Page 90 of Stick Fight

I would’ve loved an earlier flight, would’ve loved to surprise Roman at the ceremony, but there were no seats left. At least I’ll make it in time for the reception. After boarding, I settle into my seat with a book, but the words blur as excitement thrums through me. Hours later, the plane lands in Vegas.

With no luggage to claim, just the bag slung over my shoulder, I call an Uber. The driver pulls up and I clamber into the back seat. Somewhere along the way, I change into my new outfit, noticing the way the driver sneaks glances at me in the rear-view mirror.

Yeah, yeah, buddy. Like Mrs. Roper in Vegas is the weirdest thing you’ve seen. Finally, he pulls up outside the Hart Hotel. I stare up at the glittering facade, my heart hammering. I never thought I’d walk into this place again. But I’m not the girl who ran away anymore. The ghosts of my past don’t haunt me now.

Not when my future, myrealfuture, is waiting just inside.

I inquire about the Ariti wedding and hurry toward the reception room, heart thudding in my chest. Most people have cleared out, probably off to the rooftop for fireworks. I’m almost there. Almost inside to surprise Roman. I hear his voice when I reach the huge entryway, but the second I spot him, I freeze.

He’s laughing under a huge floral wedding arbour, an Elvis impersonator placing a “Just Married” banner over Avery’s head. I blink once, then twice, sure this is just some kind of joke, until a couple comes toward me, the woman in the exact same banner.

“Are you okay?” she asks. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“Is that…real?”

The guy she’s with wobbles slightly as he lifts the woman’s arm to show me a huge plastic ring. “It’s the real deal, babe,” he says, answering for her, and when he hiccups, they both laugh and walk past me.

I gulp and try to move, but my feet are locked to the floor, as my mind races. Is this a joke? Avery lifts her hand, to showcase her ring, before putting her arms around Roman. He starts dancing her around the room, and then, just like a cold slap, it hits me.

Roman and Avery just got…married.

In Vegas.

Oh. My. God.

I stumble backward, my dress catching on the floor as I crash against the hallway wall. Panic surges in my chest, as confusion spirals into something deeper. The air feels thick, like I’m suffocating. I can barely see. My heart is a drumbeat in my ears, and my limbs feel like they’re made of cement. This can’t be real. This can’t be happening.

But it is.

Roman, the man I thought I knew, just married someone else.

Roman dances Avery past the doorway, and his eyes meet mine for the briefest of seconds, but they’re heavy and glassy. Did he recognize me? His smile falters for a second and I push myself upright.

I suddenly can’t breathe. I spin around, panic clawing at my throat, and I run. I tear down the hallway, my feet are stumbling, barely keeping me upright. My breath is ragged, a sob building in my chest. I turn left, just like I did six months ago, but this time, when I see the emergency exit door, I throw it open. The blaring alarms don’t even register. I need to get out. I need to escape this nightmare.

I run, heels clacking against the pavement, my mind a jumbled mess as images of Roman’s smile, of the future I thought we might have had, flash in my mind. I don’t stop until I find a small café. Bursting through the door, all eyes snap to me, but I don’t care.

I scramble to a corner and sit down, my hands shaking as I pull out my phone. I text my mother, asking her to pick me up at the café. Tears spill down my cheeks, but I don’t even try to wipe them away. In Vegas, no one cares. No one notices. It’s just another night, just another soul escaping a broken heart.

I try to breathe, but my chest tightens as the realization hits me like a truck. What happened? What changed between Roman and me? Between the time he left our apartment and tonight? After he told me about his brother, I thought he would be the one to drag Roman back to the dark side. But after meeting him, I knew I had nothing to worry about.

But this...this? Why?

And then, as understanding crashes into me, once again stealing my breath. Roman always considered himself a rebound with benefits.

And I was nothing but a…convenience.

Maybe that talk really was about pushing me back into my old life so he could get on with his…

25

Roman

Was that…Gabby?

I blink once. Twice.

The woman dressed as Mrs. Roper doesn’t turn and bolt for the pool like I'm expecting. Instead, judging from the alarms going off, she went out the emergency exit. A thick wave of déjà vu crashes over me, pulling me back to Easton’s wedding six months ago when Gabby ran down this same hallway.

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