Runaway Bride, New Sunrise

1: 1

Whenever I went out with my best friend, my boyfriend Percival Harding never left our side.

We'd get boba, and he'd check first to make sure mine wasn't too hot.

We'd shop for clothes, and he'd weigh in on whether something showed too much skin.

Even when we went to the restroom, he'd remind me not to take too long.

I teased him for being so clingy.

He only looked worried.

"Laurie, you don't get it. Deidre Swanson is cut from the same cloth as my ex. I'm afraid she'll be a bad influence on you."

Before he met me, Percival had an ex he'd dated for five years.

Their breakup had gotten ugly.

He'd even fallen into a depression and tried to take his own life over it.

Caught in the middle, all I could do was try to smooth things over between him and Deidre.

Until five days before the wedding, when I saw Percival, who was supposed to be in a meeting, with his arm around Deidre, picking out rings.

He was smiling as she chattered on and on, letting her lace her fingers through his.

There was a tenderness in his eyes I'd never seen before.

In that moment, it hit me.

The more loudly a man claims to hate a woman, the more he's obsessed with her.

……

"Laurie, what are you doing here?"

Deidre waved me over.

Percival jumped like he'd been shocked and put a step of distance between them.

He frowned when he saw me loaded down with bags—the wedding gown, the dress, the shoes I was supposed to wear on the big day.

"You could just leave all these little errands to the wedding planners. Why wear yourself out?"

I was about to point out that he was the one who'd told me yesterday the wedding party would gather at my little apartment instead.

That it would feel more like home than a hotel.

Then Deidre suddenly threw an arm around my neck and held up the ring on her hand for me to see.

"Laurie, what do you think of this one?"

I followed her gaze.

It wasn't the star-and-moon diamond ring I'd talked about with Percival.

It was a plain, simple band shaped like a love knot.

The clerk beside us smiled and explained that this ring meant you're a part of me and I'm a part of you—it was this year's bestseller.

Clearly, she'd taken me for a friend of Percival and Deidre's.

Percival cleared his throat and pulled me aside.

"Laurie, don't read too much into it. The ring you wanted couldn't be ordered in time. Deidre just happened to be passing by, and she said she knows your taste, so I let her help. I was going to explain later."

Percival was swamped with work, and yet he'd carved out his free time.

To lock in the size and color of the gown, the shoes, the dress, the accessories.

Something in me softened. Maybe I really was overthinking it.

"Laurie, just bear with this for now. Don't worry, I'll get you the ring you like as soon as I can."

I nodded. And then the next second my eyes caught the letters engraved on the inside of the band. "XY."

But my name is Laurel Lyons.

All those days of running around suddenly seemed to have an answer.

So that was it. The waist of the gown was the wrong size, the shoulders of the dress were a finger too wide, the shoes weren't the silver-gray I'd chosen, the necklace didn't match my style.

None of it was Percival being careless and mixing things up.

None of it had been prepared for me at all.

I set the ring down and said quietly, "Percival, let's break up."

His face changed completely.

"Just because we couldn't get the ring you wanted?"

I sighed. "No. Because I've realized you don't love me anymore."

"The gown, the dress, the shoes… not a single one is my size. How am I supposed to marry you like this?"

I turned to go, but Percival gripped my wrist tight.

"We're about to get married. What are you throwing a tantrum about now?"

"If something doesn't fit, we just swap it. Why drag out this 'you don't love me' nonsense? You have no idea how exhausting you are like this."

Deidre shoved him away.

"Can't you be a little gentler with Laurie? When a girl's upset, you're supposed to comfort her."

She put her arm around my shoulders, striking the same pose she always did, like she was taking my side.

But all I felt was how fake it was, and I twisted away from her touch.

"You're no different from him. From now on, I don't want to see either of you again."

Deidre's face froze, and she stood there at a loss.

Percival's patience was gone entirely.

"Laurel, aren't you being too much?"

"Deidre was only trying to help. What gives you the right to sneer at the two of us?"

I looked at him, and for some reason my eyes stung.

When had it become natural for him to say "the two of us," lumping himself in with Deidre?

For the first time, right in front of me, he pulled Deidre to his side and threw down a challenge.

"Come on, I'll break my own rule and take you home today. Let her have some time to think about what she's done."

We walked out of the mall, and Percival's familiar Cullinan rolled past me.

Not slowing for even a second.

My phone rang.

The wedding planners, wanting to settle the timing for hair and makeup on the big day.

I wiped the tears off my face and said softly,

"There's no need. The wedding's off."