My mother smiled and nodded slightly at me across the table. Later that night, when my parents were walking Theo to the door, Dad shook his hand. Once Theo had left, Dad said something I’d heard maybe three times in my entire life.
Mom nudged me in the kitchen afterward. “He’s wonderful.”
I agreed. And when Theo proposed a year later, in the garden behind his mother’s house, I saw no reason to say “no.”
He looked so earnest when he held out the ring and asked, “What do you think about forever?”
And it felt inevitable, like this was where we’d been headed all along.
“I think forever with you sounds amazing,” I replied. He wrapped his arms around me and twirled me around. I thought we were set for life… that we’d grow old together, have kids, and sit side by side in a nursing home one day, joking about how times had changed.
I was so sure I’d found the right person. We went all out while planning the wedding. The venue, the flowers, the dress… oh, the dress!
I felt otherworldly in that gown. Everything was finalized, but then I got an unnerving phone call. It was two nights before the wedding.
Theo was at his bachelor party, and I was hosting a small get-together at home with my bridesmaids and maid of honor. We’d just finished applying face masks when my phone rang. The man on the other end of the line started talking the moment I picked up.
“This is the bride-to-be,” I answered with a grin. “You… should be… careful.” The man belched. “He’s planning… something.”
I frowned.
“Who is this?”
“Don’t you think I will tell you that. Just…” he let out a pained groan, “…be careful. Good.”
And then he hung up.
I turned to my maid of honor, Cally, and shrugged. “Someone who’s had a bit too much to drink.”
We were married under a stunning rose bower on a beautiful estate. Afterward, we moved to the pool area for the reception.
Two hundred guests filled the area around the pool, laughing and dancing while music drifted through the evening air. It was perfect. Theo was across the terrace, working the room the way he always did, shaking hands, landing jokes, making everyone feel like the most important person there.
I watched Theo from a distance for a moment and couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have found him. I was still watching when he stepped toward the microphone stand near the pool. “Hey, everyone,” he said, flashing that grin.
“Can I have your attention for a second?”
The crowd quieted. Someone near the back called out, “Speech time already?”
Theo laughed. “Not exactly.
I just need my beautiful bride over here for a moment.”
He held out a hand toward me. I smiled and walked toward him. I thought he’d planned something romantic.
The weird phone call I’d gotten warning me to be careful was the furthest thing from my mind, but it shouldn’t have been. “What are you up to?” I asked quietly when I reached him. His hands hit my shoulders, and I was falling, screaming until I hit the water.
The cold water swallowed me whole — screams, dress, heels, veil, everything. I sank.
