Page 26 of The Song We Lost

The music starts and I step into position at the front, bouquet heavy in my hands. The barn doors open. I move through thespace and pray that no one can tell how full my heart is and yet so broken.

I walk towards Cole and his groomsman, Adam. They went to school together and stayed in touch even when Adam traveled across Canada. He is back in Hawthorne ridge preparing to open his own restaurant. I don’t think we have ever met officially, but as I get into place he smiles and winks at me, which actually eases some of the tension I am feeling.

Then the music shifts and with it the energy in the barn, Sadie appears on Thomas’s arm, and the world narrows to just her. She’s glowing, not styled, or curated, justhappy. The kind of happiness that feels earned, that makes you believe in forever again. And as I watch her walk toward Cole, something slams into me so hard I almost trip standing still.

My own wedding.

The courthouse office that smelled like old carpet and stale coffee.

The borrowed dress.

The way Luke squeezed my hand and whispered, “We’ll do it right someday.”

I turned eighteen that morning and married him that afternoon because we were leaving for Nashville and we wanted to be married when we left.

I remember believing that love was enough to outrun time.

That the wedding didn't matter if the love was right.

I blink hard and focus on Sadie. I scan the crowd instinctively, familiar faces, neighbours, Rose openly crying into a tissue... And then I see Noah. He stands off to the side, hands clasped, eyes shining. Hope flares so fast it nearly knocks the breath from my lungs. Luke must be here. He has to be. I want to run throughthe crowd and find him, make this right. But today isn't about me, and I am genuinely so happy for my sister.

The ceremony is beautiful. The vows are quiet and unpolished, spoken with voices that shake and then steady. When Cole saysforever, his voice cracks, and it doesn’t sound like a promise he’s making for show. It sounds like one he intends to keep.

Applause and celebratory cheers fill the barn. People are crying, hugging, already drifting toward the reception tables outside. I keep waiting for him. For Luke’s laugh. To catch the sound of his voice through the crowd. For his hand at my back.

Nothing.

I scan again, but he’s not here. The realization settles slowly, a cruel weight in my gut. I smile anyway. I help Sadie with her train. Hug Cole. Say all the right things. Be the version of myself that knows how to survive.

“I just need a second,” I say, slipping away unnoticed.

I make my way from the barn towards the orchard, out in the open, surrounded by everything I have sweated and bled for. I just need to breathe. My phone feels heavy in my hand, and somewhere deep within, I already know. But I look anyway.

I have too many notifications and messages to process, but one stands out. The clip is already loaded. Luke is on stage with Kacey beside him, laughing, her arm looped through his. Drinks raised. Lights flashing. The crowd is roaring.

She leans into the mic. “Thank you for joining me tonight.”

Luke grins as he raises his glass. “No place I’d rather be.”

Something inside me breaks clean in half, as all the air leaves my lungs. Sound drains from around me, like a vacuum has sucked all the life away from around me, my vision tunnels until all I can see is the screen shaking in my hands. This wastoday... only an hour ago.

He isn't coming.

He doesn't care.

He chose her, knowing where I was.

He knew what today was.

He knew what was at stake....

He... He doesn't love me anymore.

I drop to my knees, a sound tearing out of me that doesn’t feel human.

“Bailey?”

Noah is in my blurry line of vision. Then Cole, right behind him, his face going pale as he takes me in.