Only, I'm beginning to wonder how well I know him.
“What I don’t get is why you asked Tiffany to be one of your bridesmaids. Now Harper, I understand. She’s one of your true friends. But Tiffany?” Raya snorts. “She’s a fair-weather friend, and you know it. Sometimes, I want you to put your foot down and demand more from your relationships.”
I stiffen. “Are you saying I settled when I agreed to marry Keith?”
“No, not at all.” She exhales slowly. “I wasn't even talking about him."
Why did my brain immediately go to him when she suggested I should demand more?
She sighs. "You’re a perfectionist, Lark. You hold yourself to impossible standards.”
“What’s wrong with that?” I ask, genuinely puzzled.
“You don’t hold anyone else to the standards you hold yourself to. You forgive too easily because you want everything to stay perfect.”
Her expression turns serious.
“You give so much of yourself. You’re so busy being amazing that you don’t give people a chance to be amazing for you.Then you end up surrounded by people who don’t step up for you.”
The words hit harder than I expect.
I think about Keith. About the way I let his absence slide. I never call him out for not messaging or calling me back. I’ve been so understanding that he’s missed venue visits, or the menu tastings. I told myself it was because of his job. That he was busy.
But deep down, maybe it’s because I didn’t want to face the answer.
I lower my chin. “You’re not wrong.”
“I’m not?” She looks flabbergasted.
“I am ambitious at work, but in my personal life… I give in too easily. I say yes when it might be in my best interest to say no."
Is that what I did with Keith?No, I'm not going there.
"I want to be a good friend. And I want our parents to be proudof me. To do that, I often avoid conflict. I’m always chasing the best version of myself, no matter if it seems impossible.”
She groans. “Great. Now I feel like a terrible sister. I wasn’t trying to send you on some soul-searching, self-flagellation spiral.”
“You’re not. And you totally did.” I laugh.
She winces. “Because I care. You know that, right?”
I nod. “I know you’ve always got my back.”
“Even if I sometimes want to shake a little sense into you,” she says, crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue like she’s five again.
I burst into laughter. Some of the tension loosens in my shoulders.
Someone calls to her from off-screen.
“I gotta go, Sis.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “And do not let the broody hottie get in your head, okay?”
Before I can reply, she disconnects.
I huff, half-amused, half-exasperated. She is far too cheeky for her own good.
I drop my phone in my handbag and rise to my feet. I turn and gasp. Racing straight toward me, is a very familiar, larger-than-life dog.
"Tiny?" I blink.
