Chapter 1 - THE EMPTY CHAIR
Blake Adams stopped dancing.
Riley Parker's hand tightened around his.
“Blake?”
He didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the sweetheart table.
Kira's chair was empty.
At first, he thought she'd gone to the restroom.
Then he noticed the envelope.
Cream-colored.
Perfectly centered on the ivory cushion.
Something about it made his stomach tighten.
“Blake,” Riley whispered, “you're hurting my hand.”
He released her.
The music continued.
Three hundred guests watched as the groom walked away from the woman he'd chosen to dance with.
Blake crossed the ballroom.
His mother stood near the table.
“Blake, sweetheart—”
“Where's Kira?”
His mother hesitated.
“Perhaps she's changing.”
He looked toward the bridal suite.
Then back at the envelope.
He picked it up.
His name was written across the front.
Blake.
Kira's handwriting.
He opened it.
Inside were legal documents.
A petition seeking dissolution of their marriage.
And a short letter.
Blake unfolded it.
Blake,
I promised myself I would never beg my husband to choose me.
Today, I realized I was about to spend the rest of my life doing exactly that.
You said I wouldn't mind.
You were wrong.
I minded every birthday you missed.
Every dinner you abandoned.
Every time Riley called and you left.
Every time you told me I was too mature to be jealous.
I minded when you kept her love letters in the drawer beside our engagement photographs.
I minded when you told me she needed you more than I did.
And today, when you took her hand in front of everyone who came to celebrate our marriage, I finally understood something.
You didn't forget I was your bride.
You simply believed I would always be waiting when you finished choosing someone else.
I won't.
Goodbye, Blake.
Kira.
His hands began shaking.
He read the letter again.
Then a third time.
Around him, the music stopped.
Riley approached.
“Blake, what's happening?”
He looked at her.
For the first time, he didn't see the frightened girl he'd spent years protecting.
He saw the woman standing beside him in a pale pink dress while his wife disappeared.
“Where is Kira?” he whispered.
Riley looked confused.
“I don't know.”
May you like
Blake turned toward the ballroom doors.
Then he ran.
