I stumbled into my apartment after 11 p.m. that night. Everything had been returned to Ever After Weddings, and Terri had volunteered to preserve the wedding cake until we could get a hold of Lisa and ask her what she wanted done with it—what little was left. I was exhausted but, at the same time, e
Andrew and Lisa sat at the dining table in the mansion, glasses of wine cradled in their hands. Lisa had changed out of her wedding dress and into a tank top and yoga pants, and Andrew had undone the tie and removed the jacket of his three-piece suit. Andrew patiently watched Lisa, while Lisa stared
I awoke the next morning to pounding on my door. At least, it sounded like pounding to my throbbing head. I hadn’t been hungover in so long that I had forgotten how horrific it felt. I groaned as I tried to sit up in bed. How much wine did we have the previous night? I remembered talking about Bob
Andrew walked up the tarmac to King Frederick’s private jet. He was to greet King Frederick and his daughter, Princess Aurora, as they disembarked the plane and then escort them to the Lexington Hotel. Queen Johanna was originally going to join them, but due to a last-minute family emergency, she ha
By noon the day after Andrew caught Noah in my apartment, I still lay in bed. I did not sleep a wink the entire night, and yet I had only left the bed to use the bathroom. I had not changed from my pajamas or showered since Lisa’s wedding. Andrew’s egg-and-sausage biscuits sat in the trash, untouc
Three days after picking King Frederick and Princess Aurora up from the airport, Andrew found himself once more on the Victorian-style floor where Lisa’s wedding was held. It had been transformed again, this time with one enormous oval table surrounded by several smaller round tables. Each table had
I had waited for days for Andrew to call and invite me to the banquet that Jeffrey had told me about, but I refused to call him and ask. If he had wanted me there, he would have asked me. The day after the night of the banquet, I had my answer. He never called. For whatever reason—our fight, Bob’s
The day after the banquet, Andrew sat at the head of the mansion’s dining table, Princess Aurora to his left and King Frederick to his right. He had decided that since he was going to be spending so much one-on-one time with Princess Aurora that it would be a good idea for him to get to know the pri
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