"Who is she, Rafael?" Jaelyn's voice hit the bedroom door before her shoulder did.
A muffled laugh. Footsteps toward the door. Rafael called, "Jaelyn, wait—" His voice lost certainty when the handle wrenched and the door swung open.
Helene was still half against Rafael, one strap of her dress fallen. She straightened like she had been caught in the rain and not in a betrayal. "Oh," she said, and smiled with a practiced tilt. "You must be Jaelyn. Rafael has mentioned you."
Jaelyn's hand found the framed engagement photo on the dresser without thinking. Rafael moved one step forward, eyes scrambling for an excuse.
"Get out," Jaelyn said. Her palm connected with Rafael's face hard enough to make him taste shock.
Rafael staggered back. Helene clapped her hands sharply and laughed. "Ouch. Drama."
Rafael tried to steady himself and reach for Jaelyn's wrist. "Jaelyn, stop. This is ridiculous. It's not—"
"Not what?" Jaelyn asked. "Not cheating? Not tonight? Not the week before our registration?"
Helene's laugh edged higher. "Registration? Seriously? How quaint. Men like him don't do quaint."
Jaelyn slammed the framed photo face-first into the hardwood. Glass shattered. The image—Rafael smiling in that staged way—flew in a spray of glittering shards.
Rafael went pale. "You broke it," he said like it was a crime committed against him.
"I broke the lie," Jaelyn said. "Leave my apartment."
Helene stepped forward, fingers pointed like claws. "You can't just march in
