Chapter one
896 Words
Amelia stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself.
The white dress fit her well, but something felt off. She couldn’t explain it.
Three days.
In just three days, she would be Mrs. Daniel Reed.
She took a slow breath and tried to shake the feeling. It wasn’t fear exactly. More like… she didn’t even know. Something she couldn’t name.
Her phone buzzed on the bed.
“Daniel”
She smiled without even thinking about it.
“Hey you,” she answered.
“Hi my bride.” His voice was warm. Easy. “I miss you.”
She laughed a little. “Daniel, we saw each other this morning.”
“And I still miss you. Not my fault you’re hard to forget.”
She shook her head, still smiling.
That was the thing about Daniel. He always knew what to say. He always made her feel like the most important person in the room, even over the phone.
They talked for a bit. Nothing serious. Just the way they always did. Easy conversation, small laughs.
Before he hung up, he mentioned he had an early night. Work things. Nothing to worry about.
“Okay,” she said. “Get some rest.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
She put the phone down and sat quietly for a moment.
The missing didn’t go away though.
She looked at the time. It was a little past eight.
She looked at her jacket on the chair.
Then she smiled to herself.
Go surprise him.
She grabbed her keys before she could change her mind.
She stopped at a small shop on the way and grabbed his favorite chocolate. The dark one he always claimed he didn’t like but somehow finished every single time.
The building security guy recognized her and waved her through. She took the elevator up, already imagining the look on Daniel’s face when he opened the door.
She was happy.
That simple.
She was just a girl who missed her man three days before their wedding, doing something small and sweet.
Nothing more.
She got to his door and raised her hand to knock.
But then she stopped.
She could hear music coming from inside. Soft and slow.
She frowned a little.
He said early night.
She stood there for a second, then told herself she was overthinking it. Maybe he just had music on in the background. Daniel did that sometimes when he was tired.
She knocked.
No answer.
She knocked again.
Still nothing.
She reached into her bag for the spare key he gave her a few months back. “Use it whenever you miss me,” he had said.
She almost smiled at the memory as she unlocked the door.
The living room was quiet and dim. A light was on down the hall.
“Daniel?” she called out softly.
No reply.
She walked further in.
And then she heard it.
A sound.
Low and soft.
A woman’s voice.
Amelia stopped walking.
Her heart sank when she heard the voice of a female coming from Daniel's bedroom
She heard wrong. She had to have heard wrong.
Then it came again.
“Daniel…”
Her hand found the bedroom door.
She pushed it open.
And everything stopped.
Daniel was on the bed.
And Vanessa her best friend, her person was right there with him.
Amelia didn’t move.
She didn’t scream or cry or say a word.
She just stood there, staring, like her brain needed extra time to understand what her eyes were already seeing.
Daniel turned and saw her.
“Amelia wait
The chocolate slipped out of her hand and hit the floor.
Vanessa grabbed the blanket and pulled it up fast, her face white. “Amelia, please, I can explain ”
Amelia laughed.
Just a short, quiet laugh. The kind that had nothing funny in it.
She looked at Daniel.
Then at Vanessa.
Then at Daniel again.
“How long?” she asked. Her voice came out calm. Too calm.
Neither of them said anything.
That was her answer.
Her throat felt tight.
She nodded slowly.
“I came here because I missed you,” she said. Her voice shook a little now. “I bought you chocolate.”
She looked down at it on the floor.
Such a small, stupid thing.
“Amelia, baby, please just ”
“Don’t.” She said it sharp and quiet at the same time. “Don’t call me that.”
He went still.
Vanessa had tears running down her face now. “I’m so sorry…”
Amelia looked at her.
Really looked at her.
This was the girl she called when anything happened good or bad. The girl she told everything to. The girl she had already asked to stand beside her at the wedding.
“You’re sorry,” Amelia said softly.
Not a question. Just the words sitting there between them.
“I treated you like a sister.”
Vanessa looked down.
Amelia wiped her face fast. She didn’t want to cry in front of them. She refused to.
She smiled. Small and broken.
“Enjoy each other.”
She turned around and walked out.
She didn’t run. She just walked. Steady and quiet.
But her hands were shaking by the time she reached the elevator.
The doors closed.
And then she fell apart.
- Writer
