Chapter 6: He Forgot Me Again

The next day, Zia Rosa came to see me. She was my father’s sister, and after my parents died, she was the one who had taken care of both me and Cleo.

“Take a break,” she said, taking my hand. “You’ve given in to Cleo too much all these years.”

She sighed.

“Your parents may have adopted her, but you never treated her any differently. You gave her first pick of everything, and now the girl doesn’t know any boundaries.”

After a long silence, I said, “Zia, you and Zio Marco should move in here. The house shouldn’t sit empty.”

She stared. “You’ll be back after the wedding. You need to keep a room for yourself.”

I promised I would, but I insisted they move in.

I knew that once I left this time, I wouldn’t be back for a long while.

That evening, according to a pre-wedding arrangement between our families, Lachlan came over to have dinner with Zio Marco. Cleo was smiling at his side.

They all froze when they saw me.

“What are you doing here?” Lachlan asked.

But I was the bride. It shouldn’t have been strange for me to be in my own family’s home.

As long as Cleo was there, he never seemed to notice if I was missing.

At the dinner table, she sat beside Lachlan, passing him a soda and laughing at his jokes. I was furniture.

My phone lit up. It was a text from Lachlan.

“We’ve been so busy with the wedding, I’ve neglected you. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back to Staten Island?”

The word “neglected” felt less like an apology and more like a complaint that I hadn’t reported my whereabouts.

He didn’t know I’d been to his office. He didn’t know I’d ended my lease, either, because he had never asked.

I replied only: “You’re busy. Go ahead.”

As they were leaving, Zio Marco reminded us of an old family custom. “You shouldn’t see each other for the two days before the wedding. It’s tradition. Give each other some space.”

Then he told Lachlan to give me a ride back into the city, saying we should both check into the wedding hotel the next night as planned.

I went to my room to get my suitcase. By the time I came out, Lachlan’s BMW was gone.

A message popped up on my phone.

“Cleo wanted to go look at the venue setup. I forgot you needed a ride back to the city. Just call a car.”

Forgot.

He had forgotten me again.

I stood by the curb and called an Uber.

The wedding was three days away.