CHAPTER 1
DARCY
As I folded socks into my suitcase, I realized I was packing for a very different trip than the one I'd planned—less honeymoon, more “Oh God, what am I doing with my life?”
I never thought I'd be the girl sobbing on the floor of her own bedroom, staring at a half-packed suitcase meant for post-newlywed bliss that would never happen. Yet here I am, mascara streaking down my cheeks, surrounded by the remnants of a relationship that died long before I was willing to admit it.
Our room—my room now, I suppose—feels both achingly familiar and jarringly foreign. Milo's absence screams from every corner: the half-empty closet with hangers swaying gently, dust outlines where his superhero figurines once stood sentinel on the bookshelf, the fading scent of his cologne on his favorite blanket I can't bring myself to wash. It's the holes he's left behind that are suffocating—not just in the room, but in my life.
"Darcy?" Maya's voice filters through the door, accompanied by a soft knock. "Are you okay in there?"
I take a deep breath, willing my voice not to crack. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... finishing packing."
The lie tastes bitter on my tongue. I'm about as far from 'fine' as a person can get.
"Well, hurry up," Maya says. "Our flight's in three hours, and I refuse to miss our fabulous, man-free vacation because you're having a meltdown."
I snort despite myself. Trust Maya to be brutally honest even when she's trying to be supportive. It's one of the reasons she's been my best friend since we were kids, sharing juice boxes and secrets on the playground.
With a sigh, I push myself off the floor and stumble to the bathroom. The woman staring back at me in the mirror looks tired, hurt, and more than a little lost. But underneath all that, I catch a glimmer of something else. Determination, maybe. Or the beginnings of it, at least.
I splash some cold water on my face and attempt to salvage what's left of my makeup. As I reach for a towel, my gaze falls on the framed photo of Milo and me at his sister's wedding last year. We look so happy, so in love. Was it all a lie?
The sight of it sends a fresh wave of pain through me. I grab the frame and hurl it across the room, feeling a grim satisfaction as the glass shatters against the wall.
"Darcy?" Maya calls again, her voice closer this time. "I'm coming in, okay?"
Before I can protest, the door swings open, and Maya's standing there, her blue eyes widening as she takes in the scene.
"Oh, honey," she says, pulling me into a hug. "He's not worth all this, you know."
I nod against her shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of her perfume. "I know," I murmur.
I manage a wobbly smile. "I don’t know if I want to go."
"If you really don’t want to, we don’t have to," Maya says, glancing around the room. "But…I could really do with a vacation, and I think you could too. Now, let's finish packing andget out of here. I hear the mountains are gorgeous this time of year, and there's a hot tub with our names on it.” Maya winks. She’s kneeling on the floor, sorting socks that have been jumbled in a laundry basket in the corner of my room for two months. Her thick, waist-length blonde beach curls fall in a curtain as she leans down, blocking her face from my sight, but I don’t have to see her to know that she’s smiling like an idiot.
I’m glad she’s excited because I’m sure not.
“This is going to be a disaster,” I counter, pushing myself even further into the sweet comfort of my mattress. I wish it would swallow me. Maybe then I could escape this horrible day. I could live in the mattress and become a mattress woman. Nobody would be able to disturb me there.
“It’s a vacation, D.” Maya turns toward me and brushes her hair over her shoulder, raising a pale, arched eyebrow. “You’re acting like we’re being shipped off to war.”
“I might as well be!” I am well aware that I sound like a maladjusted toddler. “It doesn’t feel like a vacation. This was supposed to be my honeymoon. Right this very second, Milo and I would have been saying I do.”
“You know we don’t dare utter that name anymore,” Maya warns. I can’t quite tell how serious she’s being. Then her voice drops to an ominous whisper as she says, “You might summon him.” Her eyes dart around the room.
I can’t help but smile. Leave it to Maya to brighten even the darkest of times. She’s like a walking ray of sunshine, from her golden hair to her sparkling smile. I think I might just be completely lost without her. And really, I do want to go. I was the one who planned the whole thing anyway, and I could really do with getting out of this apartment.
“He’s not the devil, M. He’s just a man.”
“No, no. He is a boy. There’s a distinct difference. Exhibit A: men don’t cheat on their fiancée four months before thewedding. That’s ‘boy behavior,’ and who needs a stupid boy? Especially when you have me.” She flashes a winning smile. “I’ll give you a better honeymoon than that piece of shit ever could.” She climbs onto the bed and throws herself into my side, burying her face in my neck. I’m nearly suffocated by her coconut-scented shampoo, but I still find myself laughing.
“Seven whole days of nonstop spooning?” I ask.
Maya’s voice comes out garbled when she responds, and I don’t even bother guessing what she’s just said. A bunch of nonsense, no doubt.
I start to tease her, but I’m interrupted by my phone ringing before I can even get a word out.
