Chapter 12: The Engagement That Should Never Have Happened
I left Clara’s salon without saying goodbye.
I couldn’t.
My mind was too loud.
Every memory with Graham replayed differently.
Our first date.
Our first apartment.
The night he proposed.
The way he looked at me and said, “You’re the only person who understands me.””
I thought it was love.
Now I wondered if it was something else.
Familiarity.
A connection neither of us understood.
A mistake waiting to happen.
I drove until I reached the waterfront.
The place where my wedding was supposed to happen.
The place where my entire future had collapsed.
Graham was there.
Of course he was.
He stood near the water, hands in his pockets.
When he saw me, he looked relieved.
“Juliet.””
I stopped several feet away.
“Don’t.””
His expression changed.
“What?””
“Don’t act like you’re happy to see me.””
He looked down.
“I know about Olivia.””
His face fell.
“I can explain.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I’m done with explanations.””
“Then what do you want?””
The question surprised me.
Because I knew the answer.
The truth.
“I want to know if you ever loved me.””
He looked away.
That hurt more than anger.
“Graham.””
He swallowed.
“I did.””
“Did?””
He closed his eyes.
“I don’t know anymore.””
The honesty was cruel.
But at least it was honest.
“I found something.””
His face tightened.
“What?””
I stepped closer.
“The family records.””
He went still.
“What records?””
“The ones connecting our families.””
His expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
“You shouldn’t have found those.””
I stared at him.
“Why?””
Silence.
“Graham.””
He sat down on a bench.
“My mother knew.””
“Knew what?””
“That there was a connection.””
I felt sick.
“She knew?””
“Yes.””
“And she let us get engaged?””
“She thought it was impossible.””
I laughed.
“Impossible?””
“She thought the records were wrong.””
I stared at him.
“Did you know?””
He didn’t answer.
I stepped back.
“You knew.””
“Not at first.””
“But now?””
His silence was enough.
“How long?””
“A few weeks.””
A few weeks.
While I was choosing flowers.
While I was finishing my dress.
While I was believing my life was finally beginning.
“You knew and you stayed.””
“I was trying to understand.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You were trying to decide whether it mattered.””
He looked away.
And I knew I was right.
The worst part wasn’t the betrayal.
It was realizing I had never been a person to him.
I had been a choice.
A possibility.
A life he was willing to gamble with.
“I’m sorry.””
I looked at him.
“Are you?””
“Yes.””
“Or are you sorry you got caught?””
He had no answer.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Clara.
One sentence.
*Juliet, I found the missing page from your grandmother’s journal.*
Then another message came.
A photograph.
An old document.
A marriage certificate.
I opened it.
And my entire body went cold.
Because the certificate showed the truth.
My grandmother’s family.
The Whitmore family.
And the one person who connected us all.
The person whose name was written beside my grandmother’s.
*Graham’s grandfather.*
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And beneath the certificate was a note:
*The engagement was never an accident. Someone arranged it years ago.*
