The words had barely hung in the air when Ethan's face dropped. His long, pale fingers clenched so tightly around his wine glass that his knuckles went white.
"Is that supposed to be funny? Don't joke about something like this."
Dead? How could she be dead? He'd run right into her at the bridal shop three years ago. She was supposed to be getting married, starting a whole new life.
All the former classmates in the room froze at once, staring at their laps in awkward silence.
Then Zoe's old college roommate spoke up, her voice soft but steady: "It's true, Ethan. Zoe was diagnosed with hereditary gastric cancer. She only survived three years after it started."
Ethan went completely rigid, as if every drop of blood in his veins had turned to ice in an instant.
His voice came out rough a
