Page 27 of The Song We Lost

I scramble to my feet, shaking my head violently. “Don’t... don’t tell her. Please. Do not ruin her night.”

Cole’s jaw tightens, pain flashing across his face, but he nods. “I won’t.”

I turn to Noah, voice cracking. “Go back in there... Please. I can’t... I need to pull myself together.”

He hesitates, then pulls me into a brief, fierce hug. “I’m so sorry, Bailey. I don't know what he's thinking.”

Noah goes back into the barn and Cole waits for a minute studying me, he shakes his head, taking a deep breath. Before he leaves he walks up to me, kisses the top of my head and whispers, “You deserve so much better.”

When I’m alone again, my hands shake so badly I have to try three times to get my phone to dial the right number.

Rachel answers on the first ring. “Bailey?”

“Do it,” I say.

Even through the excruciating pain, the words feel solid and final.

“Get the divorce lawyer. Luke can keep the Nashville house. If he wants out of Hawthorne Ridge, I’ll buy him out. Have a team pack my things from the house. I am done. I want the exit plan.” I swallow, trying to slow my racing heart and calmmy breathing, “Any collaboration. Any brand deal. Take it. I’m done.”

“Okay,” she says gently. “I’ve got you.”

She doesn’t ask for more, which means she already knows. She’s already seen the video. I can only imagine what the internet is saying now. I hang up and look out over the fields before me, the setting sun casting everything in gold. I am glad I cannot see myself right now because I know what I will see... Red eyes. Blotchy skin. A woman standing at the end of a marriage on her sister’s wedding day.

I force myself to breathe, practice my smile, and use my camera on my phone to clean up my face and hair. Then I turn around and walk back into my sister's happily ever after.

Sadie deserves her happiness, and I will not take that from her, even if it costs me everything.

chapter 12

bailey

. . .

The reception is already in motion, string lights glow overhead, casting everything in warm gold. Rachel finds me hovering at the edge of the party, a practiced smile plastered on my face, she steps into my space like she’s done a hundred times before, calm and grounded, her voice low enough that no one else can hear. She doesn’t ask if I’m okay, she already knows I'm not.

“Give me your phone,” she says gently.

"Wha..." I clear my throat and look around the barn. "What are you doing here?"

Rachel gives me a sad smile and sighs. "I was in Summit City, just in case you needed me."

The implication of what she just said hits me hard, I am already at my emotional capacity... but she knew. Rachel was supposed to be on a break of her own, but she knew this would happen. She has seen enough, heard enough to know... even when I was fighting and holding on to hope. She knew.

I close my eyes and will the tears back.

I will not cry anymore. I will not ruin Sadies' day.

“Give me your phone,” she repeats gently.

I open my eyes and realize how tightly I have been clutching it. I don't know what I was waiting for. He proved to me over and over exactly what he thought of me and our marriage. I hesitate for half a second, my fingers flexing around it, like it’s the onlything tethering me to the moment that just shattered my life. Then I let it go.

She takes it without ceremony, sliding it into her clutch like this is just another logistical detail to manage. Like my marriage didn’t just end in an orchard an hour ago.

“You don’t need this tonight,” she adds. “Nothing happens until tomorrow.”

“What happens tomorrow?” I ask.

She studies my face carefully before answering. “Tomorrow, I'll make it as clean as I can. Tonight, you stay right here, you enjoy your time with your sister and your family.”