Chapter 3: What He Said Next
Ethan looked at his sister for a long moment before he spoke.
"I told you that I felt lucky," he said.
"Not sorry.
Lucky.
And I told you that in confidence, Lauren.
The fact that you just twisted it into a weapon and threw it at my wife tells me everything I need to know about who you've become."
Lauren's chin lifted.
"I'm just being honest."
"You're being cruel.
There's a difference."
One of the bridesmaids — the one who had said "that's awful" in the apartment — took a small step away from Lauren.
Not dramatic.
Just a step.
But Lauren noticed.
"Don't," Lauren said to her.
"Don't do that."
"I'm just standing here," the girl said quietly.
Lauren turned back to Ethan.
Her voice shifted, softer now, the tone she used when she wanted something.
"Ethan, come on.
You're ruining my bachelorette over nothing.
Can we just reset?
Tell her you're sorry for overreacting and let's all have a good day."
The words hit me somewhere low in my chest.
Tell her you're sorry for overreacting.
As if I were the problem.
As if I had done something wrong by showing up.
Ethan didn't even blink.
"I'm not apologizing for anything."
"Then what do you want from me?"
"Right now?
I want you to look at my wife and say something true."
Lauren looked at me.
The expression on her face was not guilt.
It was calculation — the look of someone deciding how much it would cost them to give a little ground.
"Fine," she said.
"I'm sorry you got your feelings hurt."
Ethan laughed.
It was a short, quiet sound.
Not amused.
"That's not an apology.
That's a diagnosis."
He put his phone back in his pocket.
"The card is frozen.
Not canceled — frozen.
You want it released, you call me tonight with an actual conversation.
Not a text.
A call."
Lauren's eyes went wide.
"You can't freeze it in the middle of the day.
The food is already ordered.
The daybeds are paid through tomorrow."
"The daybeds are paid through my account.
The food came from my account.
The matching swimsuits — which I'm guessing were not cheap — also came from my account." He paused.
"I'm not asking you to send everyone home.
I'm asking you to think about what you did."
Lauren looked around at her bridesmaids.
Some of them were staring at the water.
One was on her phone.
Nobody was rushing to her defense.
"I can't believe you're doing this to me," she said.
"I can't believe you did it to her," Ethan said.
"But here we are."
He turned to me then, and his voice changed completely.
Quiet.
Just for me.
"You okay?"
I wasn't sure.
My legs felt steady but my hands didn't.
I nodded anyway.
He kissed the side of my head.
"I'll be in the parking lot.
Take as long as you want.
Or ten minutes.
Either one."
He walked away without looking back at Lauren.
She watched him go.
Then she turned to me, and for the first time all morning, it was just the two of us — no Ethan between us, no bridesmaids close enough to matter.
"You did this," she said, her voice low and flat.
"You turned him against me."
"I didn't say a word to him, Lauren.
He heard you himself."
"He never would have frozen that card before you."
I looked at her.
Really looked at her — at the set of her jaw, the tightness around her eyes.
She wasn't embarrassed.
She wasn't sorry.
She was angry that it hadn't worked.
"I think," I said carefully, "that you've been counting on him not noticing for a very long time."
Her expression didn't change.
But something behind it did.
I picked up the cover-up from my bag, shook it out, and walked toward an empty lounger at the far end of the pool.
I didn't look back either.
Behind me, I heard Lauren tell the bridesmaids to get drinks.
Her voice was bright again, performative, the hostess voice snapped back into place like nothing had happened.
May you like
But I had seen her face in that one unguarded second.
She wasn't done.
