Chapter 2: The Placeholder

The group chat Hollis had added me to was usually dead silent.

Tonight, it lit up.

[Gianna: Just borrowing a wedding for the day~ 😉]

A dozen photos followed.

They were all taken inside the limousine.

Gianna was leaning against Hollis, snapping a series of intimate selfies.

One with their faces pressed together. Another with them making cute faces for the camera.

My gaze landed on the last one.

In the photo, Hollis had his head resting in Gianna’s palm, a gentle, unguarded smile on his face.

When we took our engagement photos, I’d shown him a reference shot with that exact pose.

He’d said it was childish and didn’t suit us.

Messages flooded the chat.

[You two still look like the perfect couple. When we were kids, I always thought you’d end up together.]

That was from one of Hollis’s childhood friends.

He’d once told me that Hollis was lucky to have me, that I was the reason Hollis had gotten through that dark time after Gianna left for Europe. He’d said we were a good match.

Another message appeared.

[If I’d known it was your wedding today, I wouldn’t have hidden out of town. I never liked the placeholder who filled in after Gianna went to Europe. Is it too late for me to book a flight back?]

That was Hollis’s cousin.

Once, Hollis had left important documents at home and asked me to bring them to him. It was pouring rain, and I got into an accident on the highway. My leg was injured, but I still got the documents to him.

His cousin had almost cried, telling me those papers were for a multi-million-dollar project and that I’d saved him.

Then came another cousin, his college roommate, his senior from work.

Hollis had introduced me to all of them.

To my face, they were always polite.

Behind my back, they had other names for me.

“That ordinary girl.”

“The clingy one.”

“Just the placeholder.”

Hollis sent a message, too.

[Stop talking about her. More compliments for Gianna, please.]

I stared at the screen, my hands trembling as I typed.

[Are you all sick?]

[This is disgusting.]

After I sent the messages, the group went silent for two seconds.

Finally, someone wrote:

[Shit. Wrong group.]

The next second, my phone was ringing. It was Hollis.

The call came so fast it was clear he was trying to shut me up.

I answered.

He didn’t apologize. He didn’t explain.

Just two cold words.

“Apologize.”

I almost laughed.

“I should apologize?”

“For what, exactly? For you all insulting me? Or for you adding me to a group chat just to have another one behind my back?”

The line was quiet for a few seconds.

I heard Hollis sigh, a sound of strained patience.

“Willa, you’re not the kind of person everyone is going to like. You can’t expect everyone to just accept you.”

“These are my and Gianna’s childhood friends. You just showed up. It’s normal for some of them to feel a little uncomfortable. Gianna adding you to the group was her way of showing you respect.”

I tilted my head back, fighting to keep the tears from falling.

“So?”

Hollis paused, then his voice dropped.

“Just say something in the group. Tell them you don’t mind the jokes.”

“Gianna’s hysterical right now. She keeps blaming herself, saying none of this would have happened if she hadn’t added you.”

A chill spread through my chest.

So, if Gianna cried, I was expected to comfort the very people who had just humiliated me.

I barely heard what Hollis said next.

My grip tightened on the phone, and my voice came out raw.

“Hollis, let’s break up.”

“The wedding is off. And I’m not signing any papers.”

He didn't answer right away.

I heard a hand cover the receiver on his end, followed by the sound of tissues being pulled from a box and Gianna’s muffled sobs.

Then, Hollis’s patient, comforting voice.

“Alright, don’t cry. Willa said she doesn’t blame you.”

“She’s just overreacting.”