I forced a smile.
“Perfect.”
It was probably the hardest smile I had ever managed.
Then the doors near the groom’s room opened.
A man stepped into the hallway.
It was Julian.
Adrian’s older brother.
The moment he saw me, his expression changed.
He stopped completely.
“Meredith…”
I didn’t answer.
His eyes moved toward the hallway behind him.
Then he looked back at me.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
I gave a quiet laugh.
“I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
“Please listen to me.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“Three months ago, I stood beside your family at a funeral. I watched them bury the man I loved.”
Julian looked down.
“And now your brother is upstairs.”
“He isn’t supposed to be here,” Julian said.
That sentence stopped me.
“What does that mean?”
Before he could explain, someone called his name from across the room.
He looked toward the voice.
Then back at me.
“I have to go.”
I caught his arm.
“You knew.”
He didn’t deny it.
That hurt more than anything.
“You knew Adrian was alive?”
Julian’s eyes filled with shame.
“Not at first.”
“Then when did you find out?”
“About two weeks after the accident.”
I felt dizzy.
“Two weeks?”
He nodded.
I could barely speak.
“Why did everyone let me believe he was dead?”
Julian hesitated.
Then he looked toward the groom’s room.
“The man who died in that accident wasn’t Adrian.”
My entire body went cold.
“What?”
Julian explained that the identification had been based on Adrian’s wallet, watch, and vehicle registration. The crash had left the body difficult to identify, and everyone assumed the victim was Adrian.
But there was more.
Julian believed his mother had eventually discovered the truth.
And she had chosen to keep it from me.
“Why?” I asked.
Julian looked at me.
