Chapter 8
I chuckled and turned off the live stream. There was no point watching the rest–of course, William would agree to marry his first love.
Sure enough, as I was about to board the plane, a message popped up from Lilah.
[Bitch, I won.]
I paused, and then I typed back. [I’ll send you a surprise when the time comes.]
Then I switched off my phone, got on the plane, and slept like a rock for the entire flight.
When I turned my phone back on, it buzzed nonstop with messages from William.
[I only agreed to marry her to save her. Once she’s better, we’ll divorce.]
[Emberly, wait for me, please. You’re the only one I love.]
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Chapter 8
And then there was Lilah, sending me her
wedding invitation.
The old me would’ve been devastated.
Jealous, even.
But not anymore.
This trip to Florida was actually for travel. I was here to visit Will.
He’d loved the state’s sceneries when he was alive, and after he passed, his parents buried him here just as he’d wanted.
At his grave, I placed a bouquet and wiped the dust off his photo.
“Will, your sister was right. I’m so sorry.”
Because his death wasn’t an accident. Not
really.
That day, I’d begged him to go get a limited- edition stuffed bunny for me.
It was far, though, so we played rock–paper-
scissors to decide. He lost.
Before leaving, he grinned and said, “When
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Chapter 8
And then there was Lilah, sending me her wedding invitation.
The old me would’ve been devastated.
Jealous, even.
But not anymore.
This trip to Florida was actually for travel. I was here to visit Will.
He’d loved the state’s sceneries when he was alive, and after he passed, his parents. buried him here just as he’d wanted.
At his grave, I placed a bouquet and wiped the dust off his photo.
“Will, your sister was right. I’m so sorry.”
Because his death wasn’t an accident. Not
really.
That day, I’d begged him to go get a limited- edition stuffed bunny for me.
It was far, though, so we played rock–paper- scissors to decide. He lost.
Before leaving, he grinned and said, “When
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Chapter 8
I get back, I’m gonna beat you up.”
I knew he wouldn’t, though. Will could never hurt me. He’d probably hide the stuffed toy and make me cry trying to find it, only to pop up with that teasing smile and hand it over.
I never imagined that would be the last time I’d see him alive.
He died in a horrific car accident. His body. was shattered. Even the stuffed bunny’s box was soaked in blood.
When I opened the box, though, the bunny was clean. Snow white, except for its red
eyes.
I wiped at them, but the red only
deepened. And then, like I’d pressed some hidden button, the bunny spoke.
It was Will’s voice.
“Emmy, you dummy! You big dummy!”
I sat there in the pool of blood, clutching that bunny and sobbing until I couldn’t
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Chapter S
breathe.
I really was an idiot.
I lost Will forever.
And because I was so blind, I covered for William.
The man I loved had been killed by someone else’s recklessness.
The night I found out. I cried so hard I shook. William held me, murmuring apologies.
He admitted he’d hated Will. That he was jealous.
He couldn’t stand how Will always got everything he wanted–including me.
But what William never understood was that Will would never have hurt me.
He would never have made me kneel at the
door when I made a mistake.
That night, on my knees, I figured it out.
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Chapter 8
I’d tell the truth about what happened to
Will.
I’d let everyone, especially Lilah, see William for who he really was.
For the next few days, Lilah bombarded me
with updates–wedding plans and
pregnancy reports.
I got sick of it and blocked her.
Then, on the day of their wedding, I returned to Washington.
By the time I arrived, the ceremony was already in full swing. Flowers covered the lawn, and guests laughed and clinked glasses like everything was perfect.
Right in the middle of it all stood Lilah and
William.
She walked over when she saw me, her expression smug. William looked away like he couldn’t bear to face me.
Lilah lifted her wedding dress as she
walked to me. “God, you really don’t know
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Chapter 8
when to give up, do you?”
I grabbed a mini cake off the dessert table
and took a bite.
“And you really don’t know shame. You faked depression just to steal a man, right? Gosh!”
She snorted and ignored what I said. “Hah. Just wait! When we kiss later, try not to die.
of jealousy.”
Right on cue, the music started.
Lilah smiled again, grabbing William’s arm as they walked down the aisle together.
At the altar, William pulled out a ring.
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