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“Hi.” My voice cracks unexpectedly and I clear my throat. “You do… fortune-telling?”

She nods and gestures at the folding chair across from her. “Please have a seat.”

I hand over my three tickets, which she stuffs into the purple robe she’s wearing. I study her features, partially obscured by the shadows. I can’t tell how old she is. She could be twenty or she could be sixty. It’s so strange.

“My name is Naomi,” she says.

“I’m Rosalie.”

“That’s a pretty name.” Her black eyes flit down to my left hand. “And that’s a pretty ring.”

I squeeze my left hand into a fist subconsciously. The diamond is tiny—all we could afford—but I love it. “Yes. Thank you.”

“He is a good man.” She says it like it isn’t a question. “At least, you believe he is a good man.”

“He is,” I say, with fierce loyalty.

Something almost resembling a smile touches Naomi’s lips. “We shall see.”

She picks up a deck of Tarot cards. I’ve seen Tarot cards before, but I’ve never had my fortune read before. I know the whole thing is silly, but my stomach churns. I wish I had stayed outside and cheered Nick on while he won me another prize (or failed to win me another prize).

She lays three cards out on the table. She stares down at the cards for a moment, her fingers lingering on the middle card, which is a tower on fire after being struck by lightning, with two men hurling downward to their death. I know nothing about Tarot cards, but this doesn’t look good.

“What?” I say.

“This is The Tower,” she says. “It means you will have a life altering revelation. One that will leave you blindsided.”

I shake my head. “Like what?”

Maybe I’m pregnant. My period isn’t due till next week, but I forgot to take my pill a couple of nights this month. Nick would love that.

Naomi touches the rightmost card. This one is even more disturbing. It’s a picture of a knight riding a horse with a dead person below the horse’s feet. Except the knight’s helmet is raised and you can see it is actually a skeleton. I can make out the word on the card.

Death .

Naomi raises her eyes sharply. She grabs my wrist with fingers that are as cold as the skeleton on the card.

“Rosalie,” she hisses. “You must not marry that man.”

“ What? ” I try to yank my hand away, but she’s holding on tight. “What are you talking about?”

“Please.” Her black eyes lock with mine. “You must listen to me. You think this man will bring you happiness, but he won’t. He will bring death into your life.”

“Death?” I repeat. “You mean… he’s going to die ?”

The thought of Nick dying is like a hand squeezing my heart. I can’t imagine my life without him.

“No,” she says firmly. “He will not die. He will bring the death of another.”

“You mean…” My head is spinning. “He’s going to kill someone?”

She is silent. She releases my hand, but I’m too stunned to move.

“ God .” I shake my head. This is preposterous. I don’t believe in this stuff, but there’s something about this woman… “You don’t know Nick. He’s a good guy. And he is… He would never hurt anyone. Ever. And… I love him. A lot .”

“But that will change.”

“No, it won’t .” I glare down at the cards in front of her. “So basically, you flip over a tower and a skeleton, and then you say that my fiancé is a murderer? This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“It is not just the picture on the card.” Her voice is quiet. “It is what the cards say to me. This is the gift I have.” She frowns at me. “You still have time. You can call it off.”

I open my mouth to tell her off, to say that there is no way in hell I would ever break up with the man I love because of some psychic at a stupid carnival. But somehow, no words come out.

“Think about it, Rosalie,” she says. “I can only show you the right path. You must choose to walk it.”

My hands are shaking when I get out of the psychic’s tent. It was so dark in there that the sunlight startles me. I blink a few times as my eyes adjust.

“I did it!”

I turn around and find Nick holding up a stuffed panda triumphantly.

It’s about a foot tall, so not so big that it won’t fit in the backseat, but admittedly more impressive than that rubber duck.

He has an adorably proud grin on his face, and I throw my arms around his neck. And I can’t seem to let go.

“Whoa!” He laughs. “I didn’t know you were such a fan of pandas.”

But when I pull away from him, the smile drops off his face. It’s only then that I realize there are tears streaking down my cheeks.

“Rosie, what’s wrong?” he asks. “Are you okay?”

I blink back fresh tears. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.” He glances at the black tent. “What the hell happened in there?”

“She…” I take a shaky breath. I hadn’t meant to tell him what Naomi said to me or let it ruin my day, but I can’t help myself. “She told me something bad would happen if we got married. That we should call off the wedding.”

His mouth drops open. “Are you kidding me? She said that to you?”

I nod slowly.

He shoves the panda into my hands. “That is unacceptable. I’m going to go talk to her.”

I grab his arm. “Nick, please don’t.”

“But she upset you!” A muscle twitches in his jaw. “She has some nerve. She’s just some cheap carnival fake psychic. You know nothing she says is real. Right? It’s all just a show.”

“Right…”

“Rosie…” His brown eyes are wide. “You’re not really taking this seriously, right? She’s not psychic. That’s not even a real thing.”

“I know.”

“And… I love you.” He grabs my hand in his. “If we didn’t get married, I don’t know what I would do. There’s no one else I would ever want to spend my life with.”

I swallow down a lump in my throat. “I love you too.”

“I mean,” he says. “That psychic said something bad would happen if we got married, but I honestly can’t imagine anything worse than not being with you.”

I feel the same way. “I know.”

“So…” One side of his lips quirks up. “You won’t break up with me because of what that psychic said?”

I allow myself a teeny tiny smile. “I guess not.”

He kisses me, squishing the stuffed panda between us. I try to enjoy it, but I can’t quite push away what that psychic told me. I don’t believe in this stuff—I know it’s fake. But I can’t stop seeing the frightened look in her eyes.