Page 125

Ali hurried underneath the pergola, stopping just short of where Lilah had curled into the corner of a couch.

Her anger evaporated, voice turning gentle.

“Are you okay?”

“Please go away,” Lilah whispered, voice shattered as she hugged herself.

There wasn’t a chance in hell she would leave Lilah alone. Not like this. Ali inched closer, not touching, but just… there.

“I’m not leaving. Not until I know you’re okay.”

She stared at her boots and listened as Lilah cried into her hands. The air felt heavy, pressing down, making it impossible to draw a normal breath.

“Are you going to tell Charlotte?”

Ali sighed, chewing the inside of her cheek, eyes flitting toward the stairs. “I won’t lie if she asks. But… I think she deserves to hear it from you.”

“I fucked up so bad,” Lilah’s voice cracked with emotion, her breaths coming a little too quick. “She’s never going to forgive me.”

Ali’s heart clenched as she rested a hand on Lilah’s knee. “She loves you so much. There isn’t anything you two couldn’t work through. Might take some time, but you mean the world to her.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Lilah admitted, choking down another sob. “I don’t know how I got here.”

Ali’s throat tightened.

I do.

She remembered feeling the exact same way sitting across from Ashley. She hadn’t recognized herself for a long time.

“I’ll help,” Ali vowed, voice cracking as she squeezed Lilah’s knee. “You aren’t alone. I’m not going anywhere.”

She glanced toward the stairs again. This situation was a powder keg. One wrong move and it would destroy the wedding, shatter relationships, everything.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Ali asked. “Then we can make a plan for what to do.”

“You’ll hate me when you find out.”

“Not possible.”

“I—” Lilah struggled to find the words.

“Hey.” Ali tugged Lilah’s hands from her face and wiped at her tears. “I already know what’s going on and I’m still here. I’m right here. Whatever else is left to tell won’t change that. I’m still right here.”

“Promise?”

“I do. I promise.”

Lilah swallowed hard, dragging in a shaking breath, then another. When she finally spoke, her voice was wet and fragile, every word dragged up from deep water.

“Remember how I told you I partied a lot in college?”

Ali nodded, hadn’t they all?

“I got wasted every weekend. Slept around. Made… really bad decisions.” Lilah huffed a broken, humorless breath. “I never wanted my parents to know, so if I got too drunk I’d call Charlotte or Elizabeth and they’d come get me. But this one night, Charlotte was out of town, and Lizzie was performing life-saving surgery.”

“As one does,” Ali quipped, trying to ease the weight pressing down on them.

Lilah gave a weak, cracked laugh. “Yeah, just a normal everyday activity.” That laugh broke into a sob. “I called Victoria. She and Charlotte were still engaged. She came to get me. Took me to get some food. Drove me home. She was always… really nice to me. Listened to me play the violin. Asked about my classes. Told me how smart and talented I was.”