Chapter Nine
1123 Words
When they finally pulled apart, Lucy’s heart was racing.
The sun had dipped lower, the sky darkening into soft purples and deep blues.
They didn’t say anything as the yacht turned back toward shore. Words felt unnecessary, and too fragile.
Once they stepped back onto the sand, the warmth of the day lingered, the beach nearly empty now. They walked side by side, barefoot, their steps slow, unhurried. The waves rolled in gently, whispering secrets she didn’t want to hear.
“I should head back,” Lucy said eventually, breaking the silence.
Marcus stopped walking. “I’ll walk you.”
She shook her head immediately. “No.”
He looked at her confused. “Why?”
“Because…” she exhaled. “Because I don’t want Lila to see us together. And people talk here.Britney…”
She didn’t need to finish.
His jaw tightened, disappointment flickering across his face before he masked it. “Yeah,” he said quietly, “you’re right .”
He stepped closer anyway, lifted a hand, and brushed his thumb lightly against her temple.
Then he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, tender, restrained, almost more intimate than the kiss before.
“Good night Lu.”
Her throat tightened. “Good night, Marcus.”
She turned and walked away before either of them could say something they couldn’t take back.
The path to her quarters was dimly lit, palm shadows stretching across the sand. Halfway there, she spotted a familiar figure head.
Josh.
Her chest seized instantly.
She froze, heart hammering, then ducked behind a cluster of bushes without thinking. She held her breath as he passed, unaware, his footsteps fading into the distance. Guilt washed over her, sharp and sudden.
When she was sure he was gone, she stepped back onto the path and hurried the rest of the way home.
Inside, the light in the room was on. Lila looked up from bed the moment Lucy walked in.
“So,” she said casually, though her eyes were anything but, “how was your date with Josh?”
Lucy’s smile faltered for just a second.
“It was…fine” she said, forcing brightness into her voice. “Yeah. All good.”
Lila studied her. “Must’ve been nice, spending the whole day together.”
Lucy swallowed. “Yeah. It was.”
But Lila already knew something was off.
I can’t believe this girl is lying to me, she thought watching Lucy turn away.
Lucy disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She leaned back against it, slid down slightly, and pressed her palms to her face.
Her mind replayed everything, the yacht, the ocean, Marcus’s lips.
Then Josh’s.
Two brothers.
Two kisses.
Less than twenty four hours.
Her stomach twisted as the weight of it all crashed down on her at once. The paradise she’d come to escape in was starting to feel like a trap and she had no idea how she was going to get out of it without breaking someone in the process.
The next morning arrived heavy with significance.
Two days to the wedding.
The garden had been transformed for rehearsal, white chairs arranged in neat rows, petals scattered just enough to suggest romance without excess. The ocean murmured nearby, calm and unaware of the tension settling into the air.
Everyone was there.
Britney arrived first with her family, her mother fussing with her dress, her sister Jasmine scanning the space with curious, observant eyes. Staff members moved quietly, adjusting details, whispering instructions.
Lucy stood slightly off to the side, holding her folder close to her chest. She knew where she was meant to stand during the ceremony, knew exactly when she would sing, when she would fade into the background, but today, standing here, it felt different.
Heavier.
Marcus and Josh walked down the aisle together side by side, dressed casually for rehearsal but carrying themselves with the gravity of men who knew what was coming. They took their places near the officiant, facing the rows of empty chairs that would soon be filled with guests.
Marcus glanced up.
His eyes found Lucy almost instantly.
A soft smile tugged his lips, instinctive, familiar.
Before she could stop herself, Lucy smiled back.
Josh then looked over.
He smiled too.
Lucy’s smile lingered, uncertain now, caught between the two of them. For a brief, confusing second, both men thought the same thing.
That smile was for me.
No one said anything, but the air shifted.
“All right,” the coordinator called gently, clapping her hands once. “Let’s begin.”
Britney stepped into position at the start of the aisle. She stood between her mother and her sister. Jasmine squeezed her arm encouragingly.
Music was imagined, not played, but Britney lifted her chin anyway, practicing her walk, her smile bright and confident. She moved slowly down the aisle, her heels sinking slightly into the grass.
Marcus watched her approach.
But his eyes betrayed him.
They flicked, briefly, subtly to Lucy.
Then back to Britney.
Then back again.
Lucy felt it.
She tried to keep her gaze neutral, professional, fixed somewhere safe, but she could feel Marcus’s attention brushing against her skin like a whisper.
Britney reached the front and took her place.
The officiant nodded. “Now, the vows.”
Britney went first.
She spoke clearly, confidently, her voice filled with certainty as she talked about love, about choosing Marcus, about building a future together. Lucy listened, forcing herself to stay present, forcing herself not to disappear inward.
Then it was Marcus’s turn.
He unfolded his paper.
His voice was steady at first. Warm. Familiar.
But as he spoke, Lucy felt it again.
That pull.
His eyes lifted.
They found each other.
Just for a second.
Long enough for her breath to hitch.
Then he looked back at Britney, continued reading, his words still about commitment, devotion, forever but now they carried something else beneath them. Something fractured.
Jasmine noticed.
She tilted her head slightly, watching Marcus’s eyes flicker away from her sister again. Watching Lucy stiffen almost imperceptibly. Watching Josh shift his weight, his jaws tightening as understanding began to bloom where certainty had once lived.
Josh followed Marcus’s gaze.
Saw Lucy.
Saw the way her finger curled tighter around her folder.
Saw the way Marcus’s voice softened when his eyes landed on her.
Something cold settled in his chest.
There’s something going on here.
The vows ended.
The coordinator smiled brightly. “Perfect. That was lovely.”
Applause followed, light, polite, rehearsed.
Lucy swallowed.
She already knew this rehearsal wasn’t just practice.
It was a warning.
And every single person who mattered had felt it, whether they were ready to admit it or not.
- Writer
