Half of My Heart ✔️

37 | do us part

The drive to the wedding venue takes a little over three hours, so I've calmed down from the little incident with Levi by the time I turn down the dirt road. The grandeur and beauty of the forest helps me get in the spirit for a wedding.

After driving deeper and deeper into the woods, I park in the designated area. Jack told me that we would get settled into the cabin after the wedding, so I leave my things in the car, only taking my clutch. On foot, I follow the cute wooden signs down a pathway.

The path leads to a sunlight-filled clearing with vintage-looking couches facing a beautiful altar. Some of Jack's family members are already sitting down, talking, and waiting for the ceremony to begin. There are fairy lights strung up between the trees and intricate floral arrangements everywhere, giving a soft, whimsical look to the area.

It's beautiful.

I look around for Jack and spot his mom first. She smiles at me and breaks away from the group of relatives she was talking to, rushing over to me excitedly. I prepare myself for a potentially awkward conversation with the mom of my ex-boyfriend. But judging from the ecstatic look on her face, I'm relieved that she doesn't hold any malice toward me for breaking up her with her son.

"Scarlett, you look gorgeous," she exclaims, taking my hands in hers and looking at my outfit. "I'm amazed. Every time I see you, you look more and more like your mother."

"Thank you so much, Ms. Griffin," I say with a wide smile. I blush at her compliment, thinking about how beautiful my mom is. I used to watch her get ready in the morning, wishing to look as pretty as her one day.

Ms. Griffin sees how much her words mean and squeezes my hand. "If you didn't have your dad's eyes, you'd look exactly like her," she adds. Then she pulls me into a warm hug. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"I'm happy to be here," I say. "It's been such a long time since I last saw you."

She waves her hand dismissively at my comment. "Who cares. All that matters is that you're here now. And that you and Jack finally cut the bullshit and realized that you belong together."

My hands go stiff in hers. I look into her eyes and notice the warm, motherly look in her eyes. So full of hope.

Does she think Jack and I are still . . . ?

At that exact moment, a certain man in a grey suit comes up beside her. Jack wraps his arm around his mom's shoulders and smiles at both of us. Even the surprise I'm feeling isn't enough to keep me from noticing how nice he looks in a suit, all cleaned up like this.

I catch myself staring and turn back to Ms. Griffin. "Of course. Jack and I are going to have a great time this weekend," I say vaguely, taking a split second to shoot Jack a subtle death glare. But even though I'm pissed at him for lying about us to his mom, I'm not going to be the one to break the bad news to her on such an important day.

She turns to Jack and nudges him. "Well? Aren't you going to compliment your girlfriend?" She says to him. Hearing that last word, Jack must realize exactly what I'm irritated about. He looks torn. He looks at me apologetically.

Then his eyes soften, and for a single second, I'm transported back to when we were still dating. "You look . . . breathtaking," he says, holding eye contact. I turn away from him, feeling my willpower being slowly leeched from me.