Page 43 of I Wish I Would've Warned You

“We eloped!”

“We’re married!”

They speak at the same time.

Everything inside me stops.

My hand slips. The glass of water beside the soup tips and crashes to the floor, shattering loud and sharp. My fingers twitch, useless. My heart is hammering too fast, too loud, and for a second I feel it—hot, rising nausea climbing up the back of my throat.

Cole goes still beside me.

He doesn’t breathe. Doesn’t blink. His jaw locks so tight I can see the veins in his neck strain. Then he sets his bowl down on the tray with slow, deliberate care.

“Look at my ring!” my mom squeals, thrusting her hand out like it’s the crown jewel. The diamond nearly blinds me. “Isn’t it perfect, Emily?”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

Cole stands.

“Can I talk to you?” he says, looking directly at Aidan. His voice is even, but underneath it is a quake.

“Now?” Aidan chuckles. “Can it wait?”

“No.” Cole’s tone sharpens. “It can’t.”

My mom doesn’t notice. She’s still spinning, still glowing, already halfway into her next sentence.

“We wanted to wait for a big wedding next year,” she says, “but then we realized—why wait? Why not just do it now and let everything else fall into place?”

Everything else.

Like us.

“We’ll have a ceremony for everyone next spring,” Aidan adds. “That gives us time to gel. Emily will be in college by then, and Cole’s moving out, so there’s no need to make this feel rushed.”

Cole lets out a single, humorless breath. Almost a laugh. But not quite.

“I said it can’t wait,” Cole says, tense.

“Son, we can step outside a little?—”

“Now,” Cole demands.

He stalks past the tray, through the living room, and down the hallway. The door slams shut behind him. Loud. Final.

My mom barely flinches.

“He figured that would happen,” she says, like it’s no big deal. “Cole’s never really wanted his dad to remarry. We can’t take it personally.”

I try to breathe, but the air feels too thick.

“I’ll tell you the whole proposal story!” she chirps, already pulling out her phone. “It’ll make you feel better, I promise.”

I don’t want the story. I want to be anywhere but here.

But I can’t leave.

I can’t run—not with Cole storming out first.

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