Heather examined the opening paragraph, frowning.
“You’re being promoted?”
“Yes.”
Seth leaned forward.
“You didn’t tell me you were accepting it.”
“I haven’t accepted it yet.”
“Exactly. So I thought—”
“You thought what?”
He sighed.
“I thought maybe this was a good time for us to rethink things.”
I stared.
“Us?”
“Your schedule. Heather’s situation. Everything.”
“Then why wasn’t I part of the conversation?”
Heather lowered my phone.
“Seth, you told me Natalie wanted this.”
“She does love the kids.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
He turned on his sister.
“Don’t start acting like I forced you into anything. You were thrilled when I came up with the idea.”
Heather went pale.
“I was thrilled because you said she’d agreed.”
I’d never seen her so alarmed.
Heather and her husband Colin had separated roughly a year earlier. They shared parenting duties, but his rotating warehouse shifts made childcare difficult.
She worked full-time handling insurance claims and couldn’t take three small children to her office.
“What about their daycare?” I asked.
Heather pressed her lips together.
“I gave two weeks’ notice. They require it.”
“Can you call and get their places back?”
“I tried asking about Maddie’s spot yesterday because her teacher said she’d miss her. The director told me all three places had already been offered to families on the waiting list.”
Seth waved dismissively.
“We’ll figure something out.”
Heather faced him.
“You told me it was figured out.”
His jaw tightened before he looked at me.
“Can we please stop making this into a crisis? It’s our wedding day.”
I nearly laughed.
“Our wedding day?”
“Yes.”
“The day you planned to marry me before telling me I was giving up my career?”
“That’s not fair.”
“What part isn’t fair?”
He lowered his voice.
“People are going to hear you.”
There it was.
He wasn’t concerned about betraying me or putting Heather’s employment at risk.
He was worried someone might overhear.
I stepped closer.
“Did you honestly expect me to wake up Monday morning, find out I was supposed to babysit three children, and just not go to work?”
He looked at Heather, then me.
“I thought we’d have a little time to talk about it after the wedding.”
“You told her I’d already agreed.”
“Because I knew we’d work it out.”
I turned toward Heather.
“Did you ever try asking me directly?”
She hesitated.
“I wanted to.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Seth said you were uncomfortable talking about leaving your job. That you didn’t want everyone making a big deal about it.”
I faced him again.
He remained silent.
A chapel bell sounded in the distance.
It was five minutes before two.
Seth checked his watch.
“Okay. We need to get ready.”
He reached for me, but I pulled back.
“No. You and I need to talk.”
Heather started speaking, and I interrupted.
“Please. Give us a minute.”
She agreed and left, clutching her phone.
Seth closed the door, then faced me with the weary expression of someone dealing with a problem he hadn’t caused.
“Look,” he said. “I know you’re upset.”
“You don’t know half of how upset I am.”
He adjusted his jacket.
“Then tell me what you want me to say.”
I studied him.
He wore the tie I’d selected and was supposed to become my husband in five minutes.
Suddenly, I couldn’t imagine anything he might say that would make this right.
Seth and I hadn’t moved in together. We’d planned to end my lease after the wedding and transfer my belongings to his townhouse at the month’s end.
For once, postponing that move had benefited me.
Mom offered to take me home, but I needed the familiarity of my own space.
Paige carried my bag toward the exit.
Before we reached the door, Heather appeared down the hallway.
Her eyes were red.
“Natalie. Can I talk to you?”
Paige moved protectively closer.
Heather noticed.
“I’m not here to argue.”
I stopped.
Behind her, several guests were clearing decorations from the reception tables. Children were playing outside, probably including Maddie.
Despite everything, I worried about Heather’s Monday arrangements.
“What is it?” I asked.
Heather glanced behind her.
“Seth told me you were going to help because you wanted to. I swear that’s what he said.”
“I believe that’s what he told you.”
She briefly appeared relieved.
Then I added, “But you should have asked me.”
“I know.”
She rubbed her face.
“There’s something else.”
I waited.
“About a year ago, Seth had some trouble with his truck.”
I frowned.
“I know. The engine had to be replaced.”
“Did he tell you how he paid for it?”
“He said he’d been saving.”
Heather closed her eyes.
“Oh, God.”
“What?”
Her expression unsettled me.
“Did Seth ever tell you he borrowed money from me?”
“No.”
“Six thousand four hundred dollars.”
I stared.
“He owes you sixty-four hundred dollars?”
She nodded.
“And three weeks ago, he told me he’d found a way to pay it back.”
An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach.
“What way?”
Heather glanced at my wedding gown.
Then she spoke quietly.
“Natalie, I think you need to sit down.”
# PART 2 — THE REAL AGREEMENT## Chapter 5 — The Price He Put on My Time
We moved into a small room adjoining the fellowship hall.
Stacked plastic chairs lined one wall, and a children’s coloring table occupied a corner.
Paige remained with me.
Heather unlocked her phone.
“I lent Seth the money last spring,” she said. “His truck needed a replacement engine, and he couldn’t afford the repairs.”
I remembered the incident.
Seth had been furious about the repair costs and borrowed my car twice while his truck was in the shop.
He’d claimed most of his savings had gone toward the engine.
“I gave him sixty-four hundred dollars,” Heather continued. “He promised to start paying me back once he caught up on his other bills.”
“Did he?”
“He paid me two hundred dollars once. Then he stopped.”
Heather glanced down.
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