Three Days Short of Forever

My mom is critically ill. Before she passes away, she wants to see me married. It takes 27 days of pleading before my boyfriend, Kyle Grayson, says yes.

I wait at the city hall until the doors close, but he never shows up.

That same day, his childhood sweetheart, Ruby Callahan, posts their marriage certificate online. "Time flies. Three days more and we'll be a month in."

Only then does it hit me. The very first day I begged, Kyle was already Ruby's husband.

Right then, a text from Kyle lights up my phone.

"Holly, Ruby's family was pushing her into marriage. I couldn't stand by and watch her marry just anyone and ruin her life. We'll be divorced in three days. I'll marry you then."

Three days later, he shows up at the city hall in a suit. But all he gets is a text from me.

"Goodbye for good, Kyle."

At the morgue, I saw Mom's face and broke down in tears. My mother, Florence Blume, had raised me all on her own and had never asked for a thing. And yet, I still wasn't able to fulfill her last wish.

When I found out how sick she was, I begged my boyfriend of six years, Kyle Grayson, to marry me so that she could die in peace, knowing that I wouldn't be alone.

I begged for 27 days, but he kept putting it off.

On day one, Kyle said his childhood sweetheart, Ruby Callahan, had her car quit on her, and he was rushing over to pick her up. On day two, he was helping her move.

And it went on like that—one excuse stacked on another. On the 26th day, he told me Ruby's stomach was acting up, so he had to tend to her.

If Ruby hadn't posted their marriage certificate on social media today, I would still be in the dark. I'd given Kyle ten thousand outs, but it had never once occurred to me that he was already married.

I knelt beside Mom's hospital bed.

Toward the evening, Kyle called me. He sounded as gentle as ever. "It's late. Why aren't you home? Where are you? I'll come get you."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I used to play the unreasonable one just to make him fuss over me and then wait happily for him to show up. Now I couldn't bring myself to say a single sweet word.

His voice tightened. "Holly, where are you right now?"

"The hospital."

He went still, as though it just dawned on him then that I'd been looking after Mom all this time.

"I… Hang on. I'll be there at the hospital with you."

After I hung up, I forced myself to stand, swallowed my grief, and started making arrangements for Mom's funeral.

Ten minutes later, Kyle texted, "Holly, I have to be with Ruby to deal with her parents. I'll definitely go see Florence next time!"

I didn't feel the least bit surprised. For the past two years, the words he'd said to me the most were the very same—"next time".

He missed our anniversary and said he would make it up next time. He skipped coming with me to see Mom and said he would come next time. He kept stalling on marriage and said he would definitely be free tomorrow.

Kyle took my forgiveness for granted and kept hurting me without consequence.

But there wouldn't be a next time. Mom wouldn't get another chance to see me married, and as for me, I was done forgiving him.

…

That night, I didn't go home. I stayed at the hospital until morning.

Kyle texted me all night and called more times than I could count. I didn't open a single message, and I let every call go unanswered.

As daylight broke, I headed to the office early and started drafting my resignation letter.

Kyle was the founder of the company, while I was just a designer. I'd stood by him when he had nothing, helping build the business from the ground up.

Now, my place there had dwindled to almost nothing. He wouldn't notice even if I vanished.

Just as the resignation letter slipped from the printer, Kyle appeared behind me out of nowhere.

As he looked at me, I maintained my composure and picked up the letter.

"Finished printing?" he asked, gentle as ever.

I answered with a quiet hum.

Kyle kept staring as though he didn't notice how distant I'd become. He cleared his throat. "Holly, could you come with me for a minute?"

The moment he called me away, the desks around us stirred with whispers.

"Did you hear? Mr. Grayson is already married."

"No way. No wonder he and Holly never went public. They kept everything so quiet. She must be the homewrecker."