Chapter 1 - The Closed Casket and the Ghost in the Mirror
The rain fell in a heavy, unrelenting curtain three months ago, but it was nothing compared to the storm inside my chest as I stood beside Colleen, holding her frail hand while they lowered Adrian into the damp, cold earth. The crash had been catastrophic, turning the front end of his car into a crushed accordion of steel and shattered glass. The paramedics and police officers had pulled him out unrecognizable, telling us with grim certainty that a closed casket was the only merciful option for family and friends. I remember leaning against Colleen’s shoulder, weeping until my throat burned, believing with every fiber of my being that the love of my life had been ripped away from me forever.
We had been so close to our wedding day. The venue was booked, deposits were paid, and my custom lace gown was hanging safely in my bedroom closet. Adrian had laughed with me over cake tastings, kissed my forehead when I fretted about guest lists, and promised me a lifetime of mornings just like those. Losing him felt like losing my oxygen, my future, and my heart all at once. For weeks after the funeral, I locked myself in my apartment, refusing to eat, crying into his old pillows, and drowning in a grief so profound it felt physical.
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As a florist, weddings had once been my absolute favorite part of life—each arrangement a celebration of new beginnings and enduring love. But after Adrian died, the mere sight of white roses or baby’s breath made my chest tighten with suffocating pain. I couldn't even look at a bridal bouquet without picturing the one waiting for me in the dark.
Yet, rent doesn't care if your heart is broken, and bills kept piling up on my kitchen counter. When my savings finally hit rock bottom, I knew I had to pull myself out of the darkness and back to work. That morning, a fellow florist who occasionally hired me called in sick with a sudden stomach bug and begged me to cover a high-end wedding at a grand reception hall on the outskirts of the city. Desperate for the income and needing a distraction from my own misery, I accepted. Little did I know, walking through those doors would shatter my fragile reality into a million jagged pieces.
