Bailey
. . .
There’s laughter, nervous, bubbling laughter, and the soft rustle of fabric as dresses are adjusted.
Outside the open window, I can hear the low murmur of voices drifting through the property, the scrape of chairs being moved into place.
Sadie is standing in front of a full length mirror, hands clasped in front of her.
Her hair is pinned up in soft twists, loose enough to still look like her.
Her makeup is light, just enough to make her eyes shine.
She looks… young. Not in years, not that we are old...
but this feels different. Like hope in a future far better than our past.
I step behind her and smooth the back of her dress, fingers brushing over lace that took weeks to choose. My hands know how to do this. I’ve been steadying Sadie my whole life.
“You ready?” I ask.
She nods. Then shakes her head. Then lets out a breathy laugh. “No. Yes. Maybe all of it at once.”
I smile. “That means you’re doing it right.”
She meets my eyes in the mirror and there's so much in that look: gratitude, love, nerves, the shared history of two girls who lost everything too early and somehow still found their way here.
“Bailey,” she says softly, “I don’t think I ever said this properly.”
My chest tightens and I push down the urge to cry.
“Thank you. For… everything. For getting us here. For not giving up on this. On us.”
I squeeze her shoulders gently. “You don’t owe me anything. If anything it's the other way around. I owe you. I... I would do anything for you.”
She turns then, facing me fully, reaching out she grabs my hands and squeezes. “I know. But still. You carry so much, the weight of everyone’s dreams. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you.”
I swallow hard, there are a thousand things I want to say.
About how she raised me. How she was more of a Mother to me then ours was even before she died.
About how she stood in front of social workers at eighteen and told them she would figure it out.
About how she chose me over any other version of her life.
But those words, our fragile truth feels like it would unravel us both right now, so instead, I say, “You look perfect.”
Her eyes fill instantly. “Stop. You’ll ruin my makeup.”
We laugh, but the sound catches in my throat.
Outside, the barn has been transformed into something sacred. White flowers line the aisle, simple and wild, like they were meant to be there all along. Wooden chairs stand in neat rows, as sunlight pours through the open doors, dust motes floating in the air like blessings.
It’s small, and intimate. Family, friends and neighbours who helped clear land, plant trees, and rebuild barns. There is no press, no strangers. This won't be an overdone spectacle.
This is Sadie’s day.
This is everything we survived for.
Thomas stands near the entrance, tugging at his jacket, nerves written all over him. He’s walking Sadie down the aisle. When he catches my eye, he smiles, proud, emotional, grateful in a way that makes my throat burn.
The music starts and I step into position at the front, bouquet heavy in my hands. The barn doors open. I move through the space and pray that no one can tell how full my heart is and yet so broken.
I walk towards Cole and his groomsman, Adam.
They went to school together and stayed in touch even when Adam traveled across Canada.
He is back in Hawthorne ridge preparing to open his own restaurant.
I don’t think we have ever met officially, but as I get into place he smiles and winks at me, which actually eases some of the tension I am feeling.
Then the music shifts and with it the energy in the barn, Sadie appears on Thomas’s arm, and the world narrows to just her.
She’s glowing, not styled, or curated, just happy.
The kind of happiness that feels earned, that makes you believe in forever again.
And as I watch her walk toward Cole, something slams into me so hard I almost trip standing still.
My own wedding.
The courthouse office that smelled like old carpet and stale coffee.
The borrowed dress.
The way Luke squeezed my hand and whispered, “We’ll do it right someday.”
I turned eighteen that morning and married him that afternoon because we were leaving for Nashville and we wanted to be married when we left.
I remember believing that love was enough to outrun time.
That the wedding didn't matter if the love was right.
I blink hard and focus on Sadie. I scan the crowd instinctively, familiar faces, neighbours, Rose openly crying into a tissue...
And then I see Noah. He stands off to the side, hands clasped, eyes shining.
Hope flares so fast it nearly knocks the breath from my lungs.
Luke must be here. He has to be. I want to run through the crowd and find him, make this right.
But today isn't about me, and I am genuinely so happy for my sister.
The ceremony is beautiful. The vows are quiet and unpolished, spoken with voices that shake and then steady. When Cole says forever, his voice cracks, and it doesn’t sound like a promise he’s making for show. It sounds like one he intends to keep.
Applause and celebratory cheers fill the barn. People are crying, hugging, already drifting toward the reception tables outside. I keep waiting for him. For Luke’s laugh. To catch the sound of his voice through the crowd. For his hand at my back.
Nothing.
I scan again, but he’s not here. The realization settles slowly, a cruel weight in my gut. I smile anyway. I help Sadie with her train. Hug Cole. Say all the right things. Be the version of myself that knows how to survive.
“I just need a second,” I say, slipping away unnoticed.
I make my way from the barn towards the orchard, out in the open, surrounded by everything I have sweated and bled for. I just need to breathe. My phone feels heavy in my hand, and somewhere deep within, I already know. But I look anyway.
I have too many notifications and messages to process, but one stands out. The clip is already loaded. Luke is on stage with Kacey beside him, laughing, her arm looped through his. Drinks raised. Lights flashing. The crowd is roaring.
She leans into the mic. “Thank you for joining me tonight.”
Luke grins as he raises his glass. “No place I’d rather be.”
Something inside me breaks clean in half, as all the air leaves my lungs. Sound drains from around me, like a vacuum has sucked all the life away from around me, my vision tunnels until all I can see is the screen shaking in my hands. This was today... only an hour ago.
He isn't coming.
He doesn't care.
He chose her, knowing where I was.
He knew what today was.
He knew what was at stake....
He... He doesn't love me anymore.
I drop to my knees, a sound tearing out of me that doesn’t feel human.
“Bailey?”
Noah is in my blurry line of vision. Then Cole, right behind him, his face going pale as he takes me in.
I scramble to my feet, shaking my head violently. “Don’t... don’t tell her. Please. Do not ruin her night.”
Cole’s jaw tightens, pain flashing across his face, but he nods. “I won’t.”
I turn to Noah, voice cracking. “Go back in there... Please. I can’t... I need to pull myself together.”
He hesitates, then pulls me into a brief, fierce hug. “I’m so sorry, Bailey. I don't know what he's thinking.”
Noah goes back into the barn and Cole waits for a minute studying me, he shakes his head, taking a deep breath. Before he leaves he walks up to me, kisses the top of my head and whispers, “You deserve so much better.”
When I’m alone again, my hands shake so badly I have to try three times to get my phone to dial the right number.
Rachel answers on the first ring. “Bailey?”
“Do it,” I say.
Even through the excruciating pain, the words feel solid and final.
“Get the divorce lawyer. Luke can keep the Nashville house. If he wants out of Hawthorne Ridge, I’ll buy him out.
Have a team pack my things from the house.
I am done. I want the exit plan.” I swallow, trying to slow my racing heart and calm my breathing, “Any collaboration. Any brand deal. Take it. I’m done. ”
“Okay,” she says gently. “I’ve got you.”
She doesn’t ask for more, which means she already knows.
She’s already seen the video. I can only imagine what the internet is saying now.
I hang up and look out over the fields before me, the setting sun casting everything in gold.
I am glad I cannot see myself right now because I know what I will see...
Red eyes. Blotchy skin. A woman standing at the end of a marriage on her sister’s wedding day.
I force myself to breathe, practice my smile, and use my camera on my phone to clean up my face and hair. Then I turn around and walk back into my sister's happily ever after.
Sadie deserves her happiness, and I will not take that from her, even if it costs me everything.