The Lies He Told Me (Grace and Antonio)

I kept quiet about what Antonio was saying.

"I'm not here to hassle you," he said. "It's my folks who want to meet you."

To Antonio, the wedding was my personal show.

He only reached out when he wanted something from me.

I was too tired to argue, ready to crash.

At home, the table was a mess of leftover chicken and ham.

My dad was chatting with Antonio's dad.

Antonio's mom grabbed my hand, all warm and fuzzy. "So glad to see you. I miss you so much."

I managed a weak grin. She took a look at Stella and then leaned in. "What's the deal with Stella and Antonio? She's not exactly the best company. You should talk to Antonio about it."

I just grunted, not really saying much.

When I raised my head, Antonio was already next to Stella.

He'd brought some wedding and bridesmaid dresses for us to try.

"I know you've got enough on your plate, so I got Stella to pick out your wedding dress. She's

got a better sense of style than you," he said, handing me the dress.

I slipped the simple wedding dress on, only to find a big rip right down

the middle.

Stella, on the other hand, was in a white dress that trailed behind her. She looked more like the bride than I did.

Antonio jumped in. "It's probably a mix-up from the bridal shop. It's not on Stella."

to speak. "It's late. We can deal with the

good to me," I replied, eager to be

"How about we

elbowed her way in, pushing me

sure to stand right by

about to

a blurry figure, too hazy to even

do it some other time. It's late, and

the

was all apologies, her

over town tonight, trying to find you the perfect dress," she said and

me a look and

11

left with the dress that was

everything would be

at my place, I started packing

was up late, and I stumbled upon Antonio's diary, completely

diary laid out the

and Stella crossed

darkest days,

for travelers.

pages that mattered most

a note. "This was the best time

was filled with

me to marry him, his diary had a confession. "I

love. Please

God."

myself in the mirror. With my white dress and long, straight

together with Antonio,

connection.