I pulled back slightly, my expression feigning shock. "Honey…? What are you talking about?"
The word honey hit her like a slap.
Yuko's entire body tensed, her fingers curling into the sheets. "Honey? I'll—I'll kill you—!"
But then her gaze snagged on the photo frame on the dresser.
Her breath caught.
The image was us. Yuko, in a white dress, her hand clutching mine, her face radiant as she laughed up at me. The background was a blur of flowers and smiling faces—her mother, Haruna, people she recognized but couldn't place. And then there was the ring on her finger, a delicate band of gold she didn't remember putting on.
Her mind reeled.
[What… what the hell is this? A nightmare? Why does it feel so—?]
She could feel the weight of the ring, the way it fit perfectly, as if it had always been there. She could see the happiness in her mother's eyes in the photo, the way Haruna was grinning like she'd never been happier. It was all so real. Too real.
And that was the worst part.
