My sister kissed my husband in front of thirty people at her own anniversary party and called it a joke. kertati Her husband had a wrapped present in his hands and an envelope she had never opened.

Thirty people.

Nobody spoke.

Then I heard a strange sound behind me.

A laugh.

One short laugh.

Empty.kertati

I turned.

Bram was standing there.

He wasn’t looking at Sasha.

He was looking at Callan.

And then Bram said something that made my stomach drop.

“Actually…”

He reached underneath the table.

“I’ve got a present for you.”

PART 2 — THE PRESENT

The gift bag had been under the table since eleven that morning.

I found that out later.

At the time, all I knew was that Bram was holding a small black bag in one hand and looking at Sasha like he’d finally stopped trying to protect her.

Sasha stared at him.

“What is this?”

“Open it.”

She laughed nervously.

“Bram—”

“Go on.”

“You’re being weird.”

“Open it.”

Something in his voice changed the entire garden.

Sasha stopped smiling.

She slowly took the bag.

Pulled away the tissue paper.

Then she saw the frame.