"We can't."
He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles.
"I know," he repeated for the third time.
That night we just stood in the parking lot, holding hands. Nothing happened. But something broke forever.
The wedding day.
Alina was beautiful in her white dress, radiant, happy. Mom was crying tears of joy. Dad was rehearsing his speech. And I stood in front of the mirror in my bridesmaid dress, hating my reflection.
"Mira!" Alina burst into the room. "Have you seen Daniel? He's supposed to be in place in twenty minutes, and his phone isn't answering!"
"No," I lied. "Maybe he's with his friends?"