Page 59 of Matched with the Grumpy Secret Prince

“Okay, stop.” She grabs my arm, forcing me to turn and face her. “You’re spiraling.”

“I am not spiraling,” I say, shaking her off as I scan the rows of guest chairs, counting them mentally. Eighty-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight?—

“Oh, please.” Mia steps in front of me, blocking my view. “You’re throwing yourself into work like a woman possessed, which means only one thing.” She folds her arms. “This is about Graham.”

I freeze for a split second before scoffing. “This is about Ethan and Riley’s wedding.”

“No,” she counters, her gaze sharp. “This is about Graham leaving and you having no idea why.”

I press my lips together and turn away, striding toward the reception area, but Mia is right on my heels.

“Sophie.” Her voice softens, but there’s no mistaking the determination in it. “Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I say, scanning the catering schedule like it holds the secret to forgetting Graham Montgomery. “He left. End of story.”

Mia snorts. “End of story? You were miserable for days. And don’t think I haven’t noticed how you keep checking your phone when you think no one’s looking.”

I grip the clipboard tighter. “I do that for work.”

“Right.” She drags the word out, unconvinced. “You haven’t heard from him at all?”

I shake my head, trying to keep my voice steady. “Not a word.”

Mia exhales, placing a hand on her hip. “That’s… weird, right?”

I don’t answer. Because if I do, I’ll have to admit that, yes, it’s weird. It isn’t kind. It makes no sense.

Graham wasn’t the kind of man to disappear. He wasn’t careless, and he didn’t play games.

So why did he leave without an explanation?

Why hasn’t he called?

Why does it feel like I’m the only one stuck in this unbearable limbo, replaying every second of the last time I saw him?

“I just don’t get it,” Mia continues when I say nothing. “He wasn’t the type to take off without a reason. Did something happen?”

I exhale, rubbing my fingers over my forehead. “I don’t know, Mia.”

And that’s the worst part.

I. Don’t. Know.

One minute, we were kissing in the flower shop, and the next, he was packing up his things, looking at me like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

Then, just before he walked out the door, he turned back and said, I’m sorry. I wish things were different.

And then he was gone.

Like none of it ever happened. As if I was just another chapter he decided to close.

Mia watches me carefully. “You want to know what I think?”

I sigh. “Not really.”

“Well, too bad.” She steps closer. “I think you need to talk to him.”

I blink at her. “Oh, great idea. Let me call up the guy who vanished into thin air and ask him why he decided to break the world record for fastest emotional whiplash.”

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