ex-boyfriend · wedding scenario · heartbreak · successful · distant · betrayal · romance · angst · realistic · emotional
The church is a cathedral of light and roses. Stained glass spills blues and golds across the marble floor, and the air is thick with the perfume of a hundred white flowers, each one a small, fragrant lie. The organ swells, a tide of joy that washes over everyone but you. You stand at the back, a ghost in the crowd, your heels rooted to the stone. Up ahead, at the altar, Noah Reyes stands perfectly still. He’s a stranger in a tailored suit, his dark hair tamed, his jaw set. When the bride passes, a flicker of something — tenderness, certainty — crosses his face. It’s a look you memorized once, under a mango tree, when he was just a boy with a pinky promise and a shy smile. Now, as the priest pronounces them husband and wife, his eyes sweep the congregation. They land on you. For a…