Page 162 of Broken Destiny

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Tatiana said, her mouth turning downward. “You know, Caleb has a project going on on the Island, don’t you, honey?” She gulped her drink and then ordered another.

I nodded, tilting my head.

Tatiana had never finished a drink that quickly before, let alone ordered another right away.

“Let’s take a picture, you guys, and I’ll post it on Instagram!” Tatiana announced loudly,

“Umm... I’m not much of a picture person, to be honest,” Jiya said politely. “How about I take a picture of the two of you?”

She had never liked having her picture taken. Her photograph had never appeared on the hotel website where we once worked together, nor on her brother-in-law’s company website.

My jaw set hard.

Back then, she had explained it as a precaution—to protect herself and her son from Jeremy ever finding her. At the time, I had believed her without question.

But years had passed. Jeremy was no longer a threat.

So what was stopping her from taking photos now?

“Yes, you never did have your photo on the hotel website,” I scoffed. “Funny how you never seem to appear in photos anywhere.”

Tatiana turned toward me and frowned, then shifted her attention back to Jiya.

“No, no—there’s no escaping picture time,” she said. “Hang on.”

She signalled the server to take a photo of the four of us.

Heat crept across my skin.

We raised our glasses and forced smiles while the server snapped the photo before hurrying off to another table.

Tatiana glanced at the picture on her phone and then placed it on the table.

“How long are you going to be in Vancouver?” she asked.

“Just until this weekend,” Jiya replied.

“I hope you’ll bring her to the wedding, Harper,” Tatiana said, nodding toward him and then glancing at me.

I managed a small smile.

Did I want Jiya at the wedding—with Harper?

My chest tightened at the mere thought.

I had hoped to feel numb by Sunday, to stop caring altogether, to watch everything unfold without emotion.

But sitting here now, watching the two of them together, my body reacted differently.

“That’s the plan,” Harper said with a laugh.

The server arrived at our table, placing down canapés and appetizers.

“These little smoked salmon crostinis and bacon-stuffed mushrooms are divine,” Tatiana said, helping herself to one of each while finishing her second glass of wine and ordering a third.

An announcement echoed across the rooftop seconds later,informing guests that the DJ would be taking a break and that a live singer would perform instead.

A beautiful woman in a gold dress stepped onto the small stage, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, lifted the microphone and began to sing.