Page 15 of Walkoff Wedding

Who knows… maybe she’ll never see the posters. Or if she does, maybe she’ll think it’s ridiculous that I put flyers up looking for her and will never reach out.

Who knows… maybe it was all for nothing.

I just really fucking hope it isn’t.

chapter five

Addie

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.

I recite the mantra for the hundredth time as I peer into the mirror in front of me at my reflection, exhaling shakily. I keep telling myself the same line over and over in hopes that I’ll convince myself that it’s true.

That I will somehow make it through this “engagement” party unscathed. I’ve thought of a hundred different excuses to try and get out of it, but I know that if I don’t show up, the consequences will be far too great.

“Ready?” Amos says softly, stepping off the stairs into my room. The expression on his face is tight with apprehension and worry, the same feelings that are weighing heavily in the pit of my stomach, along with the looming sense of dread.

I drag my gaze from my reflection to him and sigh. “What am I doing, Amos? I can’t go through with this. I can’t believe he’s even expecting me to go through with this. I barely know this guy, and what I do know isn’t good… and I’m supposed to marry him?”

I walk over to my bed and flop onto the edge of the springy mattress, pulling Auggie’s chunky body into my arms and squeezing him tightly against me. He cuddles into me, somehow always knowing when I need his comfort.

“You don’t have to do anything, Addie. He can’t force you into this,” he says, joining me on the bed. “You can tell him no, and we’ll figure something out. There has to be another way, and we’ll find it.”

A humorless laugh escapes my lips as I brush my fingers over Auggie’s soft fur. “You know that’s not true. If I don’t do this, we lose Ever After. There’s no other option. I’ve been searching for months for a way to save things, and I’ve found nothing. No last-minute Hail Mary. I’m just… going to have to do it. If it means saving the one place my mother loved more than anything, then I have to.”

He reaches out, taking my hand in his and squeezing. It’s a small gesture, but somehow, his quiet reassurance gives me strength. Strength to do this. To go to a party in a room full of people that I don’t know and pretend to be celebrating an engagement to a man I don’t want to be with.

I’ll hate every part of what I’m being forced to do, but I’ll do it for the bakery. To hold on to this piece of my mother, to not allow anyone to take it from me. The last piece I have of her. Her legacy.

“There’s still time. Just make it through this party, keep your chin held high, and we’ll figure it out. I promise, Addie. We will figure it out together.”

I know he’s talking about him and Earl, but it’s not their responsibility. Or their debt. They’re my family, but this is my problem.

Ever After is supposed to be mine, and I can’t just give it away without trying everything in my power to save it. I can’t let it be taken away from me.

Putting on a fake, cheery smile, I suck in a deep breath, then put Auggie on the bed to return to his umpteenth nap of the day. I steel my spine and stand, smoothing my slightly rumpled dress down.

“It’s now or never. I’ve got an engagement party to attend.”

Downstairs, the dining room and foyer have been transformed into something out of a magazine. A very bougie magazine, and immediately, I wonder how in the world Brent paid for this. If the bakery is struggling as badly as he says, how did he afford an… ice sculpture? Waitstaff… caviar?

I’ve always known that appearances are everything to him, but this is completely over-the-top, even for him. And it makes me furious he wasted what little money we have left on this frivolous sham.

Rolling my eyes, I swipe a glass of champagne off a passing server’s tray and take a large gulp. I’m not much of a drinker, or really a drinker at all, but I need all the courage I can muster to make it through tonight, even if it’s in the liquid form. The bubbly, bitter liquid burns as it slides down my throat, and I wince, my nose wrinkling in response.

Jeez, that’s terrible. My first, and probably last, drink. I set the still-full glass down on a table and make my way through the room, quickly realizing that I don’t recognize… anyone. Not a single person in this room. I feel like a fish out of water as I pass men in freshly starched tuxedos and women in gowns wearing diamonds and expensive-looking furs.

The feeling only worsens as I pass the violinist playing an upbeat classical tune as I make my way deeper into the room.

“Ah, Addie, there you are,” I hear from the left. When I glance over, I see Brent with a wide, albeit fake, smile on his face, standing with my faux fiancé and his family. “You remember Dixon’s father, Judge Barrilleaux, and his mother, Elizabeth.”

It takes everything inside of me not to turn in the other direction and flee, away from him and this ridiculous party.

Instead, I paste on a small smile and nod, offering them my hand. “Hi, yes. It’s great to see you again.”

---