That's How it Happens

40. Exactly

April leaned in, her deep‑rose dress catching the light as she adjusted her strap. "Do you want me to stay back and walk you down instead of Peter?" she asked quietly. "I'll tell him to bugger off. Liv too."

Ainsley shook her head with a faint smile, though her knees trembled. "No. I'll be fine."

Fine. The word was a lie. Her stomach was in knots — half from the attention she was about to receive, half from the thought of facing Peter. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

The thought of walking out there made her skin prickle – she was just as nervous as Liv, if not more. All those eyes. All those whispers. They'd judge her for not being the first one down the aisle, for leaving Peter in the first place. It didn't matter if they knew what he'd done — people always found a way to make the woman the villain.

And worse? They'd be walking it together – not as a married couple, but as a bridesmaid and a groomsman.

Liv suddenly gasped, startling Ainsley. "I forgot my something blue!" She spun toward the dressing room.

"Liv!" Ainsley hissed.

"Stall if you need to!" she whisper‑shouted, disappearing through the door, her heels echoing in the foyer.

Ainsley exhaled through her mouth, shaking out her hands. What the hell was Liv doing now? If she ran, so help her... Her pulse was a drumbeat in her ears. What was she going to tell these people?

"I'm ready! On my way!" Liv's voice floated back, muffled.

Ainsley sighed with relief — what little relief she could muster — and stepped up to the threshold, bracing herself. She waited with bated breath for Peter, but seconds ticked by and he hadn't come. Her heart picked up its beat. Please tell me he didn't bail.

She peeked through the door, scanning the crowd — the very large crowd — and spotted him. Peter. Standing stiffly at the altar next to a very nervous Ethan.

Her brows furrowed. What was he doing? Was this payback? Leaving her to walk this alone, to be humiliated in front of everyone?

Her chest tightened. For one wild, desperate second, she wished Leo were here. Wished he could steady her, even if it was only for a moment.

And then she felt it — the presence at her side.

"Were you looking for me?"

She turned.

Leo.

Smirking, devastating in a dark suit, a white rose pinned to his lapel.

Her mouth opened to ask what he was doing here, but before she could, he spoke.

"Ethan had a change of heart after our conversation – asked me to be his best man," he murmured. His eyes glinted. "And I might've told him I'd kick that schmuck's ass if he touched you again."

Her eyes filled, her throat tightening.

Liv let out a soft gasp from somewhere behind them.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering his arm.

Her hands trembled as she slid hers into the crook of his elbow. The contact was unbearable, electric.

They walked. Quiet. Simmering. Every step was a storm she couldn't name. She didn't know what it meant that he was here, only that it meant everything... to her at least.

They reached the altar, but rather than going to their respective places, they stood facing one another as if they had forgotten where they were and what was happening.