How to Say Our Final Goodbye novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: The Photo

I was on my feet before I knew it, the dress gathered up against my chest.

The window was empty.

The linen room light went off.

"She's had that camera on me since she was nine," I said.

Wyeth was still sitting on the bench, breathing hard, his shirt pulled half out of his trousers.

"What will she do with it?"

"Whatever hurts most."

He stood up and tucked his shirt in with steady hands.

"Then let her," he said. "I'm done pretending I'm marrying her."

"Wyeth. Not yet."

"Clem."

"Not yet," I said. "Please."

It went up at 7:14 the next morning.

Dolly sent me the link with eleven skull emojis.

It was on the biggest society site in Chicago, the one every hostess on the North Shore read with her coffee.

FAIRBAIRN HEIRESS CAUGHT WITH SISTER'S GROOM.

The photo was grainy and shot through glass, but it was us.

My hair was down. His hand was in it. I was in his lap.

My mother's wedding dress was a white puddle on the stones.

Under it was a statement from Kirsten, posted on her own account at 6:58.

I'm not angry. I'm just sad. My sister has always wanted whatever I have.

I forgive Wyeth. We're stronger than ever. Please be kind to her, she's not well.

Eighty thousand people were being kind to me in the comments.

Homewrecker. Psycho. Imagine doing this to your baby sister.

By nine my phone had forty missed calls.

At 9:30 a black car pulled up outside my building, and the driver said Wyeth's grandmother would like a word.

Wyeth was already in the green dining room in Kenilworth.

He was standing by the window with his hands in his pockets.

He looked like he hadn't slept.

His grandmother was at the head of the table with a tablet propped against the sugar bowl, the photo enlarged on its screen.

"Sit down, both of you," she said.

We sat.

She turned the tablet around so the photo faced us.

"I married into this family in 1964," she said. "In the Lantern Room. Do you know how many times a Wainscott has been on the front page for kissing the wrong woman in a courtyard?"

"No, ma'am," I said.

"Twice. His grandfather was the other one." She took off her glasses. "I want to know why. And I'd like the truth, because I'm eighty-one and I don't have time for anything else."

← Chapter 9 · All chapters · Chapter 11 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend