They Said Man on the Ship Was My Destiny—I Said No Chapter 02
reston’s composure slipped. I could tell he’d prepared a whole speech, but my silence stopped the words before they ever left his mouth.
He hadn’t expected calm.
Every other year, I would make a huge scene. Then he would take the opportunity to blame me asked my dad to punish me and put me at the back of the line to draw.
Without a tantrum to point to, he couldn’t run to my dad. Couldn’t get me shoved to the end of the line, where someone can switch my slip.
And if I actually drew red this time? He crossed the platform and caught my wrist.
“Clara, Audrey can’t handle this wind. Let her draw first, alright? Besides, I want a minute with you.”
I slipped my hand from his grasp, my fingers already half-numb from the cold, and glanced at the coat draped over Audrey’s shoulders.
I’d made that coat. Stayed up sewing it the week before Preston’s birthday.
I’d shaped every button into a tiny orchid, something romantic, something I thought only he’d notice.
Now, seeing it on her felt like staring straight into the sun. It hurt too much to look, yet I couldn’t look away.
“I’m cold too. And I want to draw first.”
Preston didn’t push back. He folded his hands around mine, warming them.
“You’re freezing. Would it kill you to wear a real jacket? Stop being dramatic, Clara. I know you’re still mad about Audrey. The doctor says her condition will stabilize in a year. Just let her have this one last time.”
His voice softened.
“Next year, it’ll be your turn. I promise. Just wait for me.”
Unmoved, I looked at him and asked.
“You really think I can’t live without you, Preston?”
He let out a low laugh and slid a woven festival bracelet onto my wrist. “You’ve waited seven years for me. What man in Riverbend is gonna let you on his boat?”
So he knew.
He’d always known I was waiting for him. That was exactly why he never feared losing me.
Around us, other couples were exchanging bracelets, colorful braided threads tied around each other’s wrists. They did it every year.
I used to weave one for Preston too, but he never wore it.
The only bracelet he ever kept on was a faded red string wrapped around his wrist, the same one year after year.
I figured mine weren’t good enough, so I paid a craftsman at the bracelet shop to teach me how to do it right.
That’s where I saw them.
Inside that very shop, Preston was browsing different patterns while Audrey leaned over and lightly touched the red string on his wrist.
“I made this for you when we were kids. You’re still wearing it?”
He just smiled and tucked the string under his sleeve. That told me everything.
Nothing I made would ever matter as much as that faded red thread. I stood behind the shop and watched them pick out matching bracelets.
The same design as the one he’d just tied on my wrist. I pulled it off and threw it back at him.
“Don’t give me something you can buy from any stall in town, Preston. There is no next year. My grandfather wants to see me married before he passes. If Audrey gets on your boat again, we’re done.”
He barely blinked. That patient, knowing smile spread across his face — like I was throwing a tantrum he’d seen a hundred times.
“See? It always comes back to Audrey. You’re jealous — that’s all this is. I’ve told you a thousand times — she’s like a sister. She’s always looked out for me. Seven years of white slips. What’s one more? I’ll talk to your grandfather myself.”
He was already pulling out his phone. I recognized the number the second it lit up the screen.
His caretaker. My hand shot out and shoved his hand down.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it to me. Don’t drag him into this!”
I’d visited him last week. Tubes everywhere — in his arms, across his chest, under his nose — and all he could think about was me. I couldn’t stop crying.
I was always the one he couldn’t stop worrying about.
His breathing was ragged, every word costing him something. “Clara… get married…”
My mom stood beside him, wiping her eyes. “He keeps saying it — seven years, and Clara still hasn’t boarded a boat. It’s eating him alive. He wanted to go to Preston’s family himself and make them answer for stringing you along.”
“If you don’t secure a match this year, don’t even bother coming back to see him. His heart can’t take the disappointment.”
The thought of Preston saying any of this to him made my stomach turn.
I snatched the phone from his hand. “Fine. Let Audrey draw first.”