Chapter 98
REGGIE
It turns out Bella had one final trick up her sleeve, and her earlier comment about the car makes sense now.
She’s making me drive all three of us to the church, and the silence in the car is thick enough to choke on.
I’m nervous. Because she won’t tell me why.
My fingers tighten on the wheel. What if she’s planned a full wedding? Would she really do that?
No. Not her. She’s too compassionate to twist the knife that way.
But the church means something to her. We shared a moment here; maybe that is sacred to her.
It’s her symbol of truth. The last line in our story.
Our decider.
I pull into the gravel lot, kill the engine, and glance at her. “I’m glad you let us get changed out of our aprons, baby.”
She pokes out her tongue. “I’m sure Father Byrne would’ve appreciated the view.”
I scoff. After the last time we were here, I’m shocked the man even opened the doors for us.
But Bella could charm the devil into prayer.
We all stop before the wooden entrance, gravel crunching under our shoes.
“You gonna give us a heads-up about this game?” Rowan asks, hands shoved in his pockets.
Bella’s eyes gleam with something fragile. “This game isn’t so much a test for you two. This one’s for me.”
My stomach drops. “You have nothing to prove to us, Princess.”
She offers me a small, tired smile. “This is the Wife Test. The final decider. I can’t choose. Not even after all the damn games. It’s still a tie. It always was.”
For a second, the entire world feels too quiet. This version of her scares me, because this is the part of her I know wants to run.
And I can’t fuckin’ lose the one reason I have to live.
“No amount of tests or challenges will let me tear my heart in two,” she whispers, looking down at her heels. “I just… can’t. So this is it. The place of truth. The place of confessions and see which one of you is still standing after.”
I frown. “Bels, there’s nothing you could tell me that’d make me walk away.”
“Never,” Rowan echoes. His voice cracks in the way only love can break something.
She takes a breath that trembles all the way to her fingertips. “Let’s see, shall we?”
And with that, she pushes the doors open.
Inside, the candles flicker against tall pillars, the sunlight filtering through stained glass like colored smoke.
The same light that once turned her laughter into something holy now paints her in shades of gold and red.
I can’t breathe. A wedding I once thought I’d never care about now feels like the only thing I’ll ever want.
At the altar, she turns, motioning for us to sit in the front pew. She stands before us, steady but shaking inside.
“You both get one question,” she says softly. “Ask wisely. I’ll answer with brutal honesty—with witnesses.”
She nods toward the painted ceiling.
I almost laugh at that, at her trying to make heaven a co-conspirator.
“Reggie.” Her gaze locks onto mine.
I clear my throat. The question forms before I can stop it the one I’ve buried since the start.
“What happened with your ex-boyfriend?” I ask quietly. “What did he do that made you hesitate about sharing yourself with us both?”
Her face pales. Rowan tenses beside me. I don’t know if he’s ever heard the story.
Maybe no one has.