She wasn't supposed to be here.
She knew that.
She had promised herself she wouldn't come. That she wouldn't let herself drown in the past. That she wouldn't make the mistake of watching the man she loved start a life without her.
But promises meant nothing when the heart refused to listen.
So here she was, standing in the shadows of an unfamiliar church, hidden beneath the grand archway in the back, watching as Ryle stood at the altar - waiting for someone else.
St. Augustine's Church, Ryle's Wedding Day
The chapel was breathtaking. High ceilings stretched endlessly, bathed in warm candlelight. Soft echoes of whispered conversations drifted between pews lined with carefully placed roses and lavender. The scent lingered in the air - delicate, purposeful, like everything else about this day.
Raven remained in the corner, unnoticed, blending into the faces that didn't know her grief.
She had imagined this moment before.
But in her dreams, she had been the one walking down the aisle.
The one he was waiting for.
The one whose name he would whisper with love, with certainty, with devotion.
Now, she was nothing more than an observer.
A ghost in the life they had never been meant to have.
She swallowed hard, curling her arms around herself, forcing breath into lungs that no longer seemed to listen.
She wasn't prepared for how much it would hurt.
Watching him, standing there, looking at someone else with the kind of certainty she had spent years hoping would be hers.
Music began to rise, soft and reverent.
Then -
Michelle appeared at the entrance, veil cascading down her back, dress flowing as effortlessly as the life she had built with Ryle.
His eyes lit up.
The kind of light Raven had chased for years.
Her breath hitched.
She had lost him.
Not today, not in this moment - she had lost him the moment she became a fight instead of a home.
Her pulse pounded painfully as she forced herself to keep watching.
That's how love is supposed to look, she thought. Steady. Certain. Safe.
He hadn't needed the kind of love that burned, the kind that consumed.
He needed the kind that kept him standing.
And Michelle was exactly that.
Her lips parted, a silent whisper escaping - a truth meant for no one but herself.
"You belong to her now."
She wiped a stray tear from her cheek as Ryle spoke, voice filled with peace, with devotion.
With a love that wasn't hers.
And when he said I do, something inside her shattered.
Applause erupted.
Guests clapped, celebrated the union that had always been inevitable.
Raven stepped backward, slipping toward the exit before anyone could see her.
She had come for closure.
But closure wasn't meant for people like her.
She reached the grand wooden doors, fingers ghosting over their worn surface, hesitating for only a second.
Then -
"Goodbye, Ryle."
She said it aloud, but only the silence heard her.
And just like that, she stepped into the night.
This time, she didn't look back.