They were a long way down. I noticed Kevin’s hand gripping the rail, his watch easy to recognize. They were ten floors down, but the concrete created incredible acoustics. They thought they were sheathed in privacy, but they were basically speaking into a microphone.
Tabitha spoke again. “I can’t live with this guilt. I just can’t… I thought I could, but I can’t.”
Kevin responded. “Tabitha, what’s telling him going to achieve? It’s just going to hurt him. It’s just going to ruin this night for him. We’ve ended things between us and it’s not going to happen again, so let it go.”
My hands tightened on the railing, my knuckles turning white. I closed my eyes and kept my mouth shut, suppressed the sigh of pain that wanted to erupt from my lips. Tears formed behind my eyes, but I forced them back, refused to let my entire body fall apart.
“And you can just lie to him?” she whispered. “He’s your best friend…”
“I feel fucking terrible about it, okay? But telling him isn’t going to make things better. It’ll only make it worse. Come on, he loves you. He would forgive you anyway. So just cut out the part where you crush him and leave it alone.”
“I don’t know if he would forgive me, Kevin. It wasn’t just one time… It went on for a month.”
He sighed loudly. “Baby…”
I couldn’t listen to this shit anymore.
I released the railing and returned to the rooftop. Everyone was at the table, having good conversations while they enjoyed the drinks and appetizers. Her father said something funny and made everyone laugh, including my dad.
I felt fucking sick.
I looked at my father’s smile and felt dead inside. He’d told me I was too young, but I’d told him Tabitha and I were different… I was wrong.
So fucking wrong.
I stood there because I didn’t know what to do. I stared at the beautifully decorated rooftop, the party my mom worked so hard on. She told me she was proud, but what was there to be proud of?
I was an idiot.
The woman I gave my heart to betrayed me, not once, but several times.
And Kevin…what kind of best friend did I have?
My dad turned to me and stared at me for a few seconds, his eyes slowly narrowing as if he knew something was wrong.
I cleared my throat and came to the table, taking a seat in the center, empty chairs on either side of me, reserved for my bride and best man. I grabbed the champagne sitting in front of me and took a deep drink.
Everything happened so fast.
My dad stared at me from his seat at the head of the table. He knew something was wrong, but he was too far away to ask me privately.
The door opened, and Tabitha returned to the rooftop. Her little white halter dress showed off her incredible legs, her spectacular figure. Her hair blew back slightly as she walked, like everything was happening in slow motion. She smiled…as if the stairway conversation never happened.
Just like that, I felt nothing.
She was the love of my life just a minute ago and now…everything was gone.
Kevin came in a second later, acting like nothing had changed.
My arms rested on the table, and I listened to them take their seats on either side of me.
Kevin patted me on the back. “Take it easy on the champagne, man.”
I didn’t feel anything for him either.
Dinner was served, and even though I was sick, I ate it anyway. My exterior was calm, but inside, my heart was a volcano. Blood spewed like lava. Rage consumed me. I was both furious and empty at the same time.
Dad kept looking at me—because he fucking knew.
He knew everything.
When dinner was finished, it was time for us to say something.
Tabitha rose to her feet to go first. “Well, I don’t know what to say. They say weddings are the most stressful thing to plan, but it’s been so easy…and I know that’s because of my future mother-in-law, Cleo. She’s amazing, and I’m so grateful she’ll always be in my life. Thank you to everyone for coming, for being a part of this special day. I love this man with all my heart.” Her hand went to my shoulder, and she looked down at me.
I drank my champagne and didn’t meet her look.
“And I’m so happy to spend the rest of my life with him.” She paused like she expected me to meet her look. When I didn’t, she sat down and leaned in to kiss me.
I got to my feet and held my champagne flute, my other hand sliding into my pocket. I stood there for a while, all eyes on me, the silence becoming louder as I continued to grapple with all my emotions. I used to be good with words, like my mother, but now… I couldn’t think of anything to say. “When I think about what kind of marriage I want to have, I think about my parents.” I raised my hand to gesture to their place at the head of the table. When I looked at them, neither one of them smiled, like they knew me so well that they knew whatever I said next wouldn’t be good. “They genuinely love each other, would never lie to each other, and I just assumed I would have what they have…someday.” My hand withdrew from my pocket, and I rubbed the back of my neck. “Most people don’t know that my dad was actually married before, to my birth mother. But she was a bitch, and it didn’t work out.”