at the entrance of the aisle was a little girl, m

, leaving behind a mask of pure horror. He

own the aisle, away from me, away from our vows, and scooped the little girl into h

ned me at

humiliation for the world to see. My father moved to my side, his face

is was a possibility. I had hoped I was wrong, b

ned officiant. My voice was calm, d

wd. "It seems the groom has a prior commitment he forgot to mention. Please, enjoy the food

d to my

my voice like ice. "And