3: 3
I went to the ER to get my forehead bandaged, and while I was there I booked the abortion for the next afternoon.
On my way out, I saw them at the far end of the hallway. Kieran had his arms wrapped tight around my sister.
“Polly! You have to keep living!”
“You still have your parents, you still have your sister, and you still have me……”
Off to the side, Mom was crying, her eyes swollen and red.
“Polly, baby, I'm begging you. Live.”
“Whatever you want, Mom will give it to you!”
I couldn't help thinking that if my sister said she wanted Kieran, Mom would tell me to step aside without a second's hesitation.
“Hello, sister. What a coincidence.”
My voice came out flat.
Kieran saw the fresh bandage on my forehead, and a flicker of guilt crossed his face.
“Katie, I'm sorry. I was just in such a panic today.”
My mother's face darkened at once.
“Kieran, what are you apologizing for!”
“If you hadn't gotten there in time, Polly might have……”
My sister took my hand gently, tears in her eyes as she apologized.
“I'm sorry, little sister.”
“I didn't want any of this. After I lost my husband and my son, I got depression. I can't control myself!”
I nodded.
“I understand, Polly. I understand everything.”
Seeing that I wasn't making a scene, Kieran finally let out a slow breath.
“Katie, I took your sister in for a psychological evaluation.”
“Thank God, it's not the most severe kind of depression.”
Mom grumbled.
“All right, all right, let's hurry up and go.”
“I hate that antiseptic smell in hospitals!”
The three of them walked off side by side. No one cared that I was still standing there.
A few young nurses passed by, gossiping as they watched them go.
“Yeah, yeah, that's the one, the handsome guy, so devoted to his wife!”
“Carried his wife the whole way in. That's serious boyfriend material!”
Another young nurse shushed them.
“That woman's faking it. She doesn't have depression at all.”
“Doesn't matter, though, does it? Her husband and her own mother dote on her.”
Their words drifted past my ears like a gust of wind.
I touched the gauze on my forehead. So my sister had been faking it all along.
A message popped up on my phone. It was Kieran.
【Rehearsal's in two hours, don't forget.】
【My girl, I'm going to give you a grand wedding.】
I didn't reply. The rehearsal. Whether I went or not, what difference did it make?
I listed the marital home on a resale site.
If there wasn't going to be a wedding, what was the point of keeping it.
I suddenly decided I didn't want to go see the snow after all.
I'd go south instead, where it was spring all year round, where the sun was bright.
I booked a flight. The departure date was the day of the wedding.
The name on the invitation wasn't mine. This wedding was never going to be mine.
Two hours later, Kieran blew up my phone.
【Katie, why aren't you here yet?】
【We're all waiting for you! Come quick!!】
Then came my mother's message.
【How can you be so inconsiderate?! Making trouble for everyone!】
【Your sister's so upset she's crying, asking me if you're still angry!】
【It's such a small thing, they just printed the wrong name on the invitation! Kieran's already handling it!】
I gripped the coffee cup in my hand, letting the warmth sink straight into my palm.
This winter, my own family was colder to me than this cup of coffee.
In the group chat named “Happy Family”, I typed back two words.
【On my way.】
No one answered.
By the time I made my unhurried way to the doors of the rehearsal hall, I caught the officiant's voice at just the right moment.
“Miss Polly Pruitt, do you take Mr. Kieran Stephens to be your husband?”
