Chapter 3
The TV was dark again. That was the first thing I noticed when we came inside from the balcony, the way the big screen went black and reflected us back.
Lucy hadn't let go of my phone. She held it out a little in front of her, like she wanted me to take it but didn't want to come closer. I took it with both hands. My palms were cold from the night air.
Up close the chat looked worse. The group name at the top said COLE FAMILY in gray capitals. Under it, Richard's name. His texts were in green bubbles, stacked one after another with no one answering in between.
DON'T LET VICTORIA FIND OUT ABOUT LUCY.
LUCY IS BETTER FOR ETHAN.
Keep Victoria close.
I read them again. I scrolled up with my thumb even though there was nothing else to scroll to, just those three lines and the photo underneath of my mom in the burgundy top on the snow. The time stamp on the first message said Nov 12, 9:47 PM. The second one was 9:48. The third was 9:49.
I knew those dates. I didn't have to think about it. November 12th was the Saturday we'd put the deposit down on the venue. I remembered because Ethan had been late to the tasting and Richard had covered the check while he was stuck in traffic. I'd saved the receipt in my email. Venue deposit - 11/12. I had a calendar invite for the cake tasting that whole week. My mom had flown in that Thursday. They'd sent those messages while I was in the other room picking napkin colors.
"You went through my phone," Lucy said. She was standing by the glass railing now, not looking at me. Her voice was low and even.
"I didn't," I said. "You left it on the counter. It lit up."
She didn't argue that. She just breathed in through her nose. The locket felt heavy against my skin. I tucked the phone against my chest for a second like I could keep the words from floating up again.
"Keep Victoria close," I said. I didn't mean it to come out out loud. It just did.
Lucy flinched. It was small, just around her eyes.
"Did you see when he sent them?" I asked her. I turned the phone so the screen faced her. "November. While I was planning the wedding. You were at Thanksgiving. You were at the engagement dinner."
"I know," she said.
That was what made my hand shake. Not the messages themselves but how quickly she said it.
Lucy looked down at the dark TV, at our reflections. Her satin blouse caught the light from the kitchen.
"I didn't ask him to say that," she said. She said it fast, like she'd been holding it. "He said I was better for Ethan. I didn't ask for that. Richard just decides things. He told my dad it would be good for both families if Ethan and I spent more time together. I told him I wasn't comfortable."
"But you came anyway," I said.
"My mom said I should be polite. It was just dinners at first." She finally looked at me. "I didn't know about the rest. I swear I didn't know he told Ethan to keep you close. I thought—"
She stopped. She pressed her lips together.
"What did you think?" I asked.
She took a second. I could hear the low hum of the air conditioning and the faint city sound through the glass.
"I thought you and Ethan were already having problems," she said. Her voice was quieter now. "Everyone kept saying you were stressed about the wedding. Ethan said you were fighting a lot. So when he texted me, I just thought he was venting. I didn't realize I was the reason they wanted you to stay."
I looked down at the phone again. DON'T LET VICTORIA FIND OUT. It wasn't a suggestion. It was an instruction. And underneath, LUCY IS BETTER FOR ETHAN, like I was a resume they were comparing.
I scrolled to the third line again. Keep Victoria close. I felt my throat get tight.
"They didn't keep me close because they liked me," I said.
Lucy didn't answer right away. She didn't try to fix it or make it sound nicer. She just stood there and let the silence sit. My reflection in the TV was blurry, my black dress blending into the dark, only the thin gold chain catching any light.
"No," she said finally. It was barely a whisper. "They didn't."
I didn't move. I held the phone tighter until my knuckles ached. The apartment felt too warm after the balcony, the marble floor cold under my feet. I understood it then, all at once, not as a feeling but as a fact laid out in front of me. The dinners, the way Richard always asked about the venue and the contracts, the way my signature had been needed for things I hadn't really read. They weren't keeping me in the family. They were keeping me within reach.
May you like
Lucy took a step toward the hallway, then stopped. "Victoria, I never wanted to be the better one," she said. "I just didn't know how to say no to him either."
I didn't say it was okay. It wasn't. I just kept looking at those three green bubbles, the light from the phone the only bright thing in the dark living room, and felt something settle in my chest, cold and clear.
