Chapter Twenty-One

They gathered in the back exit from the Wild Rose Inn as faint strains of music danced on the air from the speakers surrounding the garden around the building. Sarah looked at her baby sister with a heart filled to bursting with happiness. Bridget was ethereal in her wedding dress. The off-the-shoulder mermaid cut with delicate and simple lace flowers accented with a hint of tiny sequins for the perfect amount of flash looked incredible on her. With wildflowers woven into her half-up spiral curls, the overall effect was faerie-like.

A hard lump formed in Sarah’s throat. She wished that her parents were here to see this. There were so many life moments their absence was challenging, but none had prepared her for this. Their tiny clan was expanding. Her sister was going to have a whole new family after today. The bittersweet sensation of gaining a brother while losing her sister had Sarah teetering on a tailspin.

“It’s time.” Jane spoke with a soft voice to direct them to move into line for the procession. Guilt flickered through Sarah at seeing Jane, but she didn’t have time to dwell. Luna and Lilly danced down the path and around the corner to make a path of petals for the rest of them to follow. Allison was next, her knee-length flared dress swinging as she walked forward.

Then it was just the Wildes women left. Fighting back tears, Sarah clasped Bridget’s hand in hers, then gathered Becca’s and Gran’s into a pile. All four of them squeezed fingers and palms together while exchanging watery grins.

“Love you, Bridgie. I can’t wait to watch you marry your soulmate,” Sarah told her. “I’m so proud of the strong woman you’ve grown into.”

Becca nodded. “Jack is the luckiest man to have you.”

“Don’t make me cry.” Her little sister sniffled and blinked. “I love all of you so much.”

“We love you too, Bridget,” Gran said then took a deep breath. “Now, let’s go get you married.”

With laughter and a group hug, Becca made her way to the front. Sarah winked at her baby sister and stepped onto the path. As she rounded the corner of the inn, the music grew louder and the guests came into view. Then she lifted her eyes to see Jack waiting in front of the wildflower arch backdrop and the officiant next to him on his right. On his left stood Corey.

They locked gazes and she couldn’t look away. He was so damn handsome in his tux and dark blond hair tousled by the wind and those black frame glasses. With the bouquet in her hands and the lush garden setting popping with color around them, Sarah could imagine this was her wedding to Corey. When she reached her place at the front, she turned and kept looking at her love. That was what he was—her frog prince, her lover, her heart. The admission from him had been surprising, but the rightness of it had made her run after him. She couldn’t leave him wondering. She might burn in hell for it, but there was no way she could give him up now. Corey completed her soul.

As the music changed to signal the bride’s entrance, Sarah mouthed, “I love you” to him.

His eyes burned into hers as he placed one hand over his heart and told her, “I love you, too.”

With a wink that made her heart flutter, Corey broke their connection and looked to where Bridget and Gran were walking arm in arm up the aisle. Sarah, on the other hand, watched Jack with avid interest. She loved watching the groom’s expression when the bride came into view for the first time. Jack didn’t let her down with his reaction. He staggered over one step to the side and lifted a hand toward Bridget. His expression screamed love for her sister. Unshed tears gathered in his eyes and he swallowed hard. When they reached the front, Jack stepped forward and kissed Gran’s cheek. “Thank you for entrusting her care to me.”

Gran shot him a Look. “Don’t make me question it.” They both laughed and she took her seat.

Sarah took Bridget’s bouquet and her sister joined hands with Jack. Sarah tried to focus on the vows between them, the way Jack cradled Bridget’s face as he swept away her happy tears with his thumbs. But Sarah’s attention strayed to Corey over and over. Lucky for her, he did the same. Each time their gazes met, love pulsed through her blood, flushing her with warmth. When Jack and Bridget kissed at the end, it was all Sarah could do not to jump at Corey.

Swooping low, Jack scooped Bridget up in his arms with a beaming grin. With a delighted squeal, Bridget wrapped her arms around his neck and planted another kiss on her brand-new husband as he carried her down the path. Sarah watched them go and found herself swallowing back tears for what felt like the twentieth time that day. Who knew weddings made her so sentimental?

Corey caught her eye and laced his fingers through hers. Tucking her close to his side, they followed the happy couple. Hiro escorted Allison, then Becca and the twins held hands to join their group.

Later, after pictures and dinner and a sinfully decadent cake, Sarah took Corey’s offered hand. He swept her out onto the dance floor and pulled her into him. There was no space between their bodies as they swayed to the music. She draped one arm around his neck as he slid an arm around her waist. Their clasped hands sat over his heart. Corey brushed his nose along her cheek before pressing his lips to her skin.

“Love you, my Sarie.” He spoke into her skin with warm breath and soft words.

She snuggled deeper into his embrace. “Love you too. I always have.”

“I know. We were each other’s from the day we met.”

She smiled at the truth of what he spoke. They had belonged together and to one another from the beginning. When she’d gone frog-prince hunting with him, she’d known she would kiss him, that he would discover how she felt about him. It had been one of the scariest moments of her life. The possibility that he might not return her love had made her cold with fear, yet the heat in his eyes—even at that young age—had bolstered her bravery and she’d planted her lips on his.

Their love story was better than any romance novel she’d ever read. It might not be angsty or gritty and dark or even as rom-com meet-cute as some books, but it was real. She wouldn’t trade it for anything.

As she tilted her face to kiss him now, she vowed to come clean on her secret. They would weather her truth and come out stronger on the other side. Corey slid his tongue along hers and shivers broke out along her skin. Sarah held him closer, delving her fingers into his hair. When they came up for air, his glasses had fogged and she chuckled.

As soon as the newlyweds departed through a walkway lined with guests tossing wildflowers in the air, Corey grabbed Sarah’s hand. “Let’s go home, princess. I want to make love to you all night.”

 

* * * *

 

The muffled sound of Sarah talking woke Cornelius up. He stretched his satiated muscles and exhaled satisfaction. He looked around the room that Sarah occupied in her childhood home. With Bridget and Cornelius having left for Seattle last night and onto their honeymoon today, Sarah had been tapped to house and cat-sit. While he preferred his own bed, he couldn’t complain that last night had been one of the best of his life. He and Sarah had made love until the rainbow of dawn had broken across the sky. With a glance at his phone, he saw they’d had a mere few hours of sleep.

His girlfriend’s voice reached him again and Cornelius realized she was on the phone. He shrugged on a shirt and a pair of sweats, then settled his glasses on his nose. As he stepped toward the door, a half-open box next to the closet caught his eye. Hanging over one corner was the sleeve of an old hoodie he’d once had, one that Sarah stole from him years ago. A smile crept across his face. He’d loved every time she’d worn it, like an unspoken claim that she was his and he was hers.

Stepping over to the tub, Cornelius kept an ear out for Sarah to wrap up her conversation while he peeked through the contents. He found letters and cards he’d given her through their years as a couple. He opened the one on top. It was dated in their senior year of high school, back when they would hide notes for the other to find as a surprise.

 

Princess, You are my favorite not-a-secret secret. I love that we’re together and everyone knows it, but they don’t know us. They don’t know our hidden special place or that you sneak into my room at night or how I plan our future in my dreams. No one knows how you’re my Sarie and I’m your Corey. Frog princess and prince. That you kissed me behind the bushes in your grandparents’ yard and we still sneak off to make out there. My heart found its home the day I met you. One look in your gemstone eyes and I was bewitched by my Wildes witch. I love you. Now, and always.

 

The paper was soft and worn, like she’d unfolded and folded it a thousand times. The ink was faded in places, but still legible. Inspiration struck and he poked around for anything to write one. Cornelius found a Post It pad in the desk and snagged the neon purple paper. He scrawled a quick message, nothing long, but enough to make her smile when she found it. Then he tucked the square inside her pillow. When she laid her head on it, Sarah would hear the crinkle and discover it. Happiness buzzed within him.

He wandered back over to the box and dug out a frame with a collage of pictures of them—school dances and sports games, goofy ones, snapshots from hikes and trips to the beach. They’d made this together before she’d moved to Seattle for college. It’d hung on her wall above her bed in the dorm. At least it had before they’d broken up.

A chill struck at his heart when he thought back to the dark time just after she’d ended things…the depression and loneliness, hopeless and miserable, the sensation of being unwanted and unloved. It made him nauseous to think about, even today. He leaned over the box to place the frame back inside and a corner of black and white at the very bottom caught his gaze.

Cornelius tugged loose the shiny rectangle of photos. There were four pictures printed on the sheet—grainy, black and white images that didn’t make sense at first. As he studied it, the meaning became clear. The date on the bottom confirmed his misgivings. This was why Sarah had broken up with him.

Fury scorched inside him. His pulse thrummed in his head as a wave of dizziness hit. What the hell did she do? The strip of pictures shook in his grip and Cornelius wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. Each time he closed his eyes, his brain would hope he’d misinterpreted the photographs. But when he opened them, the story was the same. There was no mistaking. The only missing piece of the puzzle was, what happened next?

“Corey? Are you up?” Sarah called and her footsteps approached. “I have some news. Things I’d like to talk to you about.” She walked in with a hesitant smile as she looked to the bed. Furrowing her brow when she saw it was empty, her expression cleared when she found him on the aubergine-colored tufted chair in front of the desk. “There you…are.” Her voice trailed off when she saw the slip in his hand. Her skin paled to ashen and she gripped the doorframe. “I can explain,” she whispered.

He cocked a brow. “Explain that you were pregnant?”

“I-I…”

“What happened, Sarah?” His voice bit out into the air, hard and cold. “How the fuck did you end up pregnant and where is the baby? Who was the father?”

She gasped and jerked back as if he’d slapped her. Her eyes clenched shut and her chin trembled.

“Oh, no. No, you don’t. You don’t get to play the victim here. Tell me!”

“You were the father,” she shouted. “Of course it was yours. You think I slept around behind your back?”

Cornelius threw the offending ultrasound print out to the ground. “I don’t know,” he snapped back. “You never told me you were having a baby, so who can guess what else you hid from me?” He stood and clenched his fists. “For the last time, what happened?” The pain on her face should have gutted him, but the inferno burning him from the inside out overtook all other reactions.

She sagged against the wall and wetness fell from her eyes. “I had an abortion, all right? Condoms aren’t foolproof. You accidentally got me pregnant sophomore year of college, and I terminated it.”

Cornelius stared so long and hard that his eyes burned. He opened his mouth, then shut it. Opened it again. Shut it. Words failed him. Sarah had dealt with all of this on her own? Never breathed a word to him? “How…how could you not tell me? I would have…”

“Would have what?” Fire smoldered in her glare. “Tried to sweep in and save the day? Insisted that we get married, have me come back to Fallbank and give birth? Drop out of college and raise a baby together?” She scoffed and crossed her arms, all fight and ferocity now. “I wasn’t ready for that! Not for any of it. Marriage, a baby… I couldn’t! I couldn’t throw away my entire future or yours. We were kids ourselves and not mature enough to be parents.” She choked out her words. “It would have broken us, Corey.”

“Well, you went ahead and did that anyway.” He was livid that she hadn’t talked to him about any of this. Hadn’t trusted him enough to confide about this pregnancy. Why hadn’t she had enough faith in him? “You should have told me. I deserved to know. Do you think I would have forced you into a marriage you weren’t ready for? Into being a mother?” He shoved his hands into his hair and yanked. “I would never have taken your choice, Sarah!”

“I was scared! I panicked. My mind jumped to the worst conclusions and I took rash actions. I see that now, but back then? You have no idea how terrifying the whole situation was.” Her entire body shook.

“Because you didn’t tell me. You didn’t trust me. How could you not trust me enough to share this? What did I ever do to make you think you couldn’t confess this to me? I was half the reason you were in the damn predicament!”

“I know! I-I-I can’t explain the fear, Corey. The overwhelming desperation. Try to put yourself in my shoes. All women are taught by society is that it’s our fault if we get knocked up. That we’re ruined goods and trapping some guy into marriage. That we have no other option but to have a baby and give up any other ambitions we might have. God forbid we want more out of life. That we take control of our bodies and determine what is best for us as an autonomous human being.” Sarah shook her head and bit her lip. She closed her eyes.

“I couldn’t face your parents or my grandparents. The people in town…they’re already judgy assholes. I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire, having the stigma of a shotgun wedding. A way to trap you. Or worse, the slut who killed a baby.” Sobs broke from her chest. “I didn’t know what to do, so I made the single choice I could stand. I picked me. My future. And yours. I ended the pregnancy and our relationship to give you a fresh start. I would carry this burden alone.”

“So you were never going to tell me? This would have stayed a secret if I hadn’t found the evidence? Why even keep that?” Cornelius was spiraling. The walls were too close and his lungs were tight. He struggled to breathe.

“I wanted to remember what I gave up. My penance and punishment. I lost the potential of a child. Our child. And I lost you.” She moved closer to him and raised her hands, but didn’t touch him. “You have to believe me, Corey. I had no plans to get back together with you, but… you were always the one. I wanted to tell you a thousand times over the years. I didn’t know how. And I wasn’t going to keep this a secret forever. I promised myself I would tell you before we made any decisions. So you could make your choice to stay with me or not with all of the information.” She rested a hand on his chest. “Please, believe me.”

He stepped back from her touch. “You want me to trust you when you didn’t. Not when it mattered more than anything else in our lives. I can’t, Sarah.” Cornelius shook his head and walked toward the exit. “I just can’t.”