Chapter 3

It was eleven at night when Ethan finally came home.

I was sitting in the living room in total darkness.

When he unlocked the door and saw me sitting on the sofa, his steps visibly faltered.

"Why are you still awake?"

"How is she?"

"Seven stitches on her palm. The doctor had to give her a sedative."

He walked over, dropping to one knee before me, gazing up into my face.

"Her condition is deteriorating. I've already finalized the arrangements with the facility overseas. We'll send her there immediately after the ceremony."

I stared down at him for a quiet moment, then asked point-blank, "Why doesn't she want me to marry you?"

Ethan went completely still, looking like a man forced into an agonizing confession.

"Eve... there's something I've been terrified to tell you."

"Chloe's feelings toward me... they aren't normal."

I froze.

"Our parents died when we were kids. Since she was ten, I was all she had. Her therapist told me she mistook her extreme codependency for romantic love. She can't accept another woman taking my attention."

He rested his forehead against my knees, his voice turning raw and hoarse.

"I was afraid you'd be disgusted by it. I was terrified you'd leave me because of her baggage."

"Eve, you're the only person I have left in this world."

Those few words completely shattered whatever defenses I had put up.

His parents had passed away early. He had been working and studying while taking care of a mentally ill sister since he was seventeen.

He really had carried a crushing burden for years.

Slowly, I lifted my hands and cradled his head.

As if granted absolute pardon, he pulled me down into a fierce hug, showering desperate kisses over my forehead and cheeks.

"I won't ever let her hurt you again."

"Once we're married, all of this nightmare will finally be over."

Five days before the wedding was the anniversary of my father’s death.

I bought a bottle of the bourbon he loved most and drove out to the cemetery alone.

Ethan had promised to go with me, but right before we walked out the door, the clinic called.

Chloe was refusing her medication and had thrown a heavy tray at a nurse.

Ethan looked at me with pure conflict in his eyes. "Eve, I have to go."

I reached out and smoothed his collar.

"Go ahead."

"She's your sister, and she's not well."

He gripped my hand tightly, his eyes brimming with guilt.

"The minute I settle her down, I'll meet you at the cemetery."

I didn't answer.

I sat beside my dad's tombstone for three full hours. Ethan never showed up.

The sky slowly faded into twilight.

My phone screen stayed dark. Not a single text, not a single missed call.

I poured a splash of bourbon onto the grass before his headstone, then used my sleeve to wipe the dust off his engraved picture.

"Dad... I'm getting married in a few days."

"You always told me Ethan was too calculating, that I shouldn't give him all my blind trust."

"But after you left... he was the only one who held me together."

"Dad... did I make a mistake forgiving her?"

My voice cracked into a broken whisper.

Suddenly, the sharp snap of a twig sounded behind me.

I turned around.

Chloe was standing a few yards away.

She wasn't wearing shoes. The sharp gravel had shredded the soles of her feet, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the stone path.

"What are you doing here?"

Chapter Four