Then she saw me.
Her face changed.
She immediately turned away and disappeared down a side hallway.
That was strange.
Colleen and I hadn’t spoken much since Adrian d*ed, but why would she hide from me?
I followed her.
“Colleen?”
She stopped.
For a second, she just stared at me.
“Meredith?”
“What are you doing here?”
She looked nervous.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I’m working.
I’m the florist.”
“Here?”
“Yes.
Why?”
Before she could answer, a wedding coordinator hurried toward us.
“Mrs.
Parker, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.
The groom needs his mother.”
I stared at Colleen.
For a second, that explained everything.
Adrian had an older brother, Julian.
Of course.
This must be his wedding.
Julian and I had always gotten along well.
I won’t lie — it hurt a little that he hadn’t invited me.
But after Adrian’s d*ath, I’d barely spoken to his family.
Maybe they thought a wedding would be too painful for me.
I tried not to take it personally.
Then I noticed the corsage on her wrist.
I’d made it myself that morning.
It was for the groom’s mother.
Colleen glanced at me, then quickly followed the coordinator away.
I told myself that explained her strange behavior.
Maybe she’d simply felt awkward seeing me there.
A few minutes later, I spotted her near the groom’s room.
This time, I almost walked away.
Of course she was there.
Her son was getting married.
She looked around before slipping inside.
Then I heard Colleen’s voice.
“You need to hurry.
The ceremony starts in twenty minutes.”
A man answered.
I stopped.
That wasn’t Julian’s voice.
Something about it made my whole body go cold.
I moved closer to the door.
Through the narrow opening, I could see Colleen.
Then the man stepped into view.
My hand flew to my mouth.
Adrian.
Alive.
And he was wearing the same suit he’d bought for our wedding.
I couldn’t move.
“Does everything look okay?” he asked.
Colleen adjusted his tie.
“You look perfect.”
Adrian smiled.
“Good.
I don’t want anything going wrong today.”
I stumbled backward before either of them could see me.
Three months earlier, I’d stood at Adrian’s funeral believing I’d never hear his voice again.
Now he was alive.
His mother knew.
And they had both let me mourn him.
I turned and ran.
I barely made it to the restroom before the tears came.
I locked myself inside and cried until I could barely breathe.
My phone started ringing.
It was my assistant.
“Meredith?
The coordinator’s looking for you.
They’re about to start.”
I looked at myself in the mirror.
My eyes were swollen.
My mascara was ruined.
“Meredith?
Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to take over?”
I thought about Adrian.
Alive.
Smiling.
Getting ready for a wedding while I’d spent three months grieving him.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
I wiped my face and picked up my florist badge.
And suddenly, I knew exactly what I was going to do next — and how I was going to make Adrian regret what he’d done to me.
—
What is Meredith about to do — and will Adrian finally face what he put her through?
Comment “NEXT” if you want Part 2.
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