I weighed out the pros and cons. Since money wasn’t the issue for me (hell, I may be many things, but a gold digger is certainly not one of them), and canceling a wedding that was just a few days away would be a shitstorm of epic proportions, maybe I could use this as leverage. Let Spencer know his bullshit wouldn’t fly with me.

I have to admit, after feeling so off-kilter these few months, it felt good to finally have the upper hand again.

Spencer showed up to the party right on cue, dressed immaculately in the shirt and trousers I’d had sent over. It was as if he knew, too, because he was carrying a large bouquet of Stargazer lilies, which he presented to my mother with a flourish, giving her a warm kiss on the cheek.

“Spencer!” Nadia shrieked, running up to him. He produced a single lily from god-knows-where and handed it to her, amidst the awws and oohs from the few guests who had already started to arrive. She wrapped her arms around his knees while he reached down, tickling her as she squealed.

He smiled at me as I walked down the stairs.

“Darling,” he said, kissing me delicately on the cheek.

“Watch the makeup,” I whispered back.

“You look breathtaking, as always.”

I gave him a little smile, and he offered me his arm. We did a small walk through the garden, greeting the guests that were making their way in. Everyone told us how great we looked together, and how happy we must be, and how we would make the most beautiful babies.

I spotted Amaya, sitting at a table with a group of aunties. I hoped she wasn’t running her mouth off about her relationship with Spencer. She said she’d keep quiet, but it’s not exactly like I could trust her, right? Fuck, all this business about Spencer being broke has thrown me for a loop.

I finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Let’s go out back for a moment,” I said, during a brief pause between making small talk with guests.

“Out back? But, darling, your mother would kill us if we didn’t greet everyone like we promised her.”

His bullshit saint talk didn’t fool me. He was avoiding me. Here we were, about to spend the rest of our lives together, and this son of a bitch was actually trying to avoid me?

“I need a break,” I said, walking away. I knew he’d follow. He was the devoted husband-to-be. He’d never let his bride go unattended.

The two waiters having a smoke in our back garden scampered off quickly when they realized it was us. Otherwise, it was empty, thank goodness. The last thing I needed was for someone to overhear this.

“What’s going on, Kaavi?” I guess the darlings were only reserved for when we had an audience.

“When were you going to tell me?” I went for nonchalance, but he could tell there was an edge to my voice.