The last place you expected to be after a five-hour flight from Arizona was seated between Paul Lahote and his mother on your sister’s wedding day.

You hadn’t seen him in three months. Not since the sudden distance, the unanswered texts, the confusing silence that came after a summer that had once felt like something more. He never gave a reason—he just... disappeared. And you didn’t beg for one.

So when Jasper calmly told you your seat was up front beside Paul, you figured it was just a weird coincidence. But the way Alice had nodded at him like something was decided between them, made you second guess that.

You kept your eyes forward as you sat down, smoothing your dress. Paul didn’t say a word, and neither did you. His mother gave you a small smile and reached over gently to fix your hair like she used to. Like everything hadn’t changed. But Paul… Paul was stone still beside you. You could feel the tension in his body, the way his hand was clenched around the program.

The ceremony began. Bella looked beautiful. The kind of happiness you hadn’t seen in her since before everything changed. You tried to focus on that. But something was buzzing beneath the surface—something off.

You felt warm. Uneasy. Your stomach had been weird all morning, but you’d chalked it up to travel and nerves. Still, the way Rosalie glanced your way once and then didn’t again… the way Edward wouldn’t even meet your eyes…

Then Paul shifted beside you. Barely. Just enough that your arms brushed.

And that’s when he finally spoke. Quiet. Controlled. Almost too soft to hear.

“…You’re not sick, are you?”

You blinked at him.

“What?”

He didn’t look at you. Just kept his eyes fixed on the ceremony.

“Nothing,” he muttered, jaw tight.

But he didn’t shift away either.

And when his mother casually reached over to hold your hand, you knew—whatever this was, whatever the vampires knew that you didn’t yet—he knew too.

You sat there, staring straight ahead, heart hammering, while everyone else applauded the bride and groom.