The Rent Was Never Late

Chapter 1: October wedding

Everyone who knew Sophie described her the same way.

Sweet. Funny. Impossible to dislike.

She remembered birthdays without needing reminders. She brought coffee for coworkers who looked tired and stayed behind after parties to help the host clean up. When someone told a story, Sophie listened as if there were nowhere else she needed to be.

That was why, when she eventually revealed how she had met her fiancé, nobody at the table believed her.

“You’re joking,” I said.

Sophie lifted her left hand and looked at the small diamond on her finger. “I wish I were.”

Across from her, Daniel smiled with the resigned expression of a man who had already heard the story told many times—and knew he had no chance of stopping it.

Their wedding was scheduled for October.

The invitations had already been mailed. The venue was a converted farmhouse outside the city, with strings of warm lights planned for the courtyard and small jars of wildflowers for the tables. Sophie had chosen burnt orange dresses for the bridesmaids because she wanted the entire day to feel like autumn.

It was all tasteful, romantic, and surprisingly traditional.