But what I hadn’t considered—what had only started dawning on me lately—was that the same logic applied to her. She hadn’t chosen me either. If anything, she’d had even less say in it than I did. I’d been asked, and I’d said yes. By the time it reached her, the decision had already been made.

And ever since that thought first crossed my mind, I haven’t been able to shake it.

Because Alannah is mine. She’s promised to me. No other boy has any business getting close to her, and with the wedding still a few years off, it’s time I make sure she understands that.

That’s why I’m heading over to see her now.

I stop at the florist on the way, the same shop my mother has used for years. Buckets of flowers line the front, and I choose a small bundle of blue cornflowers mixed with white daisies. The blue is nearly the same shade as Alannah’s eyes, and I know she’ll like them. I take them to the counter to be wrapped.