Chapter 2

"Ethan."

"Yeah?"

"Look me in the eyes."

He did.

"Is there another reason?" I asked.

"What other reason could there be?"

"Do you just not want to marry me anymore?"

He frowned, looking irritated. "What are you talking about? When did I ever say I don’t want to marry you?"

"Then why did you cancel the wedding behind my back? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I told you. I think it’s a waste of money."

"Ethan."

I cut him off.

"We’ve been together for three years. Do you really think I don’t know you? You just got a raise last month, your annual bonus cleared, and the savings your dad set aside for our wedding hasn't even been touched."

"Since when did you care this much about a few thousand dollars?"

He shut his mouth.

"If you truly thought the wedding was too much, we could have sat down and talked."

I took a step closer.

"Why did you sneak around and cancel it? Why didn't you consult me?"

"Aren't I consulting you right now?"

"This is consulting?"

I pointed at the papers on the coffee table.

"You already canceled it, and now you’re 'consulting' me? This isn't a conversation, Ethan. This is an announcement!"

He took a deep breath and looked away.

"I already told my mom."

"You should probably tell your parents, too. Let them know the wedding is off."

A loud buzzing sound filled my head.

"You told your mother?"

"Yeah."

"And what did she say?"

"She said..."

He hesitated.

"She said it’s our decision to make."

I stared at his profile.

"Ethan."

"Give me your phone."

"What?"

"Your phone. Let me see it."

His hand twitched backward—just a tiny, almost imperceptible flinch.

But I caught it.

"See what?" he said, his voice tightening. "There’s nothing to see on my phone."

"You used to let me use it whenever I wanted."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you get to audit it every single day."

I walked toward him and reached out. "Give it to me."

He took a step back.

"Maya, don't do this."

"Do what?"

"You're being..."

He dodged my hand.

"You're being paranoid. You don't trust me."

I let out a dry laugh.

"I don't trust you? Ethan, you went behind my back and canceled our entire wedding! You lied to me for three days! And now you're telling me *I* don't trust *you*?"

He didn't say a word. His hand was shoved deep inside his pocket, and I knew he was clutching his phone.

"Take it out," I demanded.

"No."

"Ethan."

"I said no!"

His voice hardened.

"My phone is my private property. I have a right to privacy."

"That’s not what you used to say."

"You used to say we didn't have secrets. You said I could look at it whenever I wanted."

"That was then."

"And what about now?"

Silence.

I looked at him—at the man I had loved for three years.

He stood on the other side of the coffee table, just a few feet away, but he felt like a stranger standing on a different continent.

"Are you hiding something from me?" I asked.