The bridal suite was too quiet.
Emery sat in the center of the room, surrounded by silk, lace, and expectation. Her mother hovered like a ghost, adjusting nonexistent wrinkles. Her father stood by the window, speaking into a phone about stock prices.
She felt like an object.
A signed deal in designer packaging.
Every time she looked in the mirror, all she saw was someone else. Someone empty.
The only person missing was Beckett.
Of course he was.
He hadn't come back. Hadn't tried again. Maybe he'd finally given up.
Maybe she had, too.
The week blurred. Rehearsals. Catering. Jewelry fittings. Photoshoots. She smiled for the camera. Laughed when prompted.
But no one noticed that her smile didn't reach her eyes.
Except Beckett - if he had been there.
And God, how she wished he had been.
In the quiet moments, she thought about calling it off. About disappearing. About waking up in a different life. But she stayed.
Because walking away would mean breaking more than just a contract.
It would mean breaking free.
And she wasn't sure she was brave enough to do that alone.