Godfrey continued.
“Gladys, the truth is… I've only ever seen you as a sister.”
“After everything I've done for you, can't you just let me go this once?”
I bit down hard on my lower lip. The taste of blood spread across my tongue.
My gaze dropped to his legs, motionless in the wheelchair.
I closed my eyes and forced the word out.
“Fine.”
April came over and took my hand.
“Gladys, I know this is hard to accept right now, but Godfrey and I are truly in love. Thank you for giving us your blessing.”
Every word sawed through me like a dull blade dragged back and forth.
I said nothing. April went on.
“Gladys, you're my only real friend. I want you to be my maid of honor.”
My head snapped up.
“No.”
The moment I refused, April's eyes went red.
“Godfrey, you know… Gladys is the only close friend I have.”
“I just want someone from my side there to witness my happiness. If she won't do it, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.”
Godfrey looked at her, something soft and aching flickering through his dark eyes.
He wheeled himself in front of me.
“Gladys, please. Say yes. I'm begging you.”
Manhattan's golden boy—the one everyone deferred to—dropping himself this low for April Pruitt.
My nails dug into my palms.
And suddenly I was nineteen again.
My parents' enemies had taken me. Kidnapped.
I thought I was going to die. Then he appeared, like something sent from heaven.
He was outnumbered, and they grabbed him too.
When they came at me, he dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead against the ground, over and over.
“Please, let her go. Whatever you want to do, do it to me.”
That day, he shielded me, and they broke his leg for it.
I was sobbing, tears all over my face, and he reached out, wiped every one of them away, smiled, and pulled me into his arms.
“Don't cry. You're safe. That's all that matters to me.”
He had been so sincere then.
I thought a love like that was forever.
But when I looked at those legs, the legs that were ruined because of me, the word "no" wouldn't come.
I stood beside April as her maid of honor, face blank, body numb.
When they exchanged rings, I stepped off the stage and sat in a corner.
Whispers rose around me.
“Look at her. Gladys Mason. Chased Young Mr. Delgado for how many years? And the bride still isn't her.”
“Obviously. He never wanted her. She's the one who kept throwing herself at him.”
“I heard she tried every trick in the book to marry him. And still, the bride isn't her. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Each sentence, a needle pushed straight into my ear.
I gripped the hem of my dress until my knuckles ached.
Up on the stage, Godfrey was sliding the ring onto April's finger.
Slowly. Deliberately.
I couldn't take another second. I fled the reception hall and locked myself in the restroom.
That was when I heard the voices outside.
“Godfrey, you're really something. Kept up the act for years. Does your little childhood sweetheart still think you crippled yourself for her?”
“Think about it. Her parents have been dead for years. Who's still coming after her? That kidnapping was just a round of truth or dare we played with Godfrey.”
“Still, you married her best friend and faked a disability to keep her in line. Aren't you worried she'll find out and leave?”
“She has no parents, no family. I'm the only one she can depend on. Even if she finds out, she won't leave.”
The voices drifted farther away, word by word.
My legs gave out. I hit the floor.
