“No. Complicated is changing a wedding date. Complicated is finding out your fiancé cheated on you. This is something else.”
A few guests looked over.
Julian stepped closer.
“Adrian was going to tell you.”
“When?”
He didn’t answer.
I felt something inside me settle.
The grief was still there, but another feeling had moved beside it.
Clarity.
“Who’s the bride?”
Julian looked away.
“Her name is Sarah.”
“How long?”
“Meredith.”
“How long has she been with him?”
His silence lasted too long.
“Before the accident,” he finally confessed in a low voice.
A wave of nausea hit me.
I nodded slowly.
“So there was no accident.”
“There was an accident.”
“What?”
Julian exhaled.
“Adrian was in the car, but he survived. Someone else didn’t.”
I stared at him.
“He took advantage of the accident to disappear.”
Julian’s expression tightened.
“He panicked.”
“He faked his death.”
“He thought it was the only way to get out.”
“Out of marrying me?”
Julian looked ashamed.
“Out of everything.”
I stepped back.
For months, I had imagined Adrian’s final moments.
I wondered whether he had been afraid. I wondered whether he had thought about me.
Instead, he had survived and decided that death was easier than honesty.
I heard music begin inside the ceremony space.
Julian grabbed my arm.
“Meredith, please don’t do anything.”
I pulled away.
“Don’t touch me.”
Then Colleen appeared.
