Chapter 9
NOW
Late August
Monday
My thumb moved slower as I scrolled back through Charlotte’s Instagram feed, pausing on each photo that included Ryan. I’d rushed past them before. Intentionally avoiding looking at them properly, because looking was painful. But I studied them now.
There were so many of them. Shots of him with his arm draped around her shoulders. Or her hand resting on his forearm. My breath caught as I stared at him. Seeing him with her made something inside me ache.
Tears welled in my eyes. How long had this been going on? I glanced at the posting dates and gritted my teeth. Charlotte had been posting photos of the two of them together all through August.
When Ryan was supposed to be with me.
He looked happy. Grinning at her with that familiar smile I’d once believed was only meant for me.
My fingers twitched, desperately wanting to reach out and touch him. Before I could stop myself, I slid my fingers across the screen, enlarging the image, bringing his face closer. Clearer.
I wanted to run my hand through his hair, to—
I froze.
Something was wrong.
My pulse quickened as I leaned in, my breath catching.
I frowned, my gaze sharpening as I stared at his forehead just above his eyebrow.
His skin was smooth. Unmarked.
Except that couldn’t be right.
The scar…
The cut from his stumble on the steps in Malta. I could still recall that day clearly. His yelp from behind me as I’d stormed ahead, angry and hurt, refusing to listen. Until he fell.
He’d said it was worth it. It had been the moment that had made me stop and turn back to check he was okay. The moment that my guard had lowered at his vulnerability.
That moment had mattered.
So had the scar.
Charlotte had captioned the photo as being taken yesterday. But it couldn’t have been.
The cut had healed, but it had left a scar. Faint and faded. Maybe it would disappear completely in time. But not yet. Not so soon.
Would it?
I tipped my head to the side. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was remembering it wrong. Making it bigger than it was. More significant. More meaningful.
You always do that. Overthink things. Make them something they’re not.
Janine’s voice scolded, sharp and dismissive.
I clenched my teeth as my grip tightened around the phone.
No.
I knew what had happened.
I knew what I’d seen.
I swiped to the next photo. And the next. Each time, my gaze went straight to Ryan’s forehead. A different pose, different clothes, different day. But each one was the same…
Ryan’s scar was missing.
I scrolled faster now, urgency creeping in as I checked every image she had posted of him. Each one Charlotte claimed to have been taken recently.
But they couldn’t be.
They had to have been taken before Malta. Before we reconnected. Before we made our vows to each other.
Before Ryan chose me again.
And yet—
Charlotte was presenting each one as though they were now.
I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. Because if this wasn’t real…
What else wasn’t?