I couldn’t erase him.
“I’m not signing the annulment. If he wants to end this, he has to do it to my face.” My stubborn tone covered up the heaving, rolling fear in my gut.
He gave me an approving nod. “Keep them. You might need them one day.”
“Is he going to be okay?” I knew I was asking something even Viktor didn’t know, but I would take any scrap of reassurance, any crumb of hope.
Give me something to hang on to.
Anything.
Viktor took his time as he thought about his answer. “I don’t know.”
My tears threatened to break me open, but I hung on by a thread. I swallowed hard. “Please.”
He lifted his eyes to me. “If anyone can survive where he’s going, it’s him, but…”
I waited for him to finish. “But what?”
“But I think you’d better focus on your future. As best as you can.”
End of June
Four months later
My new apartment was filled with laughter and the scent of candles and cake, and while everyone else took photos of us, I stood between Tanya and Selena.
“Mom, enough,” Tanya complained.
Everyone laughed.
“One more,” Gloria insisted. “It’s not every day that my baby girl graduates. This is a rare moment for our family.”
We smiled while her mom took five more photos.
“Enough,” Tanya scolded again, half laughing while trying to grab her mom’s phone out of her hands. “I can’t smile anymore.”
I spoke up. “And now we get to try the cake!”
Everyone immediately chorused their approval.
“Jordan.” I looked over at my friend. “Why don’t you tell us about our graduation cake?”
He grinned at me. “By popular request, this is a white chocolate vanilla bean mousse cake, which is a layer of sponge between the mousse, covered in a vanilla glaze.”
“It looks incredible.”
“How did you even make something like that?”
“This cake belongs on the cover of a magazine.”
Jordan grinned at me. “Want to help me serve?”
I took off my cap and followed him out of the living room and around the corner into my kitchen. I started to take the small plates out of the cupboard while Jordan removed the candles. “What time is our reservation tomorrow?”
“Six thirty.” I opened a drawer. “I think I have a cake server somewhere.”
Jordan didn’t answer. I looked up from my search and caught him standing and looking at my annulment on the fridge.
