She Said Yes, I Said Bye

Seven days before our wedding, Danny Wagner—my childhood sweetheart—got down on one knee for Mia Kant, the broke girl he'd been sponsoring. Right in front of me and his buddies.

I didn't cry. Didn't lose it. Just slapped a smile on my face and said, "Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness."

His buddies? Oh, they had the nerve to tell me to be generous and let Danny help Mia finish her "wish list."

Danny, unsatisfied and ticked off, said I was overreacting and demanded an apology.

Dismissive, he sneered, "I said I'd marry you after Mia's wish list was done. Stop being so unreasonable."

I knew this was the last item on her list.

I opened my notes app, scrolled to my wish list, and deleted all thirty-three bullet points.

Done.

Then I made a call. "I'm willing to marry you."

The voice on the other end chuckled. "Where are you? I'll come get you."

The biting cold cut through me, but the ache in my chest was sharper. Cheers floated down from the private room upstairs. My fists clenched so hard they started to cramp.

I barely made it a few steps before Mia came scrambling after me.

"Paige, I didn't mean to ruin your relationship! Please, don't be mad, okay? I'll give Danny back to you! I... I didn't think it'd turn out like this." Her nose was red, and she had that pitiful look.

I snorted. "Don't bother. I'm done. Scum and trash? You two are a perfect match."

Mia kept apologizing. "Paige, hit me! Go on, just hit me! I shouldn't have come between you two." Then, as if this was some drama audition, she dropped to her knees, grabbed my hand, and tried to slap herself with it.

Before she could pull it off, Danny's hand clamped around my wrist, hard enough to make me wince. A loud slap echoed, and my cheek stung like fire.

I froze.

Danny, shaking with rage, yanked Mia into his arms and threw his coat over her.

His tone was sharp, cutting. "Paige Hart, I WARNED you not to push me.

"You've changed. Since when did you get so petty and competitive? You're embarrassing me.

"I only see Mia as a sister. Tonight is the last time I'm spending with her. After this, I'm yours. Got it?"

He glared at me, his eyes—those stupid, mesmerizing eyes I used to love—full of disappointment.

My eyes stung with unshed tears.

Danny and I had grown up together. Back when I called myself a princess, stuck in some fairy-tale daydream, he played along like a total goof—prince, knight, superhero, whatever it took. He'd tell everyone I was his one and only princess, his chest puffed out like it actually meant something.

He never let me cry, never let me feel painful. When I got hospitalized with a raging fever, he sat by my bed for two days, no food, no sleep, promising he'd take my place in the underworld if it meant I'd live. The golden boy of the Wagner family even learned to cook and do laundry, just to take care of me.

Now, when I looked at him, all I saw was a stranger.

Was it me who'd changed? Or had I just ignored how far his heart had drifted—thanks to Mia. Honestly, it might as well have floated across the Pacific.

Seven years ago, when we officially became a couple, we decided to make it meaningful—sponsoring a student in need. I chose Mia. She was this bright kid with a wreck of a past, and together, we gave her everything—got her into the best high school, swore we'd see her through college.

Funny how Danny used to grumble about her. She didn't get social cues. She'd never make it in the real world.

But that disdain? Yeah, it was long gone.

I'd ask him to quit smoking, worried sick about his health. He'd just laugh, say he'd quit when we had kids, then light up like it was no big deal.

But when Mia so much as coughed from the smoke? He stubbed it out. Just like that. Never touched another cigarette.

"Danny," I said, "Let's cancel the wedding."

One week. That's all I needed to pack, leave, and find someone who actually deserved me.