CHAPTER ONE
For the umpteenth time, Kendra refreshed her messages. Nothing.
Still the same text thread. The same last message she’d sent her ex-boyfriend the night before. Still no reply.
With a sigh, she dropped her phone on the bed and moved to bury her face in the covers, but then, a loud crash rang out.
She sat up, her heart pounding.
Voices spilled into the hallway. She jumped off the bed and hurried out, nearly tripping over a pillow as she made her way into the next room.
Her father’s voice thundered. “Where the hell is she?”
Her mother stood in the middle of the room, wringing her hands. “I don't know, Mark.”
She wore a teal mermaid gown that hugged her frame with quiet elegance, its satin fabric shimmering as it caught the light. Around her neck and wrists glinted the finest silver jewelry she owned; ornate, intricate pieces that sparkled beneath the warm glow of the beige-lit room, as if trying to distract from the worry etched into her face.
Her father, on the other hand, wore his usual black suit, though he’d swapped his regular tie for a sleek silk bow tie, the only sign that today was meant to be special. At his feet lay the broken pieces of Ruby’s favorite snowglobe, glitter and glass scattered across the floor, like a quiet small explosion.
They both looked picture-perfect until you saw her mother’s anxious expression, and the rage etched on her father's.
He turned to Kendra. “Where the hell is Ruby?”
She frowned back at him. It made no sense that he would be asking her about her sister's whereabouts, not on the morning of her wedding, just a few hours before she was expected to walk down the aisle.
Impatient, her father snapped his fingers in Kendra's face. “Yes? Ruby? Where is she?”
Kendra stepped into the bedroom. "I'm sure she is here, give me a minute to check—"
“She is not,” he said, sharp and flat.
Her stomach tightened, dread climbing her spine. "No, when we spoke last night, Ruby said she would prefer to get ready by herself, so—"
Her father's nostrils flared as he barked at her. "She is not in here!"
Kendra's heart thrashed wildly in her chest as she pulled the curtains apart, opened the closet doors, and searched the bathroom. "Ruby? Ru, please answer."
Silence.
Kendra swallowed the lump in her throat. She was scared of the answer she would get, yet she could not help but ask. "What do you mean she is not here? Where is she then?"
Her brother, Jason, appeared at the door, eyes grim. "She is not anywhere on the property, either."
"Get the driver, check the city." Her father instructed. And Jason rushed off as quickly as he had appeared.
“Is she missing?” Kendra managed to ask.
Her father flung a crumpled note at her feet. “She’s not missing. She ran.” His voice cracked with rage. “After everything I did for her, she abandoned me the one time I needed her most. No daughter of mine would do this.”
“Mark, please,” her mother whispered.
His phone pinged. He checked it, then waved it at her. “Wallace Ashford just asked how the damn preparations are going. What the hell do I tell him?” He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “That there’s no bride? Do you understand what that means?”
Kendra bent to pick up the note. It was a small pink Post-it, the edges curled from being clenched too tightly. Her hands trembled as she unfolded it.
In the pretty calligraphy that her sister always wrote were the words: I can't do this. I'm sorry.
Six words. That was all.
But the weight of them felt unbearable. The world tilted. Ruby was gone.
Kendra’s throat tightened. “Mom?” she whispered. “She’s really not here?”
Her father stormed out. “I don’t have time for this.”
Her mother chased after him. “Mark, wait—”
Kendra was alone.
She sank to the floor, the note trembling in her hand. Her eyes skimmed the familiar handwriting until the letters began to blur.
Ruby wouldn’t leave without telling her. She wouldn’t.
They’d spoken last night. Ruby had cried on her shoulders, said she didn’t know if she could go through with it. And Kendra had told her everything would be okay. That they’d figure it out.
When Kendra left at midnight, Ruby seemed calmer.
She knew her sister didn't want this marriage. She’d cried every night since the arrangement was announced. But Kendra had stayed by her side—bringing cookies, binge-watching Gilmore Girls, letting Ruby try out makeup tricks she didn’t even like, just to make her smile again.
Ruby wouldn’t leave. Not without saying goodbye. Everything in the room was in perfect place, just as her sister liked it to be.
Unless…
Kendra shot up. There were two things Ruby never went anywhere without; her Polaroid camera, and her diary. Both always sat on her nightstand.
She darted over to it. The camera and diary were gone. But there was a pink notebook there.
Her stomach sank.
She flipped open the notebook, praying for a miracle, any miracle. The first page held another message. Just three words, in Ruby’s handwriting: I’m sorry, Kenny.
Kendra’s knees gave out. She sank back onto the bed, the notebook slipping from her fingers.
This was real. Her sister had left.
The door creaked open. Her mother stepped in, tears streaking her cheeks.
Kendra shot to her feet. “Did you find her? Is she okay?”
Her mother didn’t answer right away. Her eyes held something else—something heavier.
“I’m sorry, Kenny,” she said softly.
Kendra’s face twisted. “Sorry? For what?”
Footsteps pounded down the hallway. Her father burst into the room, Jason trailing behind.
“Did you tell her?”
Her mother looked down.
Kendra could not help the uneasy feeling that washed over her. “Tell me what?”
Her father didn’t hesitate. “You’re taking Ruby’s place.”
The words didn’t land at first. Kendra stared at him, uncomprehending.
“What…?”
“You’ll marry Cole Ashford.”
Time stopped.
Her lungs locked. The air in the room thinned.
She shook her head. “No.”
