Chapter 88 The Quiet After Forever

• The last of the sparklers had fizzled out. The music faded. Guests had taken their final selfies beneath the golden floral arch that bore the words The Kareems x The Tundes. Laughter still lingered in the air, but it had now turned to tired goodbyes, the kind shared between distant relatives, old friends, and strangers who had just bonded over champagne and jollof rice.
• The wedding of Zara and Regan was trending. Every blog had picked it up. From the luxury designer dress to the glamorous guest list, people were already calling it the wedding of the year. But behind the glitz, behind the staged kisses and perfectly filtered reels, the newlyweds were quiet. Distant.
• Regan and Zara had waited until the last guest left the hall. They posed with parents, smiled through the photographers’ lenses, waved graciously at the aunties who refused to leave early — all of it choreographed like a final act in a Broadway play. And once the lights dimmed and the sound crew packed up, they both exhaled the kind of breath only two people carrying invisible weight could understand.