Chapter 4 Ten Minutes To Never

• CLAIRE
• I’ve never liked Andrew.
• He was sharp-dressed and sharp-tongued, always so certain the world owed him something. Entitled. Selfish. The kind of man who mistook charm for character.
• But Sofie loved him. And that was the only thing that ever mattered to me.
• So I smiled when she talked about him. I helped her plan this wedding. I told myself he’d grow into the love she gave him.
• Now I wasn’t so sure.
• The satin of my rose-colored dress whispered with every step as I rushed through the church corridor.
• Cool air swept through the hallway and slid along the back of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. I pulled my arms tighter around myself, but it didn’t help.
• The cold wasn’t what unsettled me.
• Please let him just be running late.
• Sofie’s nervous energy still clung to me like static. I tried to shake it, but it settled in deeper with every step.
• She’d kept smoothing the skirt of her dress, like it could hide how hard her hands were shaking. Still, her eyes sparkled. Hopeful. Certain. As if nothing could go wrong.
• The groom’s suite was empty.
• My breath caught.
• Once.
• Then again, harder.
• No. No. No. Where is he?
• Outside the stained-glass windows, dark clouds pressed low against the city. Rain tapped steadily against the glass, soft but relentless.
• Ten minutes left.
• Then I saw Mark.
• He stood near the church entrance, phone pressed tight to his ear. His knuckles had gone white. His shoulders were hunched like he was absorbing a blow that hadn’t fully landed.
• I moved toward him.
• Two steps.
• That was all it took before I heard Andrew’s voice.
• "I told you—I can’t do it!"
• His voice burst through the speaker, too loud, too raw. The hallway spun. I stopped mid-step.
• Mark was angled away, the phone still pressed to his ear, like he could somehow block the words from reaching me.
• But they already had.
• "You should’ve told her," he snapped. "You should’ve said you don’t love her. That there’s someone else."
• Everything narrowed. The corridor. The church. My breath.
• I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. My legs felt numb. Cold bloomed in my chest.
• "You can’t do this now," Mark said. His voice broke, louder this time. "She’s waiting for you."
• "I’m not going out there, Mark! I can’t face her!" Andrew’s voice cracked. "You tell her."
• Then the call ended.
• Silence closed in around us, thick and final.
• Mark didn’t move. He stared at the phone like it still had something left to say.
• Then slowly, he lowered it to his side. When he turned to me, I saw the truth written across every part of his face.
• And I knew.
• I knew before he said a word. I knew by the way his expression unraveled, by the way his mouth opened, but no sound came.
• A sob ripped from my throat. My hand shot up to cover it, but it was no use. The sound broke free anyway, sharp and uncontrollable.
• "No. Please no." I stumbled toward him. "Tell me that’s not what I think it is. Tell me this isn’t happening. How am I supposed to tell Sofie?"
• He caught me as I collapsed into him.
• My body folded against his, trembling. I clung to his jacket, my fists gripping the fabric like it might hold me up. My sobs came hard and fast. I couldn’t stop them. Couldn’t breathe around them.
• "I’m so sorry," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "This is... it’s cruel. She’s going to need you, especially now. I’ll handle the guests. You go to her."
• I nodded through the tears.
• "You’re too good a friend for someone like him."
• He didn’t respond. Just held me closer.
• His arms around me were the only thing keeping the ground beneath me.
• Mark pulled back slightly, his eyes searching mine.
• "Claire, are you sure you can do this?"
• I nodded, but my throat felt tight.
• "I have to."
• There was a pause, thick and breathless.
• "She loves you, you know," he said quietly. "She’ll listen to you, even when it hurts."
• That only made it worse.
• The idea that Sofie trusted me enough to be the one who brought her heartache, that she’d hear the truth first in my voice, cracked something deeper.
• "I don’t want to be the person who rips her world apart."
• Mark’s brow furrowed. He reached out, brushing a strand of hair off my cheek in a gesture so gentle it nearly undid me all over again.
• "You’re not. Andrew did that. You’re just the one brave enough to stand in the wreckage with her."
• A fresh wave of tears threatened, but I forced myself to hold the line.
• "I keep thinking of her as a little girl," I whispered. "With those big eyes and all that hope. She’s always believed in forever. In love that lasts."
• Mark nodded, his expression tight.
• "She deserves forever."
• I pulled in a shaky breath.
• "She built a future with him, every detail and every dream carefully imagined. And now I have to tell her none of it is real."
• "You’re not taking away her future," he said. "You’re saving her from a man who never planned to be in it."
• I pressed my forehead briefly against his chest, drawing strength from his calm.
• Then I stepped back.
• The weight of the moment settled over me again.
• I squared my shoulders.
• "She’s waiting."
• Mark gave a tight nod and squeezed my shoulder.
• He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to.
• The silence between us said it all.
• Each step back down the outdoor corridor dragged like cement.
• My legs felt heavy. My lungs, hollow.
• The sky had turned the color of bruised lavender. Thunder rolled in the distance, low and threatening, as if the storm itself grieved with us.
• Be strong for Sofie.
• I passed the floral arrangements. The polished pews.
• The cello’s sorrowful hum curled with the rain’s quiet drumming. A duet of grief.
• And I walked straight into it, toward the girl who still believed today was the start of forever.
• All of it still pretending a wedding was about to happen.
• But the truth was already unraveling.
• The groom hadn’t just gotten cold feet.
• He hadn’t even shown up.
• He didn’t leave a note. He didn’t ask for time. He didn’t even have the decency to end things himself.
• He handed his silence over like a knife and left me to do the cutting.
• And the bride, the woman who would’ve walked through fire for him, had no idea the love she believed in had already betrayed her.
• How do you tell someone their future just vanished?
• I wanted to lie. I wanted to say everything was fine, that Andrew was waiting, that this was just one last bridal delay.
• But the words would never come, because they held no truth.
• Her entire life was about to fall apart.
• I paused outside the bridal suite.
• My fingers hovered over the doorknob.
• I took a breath. Then another.
• You can’t fall apart. Not now.
• I wiped away my tears.
• And I opened the door.