Caleb
Perched on the rooftop lounge of the hotel, Tatiana and I overlooked the glittering downtown skyline while soft jazz drifted through the open-air bar.
Glass lanterns flickered against polished marble tables, and the slanting rays of the setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange and gold.
Normally, I would have appreciated the view. Tonight, it barely registered. My mind was elsewhere—on the tension building in my chest and the uncomfortable feeling that this evening was going to spiral out of control.
After leaving the beach the previous day, I had gone back to my office to change before heading to my parents’ mansion in Point Grey.
From the moment I arrived, something had felt off.
My mother kept rubbing the back of her neck and avoiding my eyes.
Ever since I told everyone about Jiya, her behaviour had changed, but lately her nervousness felt different.
As if she were hiding something.
She talked about wedding details and mentioned Tatiana was on her way over, but I barely listened. Even during dinner, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right beneath the surface.
Later, I sat alone in the library with a glass of Cognac, surrounded by memories of Jiya. Simon checked on me briefly, but I brushed him off before eventually leaving the house altogether. I couldn’t stand being there anymore.
When I got home, Cooper followed me into the office and dropped beside me with a soft whimper.
“Do you miss her too, boy?”
Jiya had always made him feel like part of the family.
Moments later, I found myself staring at her on my phone.
Just one sign… just one… to tell me I was wrong and you were right… just one.
Now, as I sat at the lounge with Tatiana, I gulped down a shot of whisky before Harper and Jiya arrived.
“Easy, honey,” Tatiana said, stroking my cheek. “We still have the night to go.”
Just then, her phone rang, and she quickly cut the call before turning it facedown on the table.
“Why are we here again for this double date?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“Well, because he’s close to the family, and he’s a good friend of mine. I told you this already.”
Her phone buzzed again, and she cut the call once more, this time with noticeably shaky hands.
“Are you all right?” I asked, watching her.
Tatiana had seemed very different the past few weeks, and I didn’t know why.
She was always out partying with her friends until the early hours of the morning and was unreachable whenever I called.
She hadn’t stayed over at my place for a while, and her schedule with the wedding planner kept changing, which created inconvenience after inconvenience for me.
I assumed she was stressed and chose not to push the issue, even though something about her behaviour felt off.
“Yes. Yes,” she said, glancing over her shoulder toward the corner of the rooftop. “It’s Caitlin wanting to hang out tonight even though I told her I was busy.”
She paused, then studied me from head to toe.
“Honey, I think you need to change your style.”
“What’s wrong with it?” I asked, looking down at my clothes before meeting her eyes again. “You liked this jacket before. You said you loved it.”
“Well, now I don’t. I’ll get you something better.”
“I don’t want any more gifts,” I said, shaking my head. “You’ve been buying me so many things lately—new shirts, new shoes. What’s going on?”
“I love you. That’s what’s going on. Don’t you love me too?”
I nodded and released a slow breath. “I do, but I still don’t understand why I have to be here,” I said, tapping my foot against the floor.
“Because you’re my fiancé, and you just said you loved me,” she replied, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “And you’ll get very, very lucky tonight if you behave and make this evening pleasant.”
She trailed a finger down my open collar while holding my gaze.
“Ahem!”
I turned my head and saw Harper and Jiya standing a few steps away, watching us.
I immediately got to my feet.
After shaking Harper’s hand, I watched him lean forward and kiss Tatiana on both cheeks.
I stood there awkwardly, unsure how to greet Jiya.
She looked stunning in a multi-embroidered body-con dress, and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off her.
“Caleb... honey, are you okay?” Tatiana asked. “You seem stuck.”
My ears grew hot, and heat spread across my face. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I reached out and shook Jiya’s hand before quickly taking my seat.
The tension at the table was thick enough to feel, yet none of us acknowledged it.
I signalled the waiter and quickly placed an order for drinks, needing something—anything—to steady my nerves.
I tried not to look at her, but every time I glanced up, her honey-brown eyes—accentuated by dramatic winged liner—pulled my attention back to her.
“So, how did the two of you meet?” Tatiana asked Harper.
Oh boy. This is going to get awkward.
I ran a finger around the collar of my shirt, trying to let some air reach my skin.
“We’ve known each other for years, actually,” Harper said. “We used to date before I married Daria.”
“Oh!” Tatiana exclaimed. “That’s great that you’ve reconnected again. Isn’t that lovely?” she asked, turning to look at me.
“Yes, yes, it is,” I replied quickly.
“What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking, Jiya?” Tatiana sipped her wine.
“I own a restaurant and two cafés on Vancouver Island,” Jiya replied. “I’m also a partner in my brother-in-law’s construction and development company.”
“You’re married?” Tatiana asked, nearly choking on her drink.
“Widowed.”
My heartbeat slowed when I heard that word.
She had said it out loud for the first time in my presence, and there was a quiet ache in the way she spoke it.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” Tatiana said, her mouth turning downward. “You know, Caleb has a project going on on the Island, don’t you, honey?” She gulped her drink and then ordered another.
I nodded, tilting my head.
Tatiana had never finished a drink that quickly before, let alone ordered another right away.
“Let’s take a picture, you guys, and I’ll post it on Instagram!” Tatiana announced loudly,
“Umm... I’m not much of a picture person, to be honest,” Jiya said politely. “How about I take a picture of the two of you?”
She had never liked having her picture taken. Her photograph had never appeared on the hotel website where we once worked together, nor on her brother-in-law’s company website.
My jaw set hard.
Back then, she had explained it as a precaution—to protect herself and her son from Jeremy ever finding her. At the time, I had believed her without question.
But years had passed. Jeremy was no longer a threat.
So what was stopping her from taking photos now?
“Yes, you never did have your photo on the hotel website,” I scoffed. “Funny how you never seem to appear in photos anywhere.”
Tatiana turned toward me and frowned, then shifted her attention back to Jiya.
“No, no—there’s no escaping picture time,” she said. “Hang on.”
She signalled the server to take a photo of the four of us.
Heat crept across my skin.
We raised our glasses and forced smiles while the server snapped the photo before hurrying off to another table.
Tatiana glanced at the picture on her phone and then placed it on the table.
“How long are you going to be in Vancouver?” she asked.
“Just until this weekend,” Jiya replied.
“I hope you’ll bring her to the wedding, Harper,” Tatiana said, nodding toward him and then glancing at me.
I managed a small smile.
Did I want Jiya at the wedding—with Harper?
My chest tightened at the mere thought.
I had hoped to feel numb by Sunday, to stop caring altogether, to watch everything unfold without emotion.
But sitting here now, watching the two of them together, my body reacted differently.
“That’s the plan,” Harper said with a laugh.
The server arrived at our table, placing down canapés and appetizers.
“These little smoked salmon crostinis and bacon-stuffed mushrooms are divine,” Tatiana said, helping herself to one of each while finishing her second glass of wine and ordering a third.
An announcement echoed across the rooftop seconds later, informing guests that the DJ would be taking a break and that a live singer would perform instead.
A beautiful woman in a gold dress stepped onto the small stage, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, lifted the microphone and began to sing.
“This is my favourite song,” Tatiana exclaimed.
Before I could react, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the dance floor, but not before I glanced toward Jiya instinctively.
“Harper... come on!”
My teeth hurt when I got to my penthouse with Tatiana after I’d cut the evening short.
Every time Harper touched Jiya or looked at her, I wanted to grab him by the collar and drag him away from her—put distance between them, remind him without words that she had once been mine…
and that it was because of him she had trusted what she saw instead of trusting me when she believed I had cheated on her.
I felt like hitting my fist through a wall—making my knuckles bleed so that the pain in my hand could erase the pain in my heart.
Thoughts about the two of them spending the night together resurfaced in my mind now, and my jaw locked, fists curling at my sides with heat climbing up my neck until it felt like I might explode from the inside out.
She was a beautiful woman, and my mind couldn’t—rather, wouldn’t—forget her. No matter how hard I tried to push her out, she stayed with me like a song stuck on repeat.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” I muttered.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Tatiana asked with wrinkled brows. “I think the seafood upset your stomach.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Get out of my heart, Jiya!
The thought echoed inside me like a plea thrown into the wind.
“Is it still hurting?” she asked, tilting her head to the side and looking at me.
A deep, bruising ache pulsed in my heart with every memory, every glance, every reminder of what I had lost.
Right now, I just wanted to be alone… away from questions, away from expectations, away from the suffocating weight of pretending everything was fine.
“Yes,” I said. “I’ll be fine after a shower.”
“Okay,” she said, plopping herself on the couch.
I headed toward my room and entered the shower after stripping my clothes off.
The hot water hit my skin, and steam filled the space around me, curling against the glass and blurring the world outside.
I closed my eyes and let the water run over my face, hoping it would wash away the tightness in my chest, the anger in my veins, the memories clawing at the edges of my mind.
But they stayed.
“Honey.”
I heard Tatiana enter the bathroom, her voice cutting through the sound of the running water.
“I’m heading out with some friends. Is that okay?”
I nodded.
Right now, I didn’t want to ask more questions about where she was going. I didn’t want to know who she would be with or how long she would be gone. I was just glad that she wasn’t going to be there when I got out—free from conversation I didn’t have the strength to carry.
“I’ll make it up to you later... I promise,” she said, opening the door and giving me a quick kiss.
The door clicked shut behind her a moment later, and the sound felt like permission to finally let my guard drop.
Guess she wants to enjoy the last of her single days!
I leaned my head back against the cool tile and exhaled slowly, the breath leaving me in a long, tired sigh.
Deep down, I knew she wouldn’t change after we were married.
It wasn’t fair to expect her to suddenly want the same things I did—children, stability, slowing down the partying and constant nights out. But it also wasn’t fair that I would have to give up the life I wanted in return.
I sighed again, heavier this time.
Compromise was part of marriage... even a loveless one.
And that was exactly what mine was going to be.