Chapter 3: The First Time I Said No

I called my landlord and told him I was terminating my lease at the end of the month and would pay the early termination fee stipulated in the contract.

“You’ve lived here four years. Are you sure you don’t want to think it over?”

When I first started dating Lachlan, he’d wanted me to move to Manhattan to live with him. Cleo had said it was better to keep some distance before marriage, and I hadn’t wanted to rely on anyone so quickly, so I rented an apartment not far from his company.

This place held the happiness of our early relationship—and the memory of him rushing out the door, time and again, after another call from Cleo.

“I’m sure.”

Not long after I hung up, I heard the lock turn. Lachlan came in with his spare key, Cleo trailing behind him.

“So it’s a deal?” Cleo turned and smiled at him. “In the apartment you two are moving into after the wedding, the room with the big windows is mine. I want to change the curtains to pink.”

She said it as if moving into our marital home had always been part of the plan.

Lachlan didn’t object. “As long as Zinnia agrees.”

“She’ll agree, obviously. She spoils me the most.”

Standing beside a half-packed suitcase, I said the word out loud for the first time in my life.

“No.”