Chapter 1The Day You Never Came

Mom has terminal cancer, and her dying wish is to see me in a wedding dress.

After I beg my boyfriend and my best friend 88 times, they finally agree to help me stage a wedding so I can make her wish come true.

But on the wedding day, Mom holds on with the last of her strength, waiting until her eyes can barely focus.

The groom never shows up. Neither does my bridesmaid.

Then my best friend, Jolene Cohen, posts a photo.

Isaac is in his tux, and Jolene is still in her bridesmaid dress. They're posing with a cake, both grinning at the camera.

"My bestie was so nervous about her wedding that her groom came halfway across town with me just to pick up a cake. She's seriously lucky to have a guy like him."

The location tag is a popular cake shop across town.

I call Isaac and confront him, but he sounds completely unconcerned.

"Isn't this whole thing supposed to be about fulfilling your mom's last wish? I'm just helping Jolene loosen up so she'll seem more natural when we do this later."

Jolene laughs from somewhere beside him and chimes in. "Come on, Lily. We're just messing with you. We'll be back in a bit. Tell Ms. Page to wait a little longer."

That's when I realize that all my desperate pleading and even Mom's dying wish mean absolutely nothing to them.

I watch the line on the monitor go flat as tears blur my vision.

I end this whole charade on my own and walk away from them for good.

* * *

After taking care of everything at the hospital, I went back to the small room we'd set up for the wedding.

The guests were long gone.

A large wedding banner still hung in the center of the room. I'd put it up myself the night before, making sure it was perfectly straight.

Mom had insisted on that. She always said if you started things right, everything else would fall into place.

The cake she'd picked out was still on the table, already starting to melt. The frosting had sagged into a shapeless mess, which pretty much matched how I felt.

I changed out of my wedding dress and started cleaning up on autopilot.

I was halfway done when Isaac Hudson and Jolene Cohen finally showed up, still carrying a bag from the popular cake shop.

"Lily, we're back! We even got Ms. Page a low-sugar cake. It's one of their specialties…"

Jolene's cheerful voice trailed off as she took in the empty room. She looked stunned.

"Where is everyone? I thought there was supposed to be a wedding. Why is it so quiet in here?"

Isaac frowned. "Lily, Jolene's talking to you. Where did everyone go?"

I didn't answer.

Jolene seemed to sense the tension and quickly tried to smooth things over. "Lily, is Ms. Page upset? This is my fault. I messed up the timing. Isaac only came with me to get the cake—"

Isaac cut her off and immediately tried to reassure her. "Don't worry about it, Jolene. Ms. Page is such a nice person. Even if she found out, she wouldn't blame us."

My eyes stung at his words.

Of course Mom wouldn't blame them. Even at the very end, she was still making excuses for them.

Ten years ago, when Isaac's parents were going through a divorce, he was pretty much left on his own.

One day, the pain from a stomach perforation got so bad that he passed out. Mom was the one who rushed him to the hospital in the pouring rain.

The hospital needed a deposit up front, so Mom covered it herself with two months' pay.

Later, not wanting Isaac to feel awkward about owing her money, she just smiled and said, "I'm your teacher. Of course I was going to help. Don't feel bad about it, Isaac. You've got a bright future ahead of you. Pay me back when you can."

Isaac lay in the hospital bed, clutching her hand and crying for what seemed like forever. He swore he'd spend the rest of his life paying her back for everything she'd done for him.

After that, Isaac was practically part of the family. He was always the first to show up for the holidays, and whenever Mom got sick, he worried about her even more than I did.

Everyone said he treated her better than most sons treated their own mothers.

But when it came to this final act, he couldn't even play his part.

I tossed my wedding dress onto a chair. My voice was so hoarse I barely recognized it.

"The wedding's off. There won't be another one."