I deflated. While it wasn’t a demotion, it certainly felt like it. “So, I will be making sure that everything runs smoothly, but I won’t be interacting with anyone personally?” I clarified. “None of the clients, no. You will still be contacting vendors and stylists, but I think that you need to
Lisa waited for Andrew in his home office. Any minute now, he would get home from work, and they would be able to start moving on with their lives post-Crystal. The article had done exactly what she had intended it to. Her mole inside Ever After Weddings had told her that Crystal had been placed i
That Saturday, Andrew agreed to drive with me in the company van to Eliza’s house so that we could pick up the final group of dresses that Nikolas was repairing. I thought that it would be nice to have someone to talk to on the way there, but Andrew was unusually silent. Unlike our typical silence,
For two days after we returned with the last of the wedding dresses, I did not hear from Andrew. I messaged him through text and on social media, but he did not respond. I called him, but he did not pick up the phone. I started to worry. Had something happened to Andrew? Was he mad at me? I coul
Parker cleared his throat again, as though to remind us of his presence. Andrew glanced at Parker and waved his hand dismissively. “You’re excused, Parker,” he said. Parker bowed and, with one last look at me, made a quick exit. I took this break in the fighting to approach the quarrelers, m
Andrew and I awoke to a knock at my apartment door an hour before my alarm was set to go off. I groaned and disentangled myself from the sheets and Andrew’s limbs. “Who could that be this early?” Andrew asked, partly annoyed and partly concerned. “I don’t know.” I threw on my robe and walked t
At lunch the next day, I met Noah at Miranda’s Brew, hoping that the cozier, more intimate environment might take some of the sting off of what I had to tell him. At the very least, it might discourage him from making a scene. We sat at one of the small tables so that we could face each other. Our
Andrew called me as I was closing up the bridal shop that night. Secretly, I had been hoping for more time to come up with a story to tell him about what had happened with Noah, but I supposed that I couldn’t avoid him for long. “Hello?” I answered. “Hi, Crystal,” Andrew said. “How’s it going?”
That night, long after the last of the guests had left for their rooms, Andrew and I returned to the presidential suite to find that the staff had decorated it in preparation for our stay. All the décor, right down to the bed sheets, had been switched out for matching red and gold pieces. The light
Andrew’s eyes met mine as I approached the altar. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He looked so handsome in his classic black tuxedo that I could hardly wait for after the reception to be with him. As I took my place across from Andrew, I handed my bouquet to Lily. The priestess bega
One month later, I stood in a suite at a private beachside resort, admiring my wedding dress. It hugged my curves in all the right places while still gently brushing against the ground like a low-hanging cloud. Crystals glistened in the room’s fluorescent lights, and the train flowed behind me effor
“Let’s continue this in the bedroom,” I said, breathless. Andrew nodded his agreement. I pulled Andrew to his feet as he stuck the ring box back in his pocket. Then I dragged him back to the bedroom, leading him by the tie. Not that he needed to be dragged; he would have followed me anywhere by th
Andrew texted me and said his flight was delayed by a few errands he had to run, so I waited. And waited. I waited for an entire day, and even began to worry that Andrew had changed his mind. Then I heard a knock at my door. I leapt off the couch and rushed to answer it. Stopping just short of the
Noah left the next day. I took him to the airport, we exchanged a hug and a brief farewell, and then I watched him walk through the gate. That was the last time I ever saw him. With a heavy heart, I returned to an empty apartment. All our furniture and my belongings—what little I still had—were the
Sensing the urgency in Noah’s voice, I leaned in closer. “What is it?” I asked, trying to suppress the anticipation in my voice. Noah’s grip on my hands tightened. “I’m going to study financial law in the human world.” I froze. My heart thumped hard against my ribs, so hard that I thought th
The nightmares did not stop. In fact, they got worse. By the end of that week, I was having at least one every night, and it was showing in behavior during the day. I could scarcely stay awake. At my new branch of Ever After Weddings, I had to sneak off into the breakroom whenever there were no cu
I dreamt of the Lunar Festival. Noah and I walked hand-in-hand through the stalls, enjoying the sparkling lights and the company of our new pack mates. Yet something was off. I could feel a chill in the air, a foreboding that I could not quite shake off. “We should get out of here,” I said, tryi