PART 1: The Words He Had Been Waiting Five Years to Say
Five years after our marriage came to an end, my former husband finally got the moment he seemed to have been waiting for.
He spotted me standing by myself at my younger cousin’s wedding.
And from the satisfied smile spreading across his face, I could tell he believed the evening was about to become one of his favorite memories.
The reception was taking place at an elegant waterfront hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Beyond the ballroom’s enormous windows, the harbor stretched toward the horizon beneath the evening sky.
Tall glass arrangements filled with white flowers stood on every table.
Soft music played underneath the constant murmur of conversation.
Waiters quietly moved through the crowd with trays of champagne.
It was beautiful.
More importantly, it was meant to be a joyful family celebration.
I hadn’t gone there thinking about my old marriage.
I wasn’t even certain Trent would show up.
There were relatives in that ballroom I hadn’t seen in years, and I had spent most of the evening catching up with cousins, longtime family friends, and people who still remembered me as the quiet teenager who used to escape into the kitchen whenever our family gatherings became too crowded.
For once, I felt completely at ease.
Then I stepped outside onto the terrace for a few minutes to get some fresh air.
When I walked back inside, I heard a voice I hadn’t heard in years.
“Well… look who it is.”
I stopped.
Some voices stay recognizable no matter how much time passes.
Trent Albright was one of those voices.
I slowly turned around.
My former husband was standing a few feet away.
Five years had changed him, though perhaps not in the ways he believed.
His charcoal tuxedo fit him perfectly.
His dark hair had been styled with obvious care.
One hand was tucked casually into his pocket, and his face carried the confident expression of a man who had already decided exactly how the conversation would end.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
Then I noticed the woman standing beside him.
Corinne Finch.
Of course.
She wore an elegant burgundy dress, with her hair arranged neatly over one shoulder.
Five years earlier, I had unexpectedly found Corinne sitting at the kitchen island in the house Trent and I had once shared.
That afternoon, she had struggled to meet my eyes.
She had looked uncomfortable.
Almost ashamed.
Tonight, there was nothing left of that woman.
Corinne stood next to my former husband as though she had always belonged beside him.
She gave me a slow smile.
“Sienna. Wow. It’s been forever.”
I held her gaze.
“Five years.”
Her smile tightened just slightly.
Trent let out a quiet laugh.
“You always were good at remembering dates.”
I already understood what was happening.
This wasn’t going to be some polite reunion between two people whose lives had simply gone in separate directions.
Trent had something he wanted to tell me.
And apparently, five years hadn’t been enough for him to stop needing me to hear it.
I looked at him carefully.
There had been a time when seeing Trent standing beside Corinne would have destroyed my entire evening.
Maybe even my entire week.
Five years ago, I had spent countless nights wondering what Corinne had that I didn’t.
Was she prettier?
More interesting?
More successful?
Was I too quiet?
Too predictable?
