Chapter 119

“A wedding chapel?” Rachel repeated, faking a gasp.

“Yes,” Natalie said, smiling like a cat. She so clearly pleased to have the full attention of my friends that she placed her phone down. “After the proposal, Chance and I returned to the hotel room and had our fun. We were there for… hours, just the two of us.”

My stomach twisted uncomfortably from our hiding spot. I was well over my feelings for Chance, but thinking about him and my sister together sexually made me want to vomit.

“Anyway,” Natalie blessedly continued, “After a while, I went searching for Hazel. She never came back to the room, you see. Since this was toward the end of our trip, I had already made a few friends at some bars and other places… They’re the ones who told me they spotted my sister.”

“Where?” Megan asked.

“I heard she was getting utterly shitfaced in a hotel bar. How embarrassing, right?” Natalie said with a sharp smirk. “Her poor little heart was so broken that she couldn’t even go to a real place. I also heard she made an ass out of herself there, being loud and excitable. What a disgrace.”

Natalie didn’t seem all that upset about my apparent humiliation. In fact, she seemed to lavish in trashing my good name. Unfortunately, I didn’t exactly have all my memories in order to be able to dispute her claims.

“Supposedly some idiot in the bar did take a liking to her. The next thing I heard, she was getting married.” Natalie started to giggle. It took several attempts for her to get the next part out, “Can you imagine? Who on earth would want to marry my sister! They would have had to be so drunk. If they were even real!”

“You don’t know who it was?” Megan asked.

“An imaginary friend, most likely,” Natalie laughed. “Anything goes in Vegas. I’m just surprised they didn’t haul her off to some psychiatric hospital afterwards. Lord knows she needed it!”

Rachel was having trouble schooling her face through this conversation, but at this, her façade finally broke for real. “Natalie, you are a real bitch and I –”

Maria and I looked at each other and then rushed into the room before any more words could be spoken.

“We’re back!” Maria announced.

Natalie looked away from Rachel, who bit her tongue now, and to us instead.

“Well?” Natalie asked.

“Well?” I repeated, not understanding.

“What did you get?” Natalie said. She held her hand out, motioning toward me. “You aren’t holding anything.”

Oh, shit. We should have made a b-line for my room to take something, anything, and not look so suspicious.

Maria glanced at me, panic in her eyes. I thought quickly.

“It wasn’t there,” I said. “I must have lost it.”

Natalie laughed once, in mockery. “That’s like you, Hazel. You can never hold onto anything – especially your men.”

I hated the truth behind those words, although to be fair, most of the time, I only lost those men because Natalie stole them.

I wasn’t about to tell her about my kissing Logan. She’d already failed in trying to snag him, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying again if she knew I liked him. Anything to keep me from being happy.

The doorbell rang, and Natalie abruptly stood. She didn’t say goodbye or excuse me or anything else as she made her way to the front door.

A hopeful-looking man stood on the other side of it, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“You’re late,” Natalie snapped. She snatched the flowers from him and then tossed them over her shoulder, onto the floor. Still she stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

“I’m so sorry,” her date was saying, again and again, audible even through the closed door.

He was in for a hell of a night. The things these men put up with for my sister was ridiculous, all because she was conventionally attractive.

We waited until two car-doors slammed closed and the sound of an engine disappeared into the night. Then Rachel and Megan got up from the table and we all headed for the door.

“Well… that was enlightening,” Maria joked.

“She’s a bitch,” Rachel said. “You guys should have given me enough time to tell her so.”

I patted Rachel on the back. “She’s not worth the aggravation, trust me.” Though truthfully, I was proud and pleased that Rachel was willing to stand up for me. It meant a lot.

“Let’s get out of here,” Megan said. “This place gives me with willies.”

I couldn’t argue with her. This place was no home for me, despite my years having lived there. If anything, it only harbored dark memories and unpleasant feelings of self-loathing. I had been made to hate myself within these walls. Something I was still fighting to get over.

As soon as we were outside, I could breathe again.

Though I didn’t fully feel safe until we had returned to my friends’ apartment. I sat on the couch between Megan and Rachel, with Maria leaning over the back of the couch.

I gave the photo to Rachel and she held it up. Then, I took the ring from my pocket and moved it by the photo to compare.

Four simultaneous gasps sounded.

We could all see it then, plain as day. The ring was a match.

“Oh my God,” I gasped, not sure what to do with this information. I could barely process right now.

“Hazel…” Megan whispered.

“You’re married,” Rachel added.

“To Logan!” Maria finished with a high-pitched squee.

My heart tangled all up in knots. It seemed too good to be true, but I had to believe my eyes this time, didn’t I? This ring in my hands, the one I had been wearing from my one-night stand in Vegas, was identical to the ring Logan had given his wife.

The dates were the same.

I looked like the girl in the picture.

I couldn’t pretend anymore that this wasn’t happening. It most decidedly was.

I was Logan’s mystery wife.

But what was I supposed to do with that information? Logan clearly didn’t know. How would he react? Would this news be welcome? Or would it ruin everything.

I checked my phone. It was too late to call him, nearly midnight by now. Besides, this didn’t seem like the kind of conversation to have over the phone. We had to be in person for this.

But how could I interrupt his work day? Maybe I should wait until the weekend. Ask him to go on a date and reveal everything slowly.

Yes, that would be a good plan.

The next day at work, I tried to act normal, but I felt like I was buzzing out of my skin every time I glanced at Logan.

At one point, while I was in his office and he was reviewing tasks for the day, I very nearly told him outright. But… no. I held myself back, struck with sudden self-doubt.

Maybe I had gotten it all wrong. Maybe the ring wasn’t a match.

I returned to my chair and slipped out the photo and the ring from my pocket. I’d already done this a few times that morning, just to make sure I hadn’t imagined it.

“Oh, Hazel. One more… thing…” Logan’s voice sounded behind me. He was suddenly standing behind my shoulder.

I slowly, swiveled on my chair to face him. I was holding the photo and the ring. It was too late to hide them, he’d already seen.

He looked at me with wide eyes.

“Hazel…?”