Chapter 4

The weather was beautiful on our fifth anniversary.

Ethan texted me first thing that morning.

【Ava’s party starts at six. Get there early and check the decorations for me.】

Not one word about our anniversary.

I did my makeup, changed, and headed out.

The cab stopped in front of the hotel.

It had been one of our possible wedding venues. I’d toured it before.

When I walked into the ballroom, the staff were making their final adjustments.

Pale pink hydrangeas filled the room. The place cards used that rounded handwritten font, and the tablecloth pattern matched my first wedding design exactly.

Ava’s birthday party had been assembled from my discarded wedding plans.

Then I saw the cake.

Three tiers of fondant, sitting on a display table in the center of the room.

I’d sketched the pattern on the bottom tier. I’d gone through four versions of the middle tier’s color scheme.

The top tier had been covered with a fresh layer of buttercream. Pink chocolate lettering wobbled across it: “Happy Birthday, Ava.”

The frosting wasn’t thick enough.

Part of a letter showed through underneath.

Our initials. Ethan’s and mine, intertwined.

It was our wedding cake.

I stood there staring at it.

Our names were hidden beneath Ava’s birthday message.

Just like the past five years. She’d covered up my place in his life, layer by layer.

Even the cake knife still had the complimentary ribbon from the wedding company tied around its handle. Gold, printed with “Happily Ever After.” Someone had hastily cut part of it away, leaving only “After” dangling there.

Ethan came out of a back room.

“You’re here? Check the lighting for me. Is it too bright? Ava says her eyes have been—”

“The cake.”

He followed my gaze.

“Looks good, right? Ava’s going to love it.”

“That’s our wedding cake, Ethan.”

His expression shifted, then quickly returned to normal.

“There wasn’t time to have another one made. Ava’s always wanted a custom cake from this bakery, so I borrowed ours. It’s not like the wedding’s tomorrow. We’ll order another—”

“Borrowed.”

He missed my tone.

“Yeah. What’s wrong with borrowing it?”

A cake bearing our names. A cake made for our wedding. And he called it borrowing.

Ava entered through a side door. She was wearing the pink dress I’d saved to my wish list—the same one he’d told me would make me look fat.

When she saw me, she hurried over.

“Paige! You came! Ethan said you might not, so I was prepared.”

She looped her arm through mine.

“Will you help me cut the cake?”

I looked down at her hand. Pink nails. Around her neck hung the necklace engraved with her name.

“Sure.”

I slipped free and walked to the table beside the cake.

I took the agreement out of my bag.

I placed it beneath a napkin, the page with my signature facing up.

Then I turned toward the exit.

Ethan called after me.

“You just got here. You’re leaving already? Ava hasn’t even blown out her candles.”

I didn’t look back.

I pressed the elevator button.

He caught up with me.

“Paige, what is wrong with you? You’ve been sulking nonstop. Ava asked you nicely to cut her cake, and you can’t even do that?”

The elevator opened.

I stepped inside, turned, and looked at him one last time.

“Today is our fifth anniversary. That cake has our names on it. The agreement ending our engagement is on the table.”

For the first time, his expression wasn’t irritation.

“What agree—”

The doors closed.

My phone lit up.

Ava had posted a selfie in our Snapchat group. She stood beside the cake, smiling sweetly.

“The cake Ethan ordered me is so gorgeous! Best birthday ever!”

A ring of pink hearts surrounded the caption.