Page 293 of Blood & Betrayals

His eyes flash. “When are you planning on speaking to him?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Miss Tuatha De Daanan,” the headmaster says, giving me a dismissive nod.

“You are welcome, sir,” I say, standing up.

I leave his office and head back home. My stomach twists and my joy seems shadowed, but I’m unsure why. I don’t love how things changed with Max. Does this mean that now that I’m engaged, everyone is going to treat me differently? Am I feeling weird because I’ve not told Alice yet? I was going to text her, but it didn’t feel right. I wanted to tell her in person, but now Max and the headmaster know before her, and I’m feeling weird about that, too. It was stupid of me not to realize people would figure it out based on the ring, and suddenly, it feels heavier.

My phone pings in my pocket, and I pull it free

Connor

I’m back at your dorm. Where are you?

Summer

Almost home, fiancé.

108

Summer

“Summer!” I look back when I hear Alice’s voice from behind me. She smiles and breaks into a bouncy jog to catch up with me.

I smile brightly at her. “Hi!”

Alice links her arm through mine. “I missed you last night, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to ace my final,” she says excitedly. This plant is a large part of her final grade, and I love how excited she is about botany.

I squeeze her arm. “That’s amazing, Al.” I look down at my hand, the ring concealed by my sleeve. “I have some news, too.”

“Oh?” Alice asks.

I push my sleeve back, showing her the ring glittering daintily on my finger. Alice stops and whirls on me, grabbing my hand.

“What is this? Are you… Did he?” She looks at me, her eyes wide, her mouth gaping.

I nod and smile brightly. The second my lips pull up, Alice takes that as confirmation that I’m happy, and she screams, jumping up and down.

I laugh and jump with her until she pulls me into a hug. “This is amazing! I’m so fucking happy for you, Sum.” I hug her back, smiling. It’s funny how telling my best friend made me feel light again. Alice’s pure happiness for me wipes away Max’s reaction. I push away thoughts of the uncomfortable conversation I have to have with Luke tomorrow and enjoy this moment of joy.

As we walk back to the dorm, we dive into wedding plans. I try to tell her I don’t think it’ll be for a while, but I get caught up in her excitement.

Connor grabs me the second I walk into the room, spinning me. “Hello, fiancée,” he says, kissing me sweetly.

I smile against his lips. “Well, hey there.”

“Oh, gods. You two are going to be even more unbearable now,” Alice grumbles, but when I glance at her, she’s smiling widely as she watches us. Connor doesn’t put me down, but he looks at Alice, his smile almost blinding. “Congrats, bird brain.”

“Thanks, Al. You okay with sharing your wife with me?”

Alice shrugs. “You’re just providing the penis. I know I’ll always be the favorite.”

I laugh and nuzzle into Connor’s cheek as they bicker. At that moment, it’s as if I can see a glimpse of my future, and I feel an overwhelming sense of awe that it’ll include these two wonderful people.

Connor and I lay in bed. He’s sound asleep, and I am yearning to check my phone. Connor made the engagement post today. I wanted to wait to tell the stranger, but it didn’t seem fair toprolong something that Connor was so excited about for the benefit of… someone else.

My phone pings, and my heart sinks. I already know who it is, and I can feel the looming fight between us, but if I want to keep him in my life, I need to face it.

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