Chapter 2The Day You Never Came

Isaac froze for a second, then scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean, Lily? Are you trying to hold the wedding over my head now? I came back to play along, didn't I? What else do you want?"

I said, "I don't want anything. I'm just telling you the act is over."

Isaac's expression darkened. He tore off his boutonniere and slapped it onto the table.

"Fine! No wedding, then! It was fake to begin with anyway. You begged me to put on this whole act for Ms. Page. So if you're canceling it now, don't come begging me later to go through with it."

Jolene quickly grabbed his arm. "Isaac, don't talk to Lily like that."

Then she turned to me, her eyes red. "Lily, come on. Isaac was a little harsh, but you know how he is. Just talk to him nicely for a minute. He'll calm down, and this will all blow over."

Whenever Isaac and I fought, it didn't matter who was at fault. I was always the one who backed down.

If he gave me the cold shoulder, I'd bring him his favorite takeout. If he ignored my messages, I'd wait outside his office until he came out. If he called me petty, I'd bend over backward to prove I wasn't.

Even when he deliberately made a show of being close to Jolene right in front of me, I never said a word.

But this time, I was done.

I just said, "If you're going, then go."

Isaac flew into a rage, jerked free of Jolene's grip, and stormed out.

Jolene turned back before hurrying after Isaac. "Lily, I'm really disappointed in you. You're making a huge deal out of nothing. If Ms. Page saw you acting like this, she'd be so upset."

The door closed behind her, and the room fell silent again.

My eyes landed on the wedding photo by the entrance. It suddenly seemed like a cruel joke.

They had no idea Mom was already gone. She couldn't be upset anymore.

By the time I finished cleaning up the wedding mess, it was already dark.

I gathered the last of the odds and ends into a bag. Then I headed back to the place Isaac and I shared.

I checked my phone and saw another post from Jolene.

This time, it was a nine-photo post with the caption, "Another day of being dragged into action. The wedding got called off, but at least the outfits didn't go to waste."

In the first photo, she and Isaac were sitting together at a dessert shop, grinning at the camera. The cake in front of them read, "Happy Wedding."

The second photo was from an amusement park. Jolene posed in her bridesmaid dress while Isaac stood beside her, holding up the hem.

The third was taken at the beach. The wind caught Jolene's veil, and Isaac reached out to keep it from blowing away.

In the last photo, he was adjusting her veil. They were standing so close they looked like they might kiss at any second.

They were all smiles in every photo, looking every bit like a couple. They were dressed for my wedding, but they looked like the bride and groom.

And somehow, I was his girlfriend, yet I was the one who looked ridiculous.

Isaac almost never posted, but this time he actually uploaded a whole set of photos with Jolene.

His caption read, "At least the outfits didn't go to waste."

The comments were full of teasing.

"Wait, are you two getting married?"

"You two look perfect together."

"Isaac, that look in your eyes is way too real."

"The vibe between you two is unreal. Just get married already."

Every teasing comment felt like a slap in the face.

Jolene jumped into the comments. "Stop, you guys. Isaac is Lily's boyfriend. I only borrowed him for a few pictures."

Someone else kept the jokes going. "You two are literally taking wedding photos together. Who are you kidding?"

Jolene replied, "Oh, stop. There's absolutely nothing between Isaac and me. He just didn't want me to make the trip for nothing, so he hung out with me for a while. We were just taking some fun pictures.

"We thought Lily would be happy to see them too."

I stared at her reply and laughed, even as the tears kept falling.

They had taken couples' photos in the outfits from my wedding, then claimed they'd done it to make me happy.