37. Kane
KANE
On Sunday afternoon, I'm at the bakery when Vivian and Connor arrive.
Delilah is behind the counter, finishing up with a customer. I'm sitting at the back table, reviewing emails on my phone, close enough to be present but far enough to let her work.
The door opens and they walk in together.
Vivian spots Delilah first. "Dee, we need to talk."
Delilah glances up, then back at her customer. "I'll be with you in a minute."
"This can't wait."
"It'll have to."
Vivian's mouth tightens, but she doesn't push.
I set down my phone and lean back in my chair, watching.
Connor shifts near the door, hands in his pockets. He looks worse than he did at the house sale. Thinner. Tired.
Delilah finishes the transaction, hands the customer a bag, and wishes her a good day. Then she turns to Vivian. "What do you want?"
"We came to talk about the venue."
"I already said no."
"Just hear us out."
Delilah crosses her arms. "You have two minutes."
Vivian nudges Connor forward. He takes a few steps, stopping at the counter.
"Dee," he says. "I know things have been... difficult. Between us. But I'm asking you to help me out. Just this once."
"No."
"Please. The venue's going to cancel if I don't make the payment by Friday."
"Then you should have paid on time."
"I couldn't. The money wasn't there."
"That's not my concern."
Connor's jaw tightens. "You used to help me. All the time. When I needed a loan. When I had a bad month at poker. You always helped."
"That was before I knew you'd forged my signature and spent four years sleeping with my sister."
He flinches. "I know I screwed up. But we're trying to move forward. And you refusing to help just because you're still angry—"
"I'm not refusing because I'm angry. You're just not my responsibility anymore."
Vivian steps forward. "Delilah, this is ridiculous. Fifteen thousand dollars is nothing to Kane. You could ask him right now and he'd say yes."
I stand and cross to Delilah's side. Not between her and them. Just close enough that my presence shifts the dynamic.
Connor looks at me. "Kane, come on, man. You get it. Sometimes you need help. And Dee's family. She should be willing to help her family."
I don't answer.
Connor keeps going. "You've taken everything from me. The car. The country club membership. The casino access. I used to have options. But you made sure I don't have anything left."
"You gambled away your trust fund," I say evenly. "I just made sure you couldn't dig yourself deeper."
"Yeah, well, now I can't afford my own wedding."
"Then you shouldn't have proposed."
His face flushes. "I proposed because I thought I'd have the money. I thought things would turn around."
"And they didn't."
"No. They didn't. Because you made sure of it."
I take a step forward. Just one. Enough that Connor has to look up at me.
"You're trying to make this Delilah's responsibility," I say. "It's not. You made choices. Bad ones. And now you're dealing with the consequences. That's your mess, not hers. And it's not something we're going to fix for you."
Connor looks at Delilah. "So that's it? You're just going to let him decide for you?"
"He's not deciding for me," Delilah says. "I already said no. Two days ago. And I'm saying it again now."
Vivian's voice goes sharp. "Then Connor needs to find another way."
Connor turns to her. "There is no other way. I've already asked everyone I know."
"Then get a loan."
"I can't. No one will lend to me."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't have collateral. And my credit's shot."
Vivian's jaw drops. "You told me you'd handle this."
"I thought I would."
"So what are we supposed to do? Cancel the wedding?"
Connor's shoulders slump. "I don't know."
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I mean I can't afford it, Viv. The venue we picked, the dress you ordered—none of it."
"Then we'll do something smaller."
"With what money?"
"I don't know! Figure it out!"
Connor shakes his head. "Even if I could scrape together enough for something small, everyone would know. Everyone we invited would see that we couldn't afford what we promised."
"So?"
"So I'm not going to humiliate myself like that."
Vivian's eyes go wide. "You're calling off the wedding?"
"I'm saying I can't do this. Not like this."
"Connor—"
"I'm sorry, Viv. I thought I could make it work. But I can't."
He takes off the engagement ring—a modest band that barely matches Vivian's—and sets it on the counter.
Then he walks out.
The door swings shut behind him.
Vivian stands frozen, staring at the ring.
Then she turns to Delilah. "This is your fault."
Delilah doesn't flinch. "No, it's not."
"You could have helped. You could have asked Kane. But you wanted to punish me."
"I wanted to protect myself."
"By ruining my wedding?"
"Your wedding fell apart because Connor doesn't have money. That's not my fault. And it's not my responsibility to fix."
Vivian's face twists. "You've always been jealous of me. Since we were kids. And now you finally have something I want, so you're using it to hurt me."
I step forward, putting myself between them.
Vivian's eyes flick to me, then back to Delilah.
"You're pathetic," she says. "Both of you."
She grabs the ring off the counter, shoves it in her purse, and storms out.
The door slams behind her.
Delilah lets out a long breath.
I touch her shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I think so."
"You handled that well."
She looks up at me. "Did I?"
"Yes."
"It didn't feel like it."
"It never does. But you didn't fold. You didn't let them guilt you. And you didn't take responsibility for Connor's choices."
She leans into me. "He tried to blame you."
"I know."
"And I almost felt bad for him. For a second."
"That's normal."
"Is it?"
"Yeah. You're allowed to feel bad for people even when they've hurt you. As long as you don't let that feeling make you responsible for fixing their messes."
Lilah stares into space for a while. "He called off the engagement."
"He did."
"In front of us."
"Yeah."
"Do you think he meant it? Or was he just trying to pressure Vivian into finding the money herself?"
"Does it matter?"
She thinks about it. "No. I guess it doesn't."
I pull her closer. She rests her head against my chest.
"Thank you for being here," she whispers.
"Always."
We stand there for a while, just holding each other.
Eventually, Delilah pulls back and looks at the door. "Do you think they'll come back?"
"Probably not. At least not for a while."
"Good."
She takes my hand and leads me to the back table, where we sit side by side.
"I need to finish these orders," she says, pulling her laptop toward her.
"Want me to stay?"
"Yeah. If you don't mind."
"I never mind."
I watch her work, her fingers moving over the keyboard, her focus narrowing to the task in front of her.
She's stronger than she thinks. Stronger than Connor or Vivian or her mother ever gave her credit for.
And I'm going to make sure she knows it.
After a few minutes, she looks up at me. "Kane?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you didn't let Connor blame you for his choices."
"He was trying to make you responsible through me. I wasn't going to let that happen."
"I know. But still. Thank you."
I lean over and kiss her temple. "You're welcome."
She smiles and goes back to her work.
And I sit beside her, ready to step in if she needs me, knowing she probably won't.
Because she doesn't need me to fight her battles.
She just needs me to be here.
And that's where I plan to stay.