The Gardenias Vow

My girlfriend, Sophie Selby, and my best friend, Darren Norton, have been at each other's throats for the past month. They're both determined to make the wedding perfect for me. Sophie wants something classic and grand. Darren insists romantic and picture-perfect is the way to go. They go through dozens of plans, arguing over everything from the guest count and Sophie's dress to the reception menu. And every time, I end up playing referee. Sophie rarely wins an argument with Darren, though somehow, we still end up going with whatever works best for her. They both joke that I'm the lucky one because I get to sit back and let them handle everything. The funny part is, whenever I actually try to give an opinion, neither of them wants to hear it. Darren just grins. "Relax. I've got this. You're getting the perfect wedding." Sophie sighs helplessly. "It's fine. Just a few more days. I can survive him that long." The night before the wedding, they're at it again. This time, it's the flowers. "I'm just saying, gardenias are prettier. Lilies are tacky." Sophie scoffs. "So you say you want gardenias, and suddenly everyone has to change the flowers for you? Can you stop making such a fuss?" Darren comes to find me afterward, looking completely crushed. "Zack, what do you think?" Honestly, I agree with Sophie. Changing all the flowers this late sounds like a nightmare. But then I see the hurt look on Darren's face. I sigh, ready to take his side. Before I can say a word, Sophie's thoughts suddenly sound in my head. [Fine. I owe Darren. I'll pay extra and have them switch the flowers to gardenias.] A second later, Darren's thoughts come through just as clearly. [Gardenias mean secret love. I may never get to be with you, but as long as you're happy, that's enough for me.] Chapter 1 Zack's POV Darren Norton and Sophie Selby stood there glaring at each other, both of them obviously putting on an act. My throat tightened, and I clenched my fists until my fingers went numb. Just last night, Sophie had been ranting to me about Darren. "Zack, your idiot best friend wants to change the wedding setup again. How can one guy be this much of a pain?" Darren happened to be on a video call with me at the time and heard every word. He got so angry that he drove straight over that night to confront her. "Zack, Sophie doesn't have an ounce of patience. She doesn't deserve you. Dump her!" I'd been afraid they might actually start fighting, so I stepped between them to break it up. Instead, I got shoved to the floor, and my lower back slammed into the sharp corner of a table. They'd both panicked, and there was no faking the worry on their faces. But so was the love I could hear in their thoughts now. My best friend and my girlfriend had really betrayed me. When I stayed silent, Sophie and Darren turned to me, suspicion creeping into their expressions. "Zack, what's wrong?" Normally, I would've stepped in to calm them down by now. But this time, I could hear what they were thinking. [Why isn't he stepping in? Is he mad?] I smiled, even as my eyes burned. Mad? My gaze moved between their guilty faces. Then I kept my face blank as I deliberately knocked over the kettle. Scalding water poured over my left hand. "Zack!" Sophie went white. I stared at the raw, reddened flesh of my left hand, but somehow, I didn't feel a thing. "I'm taking you to the hospital!" Darren looked physically ill with panic. He apologized the entire way there. "Zack, I'm sorry. If Sophie and I hadn't been fighting, your hand never would've gotten burned. You're getting married tomorrow. What are you going to do now?" I opened my mouth, struggling to demand an explanation from both of them. Before I could say anything, Sophie's thoughts came through. [Looks like we'll have to postpone the wedding. At least I'll have more time with Darren.] I froze as a chill crept through my chest. I'd burned myself on purpose, never imagining I was giving her exactly what she wanted. They really knew how to put on a show. All this time, I hadn't suspected a thing. I forced down the anger boiling inside me and said, "Let's postpone the wedding." Sophie stiffened, but I still caught the excitement she was trying hard to hide. "Okay, Zack. Just focus on getting better. Don't worry about work either." Then I heard what she was really thinking. [Perfect. Now I can finally plan that trip I promised Darren to make it up to him.] Darren still looked guilty and worried. "Zack, why don't I come take care of you? You can barely use that hand right now." Then I heard what he was really thinking. [If only we had a little more time.] I looked at the two of them, a chill settling deep in my chest until my stomach turned. Three months ago, I'd found a pair of men's underwear in Sophie's car. They weren't mine. I was sure of that. Desperate to find out who she was cheating on me with, I went through almost her entire camera roll. But she'd covered her tracks well. I found just one photo of him. After that, I completely lost it and demanded we break up. Darren was the one who pulled every string he could and nearly drove Sophie's company into bankruptcy. The very next day, he brought her to me. With red-rimmed eyes, Sophie begged, "Zack, it was just a mistake. Please believe me." Then she proposed to me on the spot. I chose to believe her. I thought she loved me more than anything. But hearing what they were really thinking now jolted me back to reality. Chapter 2 Zack's POV When Sophie got out of the car, her knees nearly buckled. Then I heard what she was thinking. [This is all Darren's fault. That bastard just had to try a new position last night.] I stiffened when Darren leaned in. My hand shook as I shoved him away. He cried out as he lost his balance and went down hard on the gravel. "Darren!" Sophie reached for him on instinct, then caught herself and stopped. Darren gritted his teeth against the pain. Without warning, he raised a hand and slapped Sophie across the face. The slap landed with a sharp crack, leaving a red handprint on her cheek. "Sophie! If you hadn't kept pushing me, Zack never would've gotten hurt!" Sophie helped him back to his feet, her voice turning cold. "Don't act innocent. You started it." I wanted to cover my ears, but Sophie's thoughts came through again. [I want to kiss his tears away. Doesn't he know how much it hurts me to see him in pain and still trying to tough it out?] She could barely stand seeing Darren take one fall. Meanwhile, my left hand was badly burned, and somehow, I was still the one she thought was causing trouble. That told me everything I needed to know about who she loved. The whole thing was almost laughable. Once the doctor finished bandaging my hand, I pushed myself off the exam bed. Sophie and Darren immediately reached for me. I kept my voice flat. "I just want to go home. I need some time alone." I took a cab to the house Sophie and I were supposed to move into after the wedding. Whenever we fought badly enough to talk about breaking up, I would come here alone and plan out the renovations. Six months ago, Sophie told me the place still needed time to air out after all the work, so I stopped coming by. The moment I opened the door, I stopped dead. The sight hit me hard. Punk-inspired wallpaper covered the walls, gaming consoles were everywhere, and a gray cat wandered through the room. Then it hit me. Darren had moved six months ago, but when I offered to come over and celebrate his new place, he'd gotten strangely evasive and wouldn't let me. I'd even joked about it with Sophie once. "He's being so secretive, you'd think the two of you were living together." Sophie immediately got angry. "Zack, are you seriously suggesting there's something going on between Darren and me?" She stayed angry with me for days. I thought I'd crossed a line, so I spent forever trying to make it up to her. It turned out Darren really had been living in my house. My hands and feet went cold. I looked around slowly. The slippers, toothbrushes, and cups all came in matching pairs. No wonder I'd noticed that several of Sophie's clothes looked almost identical to Darren's. Back then, I'd assumed they were just trying to get on each other's nerves again. I let out a bitter laugh as an ache spread through my chest. Then my gaze landed on several framed photos and trophies sitting on a wooden cabinet. I couldn't look away. In one photo, Sophie and Darren were laughing as they held up a trophy they'd won together. In another, from back when they supposedly hated each other, they were making mocking faces at each other. Sophie and I had been together for five years, but we had never taken a single photo together. She could never remember that I was allergic to blueberries or that I didn't like shrimp. But she remembered everything Darren liked and disliked. Whenever I mentioned it, she always brushed it off. "Darren's my biggest rival. If I don't know him inside and out, how am I supposed to beat him?" I could have let all of that go, but there was one thing I couldn't forget. Once, in the middle of an important case, I realized I'd left a crucial file on my computer. I called Sophie and asked her to send it over. She got on my computer and asked, "What's the password?" "My birthday." Ten minutes later, the file still hadn't come through. Then, in a strangely hesitant voice, she asked, "When's your birthday?" By then, I was out of time. I lost the case. My firm disciplined me afterward. The client's family went to the media in tears, calling me an unethical lawyer. Even then, I made excuses for Sophie. Tears spilled over before I could stop them. I quickly wiped them away when I heard the front door open. Panicking, I scrambled under the bed in the master bedroom. "Sophie, you're crazy!" Darren snapped, then bit down hard on her lip. Instead of getting angry, Sophie buried her face against his chest. "Stop it, Darren. My head hurts." The way she softened toward him made something inside me go cold. "Sophie, I'm saying this one last time. We're never lying to Zack again. If we do this again, I'm done with you!" That set Sophie off. Her expression hardened, and she sank her teeth into his shoulder. "You started this, Darren. Now you think you can just walk away? Dream on!" Darren grabbed her and threw her onto the bed. "Sophie, we can't keep doing this! Zack was there for me when my ex-wife had me backed into a corner and no one else would help. He took my case knowing it could cost him his career!" Sophie's eyes were red and wild, but she still kissed him passionately. "I know. And I know he was there for me too. When I was drowning in debt, he stayed and helped me build everything from the ground up. But that doesn't change how I feel. "Darren, you're the one I love now. Even if loving you destroyed me, I'd still choose you!" What a touching declaration of love. Too bad it wasn't meant for me. Chapter 3 Zack's POV I clamped a hand over my mouth, refusing to let a single sound escape. Clothes hit the floor one after another. Every so often, another used condom was tossed into the trash. I lay there listening until my whole body went numb, but the pain inside me only got worse. Sophie used to tear Darren apart whenever she talked about him. "With a temper like his, I feel sorry for whoever ends up marrying him." But now I heard what she was really thinking. [He's so cute.] Darren had always been just as vicious whenever he talked about Sophie. He used to say, "She's such a bitch." But his thoughts told a very different story. [I'm sorry, Zack. I love her so much.] Suddenly, I was just tired of all of it. After they finished and left, I crawled out from under the bed and took in the mess they'd left behind. Instead of crying, I pulled out my phone and snapped a few pictures. Then I opened the chat pinned at the top of my messages and sent Sophie one line. "It's over." After I hit send, I thought back to when I'd found out she was cheating and told her I wanted to break up. Her reaction had seemed strange even then. Normally, she would've cried, made a scene, and called me a scumbag. But that day, she smiled like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. That was when it finally hit me. She'd been sick of me for a long time. I splashed cold water on my face until my head cleared, then took one last look around the house that was supposed to be ours. It was time to put that part of my life behind me. I pulled up the number for Mr. Finn, the real estate agent handling the house, and called him. "I've decided to back out of the purchase." He sounded surprised. "The house you put 800,000 dollars down on?" "Yes." "But your wife already paid the balance in full. The deed's already been finalized." My ears rang, and I froze. Then a thought hit me. I fumbled for my phone and opened my banking app. There was only 1,000 dollars left. My fingers started shaking. When had Sophie transferred the money? That was our wedding fund. I'd spent seven years away from home saving every cent I could, cutting back wherever possible and staying up all night working on cases. Some of that money was Mom and Dad's hard-earned savings from decades of teaching. How could she just take all of it? The blood drained from my face. "Mr. Finn, whose name is on the deed?" I asked, my voice trembling. He sounded completely baffled. "Wait. Aren't you Darren Norton?" It was exactly what I'd feared, but hearing him say it still sent a surge of anger through me. I looked down at my phone and saw that the message I'd sent Sophie still hadn't gone through. My thumb slipped and opened my social media feed instead, where Darren had just made a new post. "Indoor rock climbing challenge!" I recognized the place immediately. It was a climbing gym Sophie had opened with several of our friends. Then I noticed a woman's hand at the edge of the photo. Any restraint I had left disappeared. I took a cab straight to the climbing gym. The moment I walked in, I saw Sophie below the wall, belaying Darren as he climbed. She looked completely steady, while a few of our friends stood nearby cheering them on. "Never thought I'd see the day Sophie would bend over backward for Darren!" "Guess even mortal enemies can end up married!" "Sophie and Darren forever!" The more I heard, the heavier my chest felt. I was terrified of heights. The last time I'd come climbing with Sophie, I'd reminded her again and again to be ready if I fell. She'd promised, "Relax. I won't let anything happen to you." So I trusted her. Halfway up the wall, my foot slipped just as something went wrong with the rope. Even then, I didn't panic, because Sophie was right below me. I knew she would catch me. Only she didn't. By the time I hit the ground, pain ripped through my entire body. Sophie later told me she'd panicked and lost focus, and I believed her. I spent the next six months recovering in the hospital. But now, watching her handle Darren's climb without the slightest trouble, I finally realized she could catch someone just fine. As Darren climbed higher, I strode over. The moment Sophie saw me, panic flashed across her face. "Zack? How did you know we were here?" I forced myself to stay calm. "Sophie, what happened to the man you said you'd sent away? Was that another lie?" Sophie rubbed the spot between her brows, but the unease in her eyes gave her away. "Zack, calm down. You've got it all wrong." Our friends immediately jumped in to defend her. "Zack, Sophie only has eyes for you. She'd never cheat on you!" Then I heard what they were really thinking. [God, how pathetic. Sophie and Darren are obviously meant for each other. Zack knows he's the one coming between them, but he still keeps clinging on like he belongs there!] I let out a bitter laugh, anger twisting tighter in my chest. "Sophie, what's going on with the house?" Her expression tightened. "Zack, what do you know?" I could've exposed both of them right there in front of everyone, but I didn't want to hear it from anyone else. I wanted Sophie to admit it herself. "I spoke to Mr. Finn. He told me you paid for the house in full and put someone else's name on the deed. If he hadn't told me, were you planning to lie to me forever?" Sophie let out a breath, clearly relieved. Then I heard what she was thinking. [Thank God Zack doesn't know everything. If he found out, he'd lose it again, and Darren would feel terrible.] Even now, she was still worried about Darren. I closed my eyes for a second. Then I grabbed a knife and headed straight for Darren's safety rope. "Zack Hayworth! What are you doing?" Sophie's eyes reddened with panic, a vein throbbing at her temple. I stared at her. "You ruined my hand because of him. You took my parents' savings and spent them on him! And you still don't think he should have to pay for any of it?" I raised the knife, inching the blade closer to the rope. Chapter 4 Zack's POV In an instant, countless thoughts flooded my head. [Zack's insane! Is he seriously going to kill someone right here?] [Oh my God. He's going after Sophie's precious Darren. He's dead!] The noise made my head pound. I was just about to look at Sophie when she kicked me hard in the stomach, sending me to the floor. Pain shot through me, and my stomach clenched. When I managed to look up again, Sophie was already gripping Darren's safety rope, still visibly shaken. "Zack, you went too far. You left me no choice." I went too far? Another wave of pain twisted through my stomach as I lay there on the floor. I wondered if Sophie thought for even a second about what I'd done for her when she kicked me. Years ago, when debt collectors came after her, I stepped in front of her and took a blow that could've killed me. She still had no idea that by then, I'd already given her one of my kidneys. A laugh slipped out despite the pain. "Sophie, we're done." She froze. Before she could answer, a scream came from above us. Darren startled, lost his footing, and fell hard, blood quickly pooling beneath him. Sophie went white and dropped beside him, wrapping her arms around him. Her thoughts came pouring through. [Darren, please. Don't close your eyes. I can't lose you.] I gritted my teeth and tried to shift into a less painful position. But the moment I turned, something in my lower back shifted out of place with a sharp crack. Agony tore through me, and I screamed. Sophie never even looked at me. She was too busy holding Darren as she hurried away with him. After that, I barely remembered how I got home. The only thing that stayed with me was Darren's last thought. [Zack, why do you always have to make things harder for us? You already get to be Sophie's boyfriend in name. Isn't that enough?] I was done standing in their way. They could have each other. ... When I woke up, I overheard the doctor telling Sophie that the damage to my lower back was permanent. There was a good chance I'd never be able to practice law again. For a moment, I couldn't move. Sophie stood beside the bed with her head lowered, unable to meet my eyes. "I'm sorry, Zack. I didn't know your back still hadn't healed. This is all my fault. Hate me if you want." I looked over at her, feeling completely numb. Six months ago, after the fall injured my back, she had taken care of me every day, making soup and bringing me medicine. On rainy nights, when the pain got so bad I could barely stand it, she would sit beside me crying even harder than I was. "Zack, take it out on me if you have to!" Even when she kicked me at the climbing gym, part of me still wanted to believe in her. I kept telling myself that her feelings for me had once been real. "I don't want to see you." Sophie froze. Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Then, just before she left, I heard her thoughts. [The truth is, six months ago, I let you fall on purpose.] My head snapped up, and pain shot through my lower back. [I was pregnant with Darren's baby, and I was terrified you'd find out. He tricked me into having the procedure. I hated you for killing my baby. That day, I only wanted to punish you. I never thought it would get this bad.] I stared after her as she left, pain spreading through my chest. She had been willing to hurt me over Darren's child. Had she ever once stopped to think about me? I blinked back the tears, reached for my phone, and dialed a number. "Cindy, I need your help." Over the next few days, I stopped fighting with Sophie about the affair and stopped checking her phone. I kept my head down and stopped giving anyone a reason to call me difficult. By the time Sophie's birthday came around, even Darren seemed unsettled by how quiet I'd become. "Zack, come on. Get mad or something. If you're not going, I'm not going either." Sophie looked annoyed. Then I heard what she was thinking. [Zack, just say no. I'm proposing to Darren today.] So she was planning to propose to Darren on her own birthday. How romantic. I gently pulled my hand from hers. "You two go. I'm tired." Sophie looked surprised by how easily I agreed, but she quickly masked it with irritation. "Like I'd want to spend my birthday with an idiot anyway." Darren snorted. "You think I want to?" I did what I always did and talked them down until they stopped bickering. Before Sophie left, she leaned down to kiss my forehead. I turned my head away. Confusion flickered in her eyes. "Darren's watching," I said. Sophie sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Still shy after all this time. Wait for me, Zack." The moment they were gone, I got out of bed, grabbed my discharge papers, and left the hospital. I took a cab to the airport and boarded my flight. I wouldn't be a burden to Sophie anymore. … Third-Person POV After her birthday celebration, Sophie returned to the hospital carrying a ring she'd accidentally bought in the wrong size. "Zack, I'm back. I brought you something. You're going to love it." She knocked once, then again when no one answered. A sense of unease crept over her. She was about to find a nurse when the door suddenly opened. Relief flashed across her face as she pulled out the ring. Then she looked up, and all the color drained from her face.