In the end, I was the one who broke the silence first. My voice came out tired and hoarse.
"Uncle... this is all my fault. I just hope you won't tell James."
Brian was still smoking. Hearing that, he frowned, took another long drag, and looked even more ashamed.
After a long pause, he finally forced the words out.
"No. I was the one who lost my head. James told me not to mess with that doll. This is on me. James has talked about you to the family before. He always said you're a good girl. Let's just pretend today never happened. Like it was all a bad dream."
I knew Brian was trying his best to make me feel less miserable.
Just before I opened the door to leave, he hesitated. "You're still going to marry James, right?"
I froze. The lump in my throat refused to go away.
I loved James
