Page 2 of Collateral Damage
“Not that I loved Caesar less,
but that I loved Rome more.”
William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
One
Sybil
Present - Age 26
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” I ask my cousin, sounding like a deranged hyena, because there isno wayshe said what I think she said. Not my sweet baby cousin. Not the woman who lived with me for two years. Not the person I know to be cautious and reserved and, most of all, guarded.
“We eloped!” Her smile is sunshine radiant.
Yup. That’s the word:eloped.
I try to fake a smile, I really do, but I can tell she’s already caught my pure horror.
“How… e-exciting,” I manage.
She lifts a hand to show off a diamond ring, and I nearly fall out of the chair. We’re having a boozy brunch together in midtown, and it wouldn’t be the first time I fell out of a chair during a boozy brunch, but it would certainly be the most memorable.
Her diamond reflects off the sun streaming through the window we’re sitting by as the winter cold battles the quirkySoho restaurant’s insufficient heating. I shiver, wishing we were tucked into a dark corner. I’m entirely too exposed right now.
I’m supposed to say congratulations and fake sincerity. If I were totally sober, I might be able to pull it off, but I’m two large mimosas deep, and the truth slides out of my mouth just as easily as the alcohol went in.
“But…why?”
Her expression drops, those big brown eyes glossing over.
“Don’t get me wrong, Arden,” I backpedal. “I’m happy for you and Ethan. I’m just… surprised.”
Truth be told, Iwasn’thappy for them initially being together, so I don’t blame her for thinking I hate this announcement. But the thing is, Ethan King wasminefirst. He was my everything for years—my best friend, my boyfriend, and even my fiancé.
And then he was nothing.
So, when Arden first confessed her love for my ex, I freaked out, and admittedly, I treated her like shit. I’ve spent five months making it up to them. Ethan and Arden suit each other. They’re crazy in love, and he and I have been over for years. She deserves to be happy, and so does he, even if I wanted to hate him.
But marriage? They’ve only been official since August.
It’s January.
She’s still in college, for Christ’s sake!
Ethan knows better.
And I swear to God, if he were here, I’d kick him in the shins, right here underneath this table. But no, it’s only me and my sweetheart cousin today. She asked to get together as soon as she returned from her Maldives holiday with Ethan—a beach trip that apparently turned into a whole lot more than frolicking in the sand.
“Whynotget married?” Arden challenges, her eyes glistening with starry-eyed emotion. “We’re in love.”
“Umm… because you’re so young.”
“So what? I know what I want. Besides, lots of people get married young.”
Yeah, and lots of people get divorced, too.
“It’s just… why did you guys feel the need to get married so soon?” I ask. “You could’ve been engaged for a while first.”
