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."

didn't give me a chance to speak. "It's late. We can deal with the dress swap

to me," I replied, eager to be

"How about we

way

stand right

about to click, she gave me

a blurry figure, too hazy to even

it off with a laugh, "Let's do it some other time. It's late, and

group photo was the last thing

her eyes welling

I'll run all over town tonight, trying to find you the perfect dress," she said and

me a look and went

11

I just left with

everything would be settled by

place, I started packing

and I stumbled

diary laid out the tale of

Stella crossed

darkest days,

for travelers.

mattered most were torn right

just a note. "This was the best

filled with his yearning for

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

Please

God."

myself in the mirror. With my white dress and

up together with Antonio, we'd have

connection.