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Nova

Nova’s heart was thumping in her chest. Craig was smiling at her, waiting for her to answer the vicar’s question, as the events of the past ten minutes flashed through her mind: Lauren’s confession, Craig yelling at Phyllis and launching himself at Lauren, the book club members jumping to her defense. She took a deep breath, aware everyone was hanging on her next words.

“I’m sorry, Craig.”

“What?” The smile disappeared from his face. “I told you; I had no idea what Lauren was doing.”

“This isn’t about Lauren.”

“Then what is it about?”

“It’s about us. Lauren was right on one thing: I won’t make you happy. You want a wife who’ll settle here in St. Tredock, give you babies and take part in the pub quiz with your parents every Wednesday. And I don’t think that’s me.”

He narrowed his eyes and took a step closer, lowering his voice so only Nova could hear. “And you’re only just realizing this now? As we literally stand here in front of our friends and family on our wedding day.”

“But that’s just it. It’s your friends and family, your wedding day, not mine.”

“Of course it’s yours, you’re the bride! And you promised me that you weren’t getting cold feet.”

“I’m sorry,” Nova said, and she really meant it. She should never have allowed things to get this far. “I love you, Craig, and you’ve been the most amazing support to me over the past few years. And because of that, I really wanted to make you happy. But I’ve been so focused on giving you what you want—moving to Cornwall, planning your family’s version of a dream wedding—that I stopped thinking about what I actually want.”

“Which is?”

Nova paused. “To be honest, I’m not really sure. My life has been on hold since Dad got sick, so maybe I’d like to travel and see some more of the world. But, whatever I end up doing, I want to be the main character in my own story again, not a side character in yours.”

“This is crazy, Nova. I never asked you to prioritize what I want. I only made all the decisions because you stopped making any.”

“I know I did. After Dad died and everything that happened with Declan, my confidence was destroyed, and I became way too reliant on you. But my dad always said that they don’t write novels about people who sit around waiting for life to happen to them, and he was right. It’s time I took charge of my own life again.”

“Can’t we do that together, as a married couple? I know I’ve been a bit overprotective lately, but I can change. And if you really don’t want to live in Cornwall then we can move somewhere else. We can compromise, Nova; that’s what couples do.”

Nova took Craig’s hand, aware this might be the last time she held it and felt its comforting warmth. “I don’t think we can. I might not know what I want from my life yet, but I know it’s not all of this; and this is what you want.”

She indicated around her at the congregation, who were all muttering awkwardly among themselves, clearly wondering what on earth was going on.

Craig opened his mouth and for a moment Nova thought he was going to try and convince her to change her mind. Then he let out a long sigh. “Okay. If this is what you really feel, then you should probably go.”

“Hang on a second!” Pamela’s voice rang out, and Nova looked over to see her not-mother-in-law striding toward them. “You can’t just stand my Craig up in front of everyone, young lady.”

“Mum, not now,” Craig said.

“Yes, now. Do you have any idea how much money your father and I have spent on today? And now Nova thinks she can just ditch you at the altar and swan off like none of it matters. We paid for a wedding to happen, and it should damn well—”

“I said not now!” Craig snapped, and Nova saw Pamela startle at her son’s sharp tone. “I should have stood up to you a long time ago, Mum. If I had then maybe none of this would be happening now.”

Pamela’s mouth flapped open and closed like a fish, but she was clearly too stunned to speak.

Craig turned back to Nova. “You should go. I can handle this.”

She looked at him, the man who’d held her together through the past few years. The man who she’d thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with. “Really?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay.”

Nova raised up onto her toes and placed a light kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Craig.”

And then she let go of his hand and walked down the aisle and out of the church, alone.