Harper was always good at pretending everything was perfect. That morning, he bounded into my room, his arms full of glossy bridal magazines and a wide, eager grin plastered across his face.
“Camille! You should try on your wedding gown today,” he said, almost breathless with excitement. “We only have a few weeks left. I want you to look perfect. And guess what—Grandma called. She’s already planning the christening for our baby even without the baby yet. Can’t you believe that? She said if it’s a boy, she’ll give me a huge inheritance. Can you imagine? Our lives could change overnight.”
I stared at him, feeling a wave of nausea roll through me.
“I’m not feeling well,” I said quietly, hoping he’d just leave me alone.
Harper frowned, disappointment flickering across his face. “You’re always tired lately. What is wrong? Or don’t tell me you just don’t want to marry me anymore?”
Before I could answer, Candice breezed into the room, “Well, if Camille can’t fit the gown, I can do it for her. We have the same build, after all. She’d love for me to choose it, right, sister?” Her voice was sweet, but I caught the glint in her eyes—a challenge, a mockery.
I forced a smile. “Sure, Candice. You always know what I want, don’t you?”
She laughed, linking arms with Harper. “Let’s go, then. I’ll try on the dress for you, Cam. You can rest… and make sure you’ll be better on your wedding day.”
They left together, their laughter echoing down the hall. I watched them go, my heart twisting with something bitter and final.
For years, I’d let Candice take what she wanted. This time, she could have it all.
I stumbled to the bathroom, gripping the sink as another wave of nausea hit me. I barely made it before vomiting, my body wracked with shivers.
When I finished, I sat on the cold tile floor, tears streaming down my face. My stomach twisted again, but this time it wasn’t just nausea—it was dread.
I pressed shaking fingers to my wrist, counting the days since my last period. It had been weeks. Too many weeks. I’d been tired, dizzy, and now this relentless sickness.
I scrambled to my feet and dug through the cabinet beneath the sink, searching for the box of leftover pregnancy tests Mom kept for emergencies.
My hands fumbled with the packaging, nearly dropping the test into the sink. I forced myself to read the instructions, but the words blurred through my tears.
I took the test, hands trembling, and set it on the edge of the counter. The seconds crawled by, each one heavier than the last. I couldn’t look. I didn’t want to know.
But when the timer on my phone buzzed, I forced myself to glance at the plastic stick.
Two lines.
I stared, numb, as the truth sank in. I was pregnant. The word felt like a curse, a chain tightening around my throat. I didn’t want this baby. Not with Harper. Not with everything that had happened.
I couldn’t imagine bringing a child into this mess, couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life tied to him—or to Candice.
I clutched the test in my fist until my knuckles turned white, my sobs echoing in the empty bathroom. I was trapped, and for the first time, I realized just how desperate I was to escape.
I grabbed my phone and called a cab, barely able to speak. At the hospital, I told the nurse what I needed, my voice flat and emotionless.
The procedure was quick, clinical, and when it was over, I felt empty but strangely free. For the first time in months, I could breathe.
On the way home, I stopped at a café and ordered tea. I sat by the window, watching rain streak down the glass, and started gathering every scrap of evidence I had against Candice and Harper. Messages, photos, recordings—every betrayal, every lie, including my abortion certificate. I put them all in a box, sealed it with tape, and addressed them to the wedding venue.
To be opened on my wedding day.
It felt like a final act, a way to make sure the truth would come out, no matter what happened to me.
When I finally returned home, the house was quiet except for the sound of Candice humming in my room. I paused in the doorway, watching her twirl in my wedding gown, the silk shimmering around her.
“How lovely is this, right?” she said, admiring herself in the mirror. I can't believe she even copied my look now that they would mistake us again.
“I can’t wait for you to fit this, but for now, let me fit it for you so you can see how it looks.”
I stepped forward, holding out the engagement ring Harper had given me. “Here,” I said, my voice calm. “You should wear our engagement ring too, if you want.”
Candice turned, surprise flickering across her face.
She took the ring, slipping it onto her finger, and looked at me with something like triumph. “It seems like you’re handing him out to me, aren’t you?”
I shrugged, the weight of everything lifting from my shoulders. “Yeah. After all, I don’t really love him anymore. You can even attend the wedding for me, Candice. Wear the dress, wear the ring—take it all.”
She stared at me, uncertain for the first time. “And what about you? Where are you going?”
I smiled—a real, fierce smile. “I’m leaving.”
