"Finally!" She looked up with relief. "I desperately need your opinion on napkin colors."
"They're all white," Kim said flatly, settling beside her.
"They're eggshell, ivory, and cream. Completely different."
I took the samples Aria handed me. "The ivory. It'll photograph better in natural light."
"Thank you." She shot Kim a look. "See? Not all white."
We settled into the familiar rhythm of wedding planning. Colors, flowers, seating arrangements. At some point, Aria's expression shifted into something carefully casual.
"So… Tell us about Femi."
I'd expected this. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Kim's been curious."
"I'm mildly interested," Kim corrected. "Aria's the one who stalked his Instagram."
"Research."
I gave them the short version. Boarding school in Switzerland. Three years together. Young love, the kind that feels like it will last forever until it doesn't.
"Why did you break up?" Kim asked gently.
The memory came before I could stop it.
That garden. Early spring, roses beginning to bloom. Femi on one knee, velvet box in his hand.
"Marry me, Issy. Be my wife."
I'd frozen. Couldn't speak. I was eighteen, with dreams so big they kept me awake at night, and he was asking me to become someone's wife before I'd even become myself.
"I can't."
The hope drained from his face, replaced by something raw and wounded. He'd stood slowly, the box still open in his palm.
"Why not?"
"I'm not ready. I have things I need to do first. A career. A life. I can't just?—"
"Can't just what? Love me? Build something together?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" His voice had cracked. "I love you, Isabelle. I want to spend my life with you. Why isn't that enough?"
I didn't have an answer. Not one that wouldn't hurt him more.
I walked away while he called my name. Never looked back.
"We wanted different things," I said, pulling myself back to the present. "He was ready to settle down. I had a career to build."
Aria was watching me carefully. "And now? Have you talked about whether you want the same things this time?"
I shook my head.
Kim touched my hand. "You need to have that conversation, Isa. Before anyone gets hurt again."