I didn’t have a wedding dress, but I did have a cute white sundress I had bought for last Easter. It was edged in pastels of yellow, blue, and pink. I wore golden, strappy sandals and a light coat of makeup. I also made sure to wear the beautiful engagement ring. It was easily the best part and seemed to sparkle in the dim light.

As a whole, my outfit didn’t exactly scream “wedding,” but it was good enough to sign papers at a courthouse.

I couldn’t ask Marrissa or Lydia to be bridesmaids without explaining why I was getting married. Asher would have to stand in for our father.

In California, you had to have parental consent to marry under the age of eighteen. That wasn’t possible anymore, but I guess anything was for sale when you had enough money.

I wished I had the courage to call Shane. To say goodbye. But I was afraid if I did that I wouldn’t be able to go through with this.

“I don’t get it.” Asher ran a shaky hand through his neatly combed hair, mussing it up again. “If Connor’s dad can pay off all these officials, why can’t he just pay our way in, no marriage necessary?”

I frowned and found I didn’t have a good answer. “Maybe there’s a limit to who would take a bribe?” And at the end of the day, did it matter?

I turned to look at myself in the hallway mirror one last time. The sundress softened the planes of my face, making me seem softer. I didn’t look like a bride. That was okay. I didn’t feel like a bride, either.

Mostly, I just felt numb.

Asher came to stand next to me. He didn’t have a suit, but he dressed in a button down shirt and his best pair of slacks.

He looked at me in the reflection. “Last chance to back out.”

My eyes grew hot and I blinked tears away. I did not want to cry and ruin the makeup I had just applied.

“I just lost Dad,” I said. “I am not losing you, too.”

“I’ll be all right.”

I smiled. “Shenanigans.”

He didn’t smile back. “I’m serious. I know you don’t love him. Astrid, this isn’t right. I can’t just let you—”

I turned to him. “Shut up.”

“But—”

“No!” I poked a finger in his chest. “If you love me, you will keep your mouth shut and let me do this. I can’t lose you, Asher. I will die. Do you understand? I. Will. Die.”

I wouldn’t even be able to say goodbye to Shane. I was giving up my dreams for the future, seeing the sun for years, and everything I had ever thought I wanted. I was not giving up the last of my family, my twin brother, too.

Asher blinked but then, thankfully, nodded. “All right. If this is what you really want.”

I didn’t bother to correct him. This was never about what I wanted.

* * *

Connor and his father came to pick us up in a stretch limo.

“Huh,” Asher muttered, “Why do I feel like I’m going to prom?”

Funny. I felt like I was going to my execution. Still, I forced a smile when Connor walked up and turned my head for him to kiss me on the cheek.

He was dressed for the occasion in a tailored dove gray, three piece suit that nicely outlined his broad shoulders.

“You look wonderful,” he said, and I could tell that he meant it, too.

My smile wasn’t as forced. I guess I was a sucker for flattery. “You look really good in this.” I brushed at one shoulder as if to dislodge a piece of lint that wasn’t there.

He beamed and took my hand. His palm was damp with sweat. It calmed me to know he was just as nervous as I was. “I’m sorry for the short notice,” he said. “I know you wanted more time to date.”

You don’t know the half of it.

“No, it’s okay. With the whole world going crazy…well. I get it.”

Connor nodded. “We’ll be headed to the SAFEsite afterward. There are several critical spheres still under construction, and it will be rough living for the first few weeks, but it’s better than getting caught outside in case the world goes to hell.”

I nodded again, but wondered at his words. Spheres?

Richard walked up to us. He was equally well dressed in a dark suit and stately blue tie. He looked Asher and I up and down, clearly noting our less-than-appropriate clothing. He didn’t comment on it. Only said, “I’m so sorry to hear about your father.”

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“Thank you,” I replied.

Asher just nodded, looking pained.

We walked to the limo. There were two unfamiliar men in suits sitting inside. Once we took a seat, Richard made the introductions. “This is my lawyer and the notary who will oversee the signing. They will also act as witnesses.”

These were the guys he paid off, then.

I nodded and glanced away. I didn’t want to see the look in their eyes—what they must think of me.

I guess most people would be looking at their husband-to-be, trading happy glances or chatting about the future. Instead, I found my gaze drawn out the window.

There were even fewer shops open than usual with people walking the streets, looking both scared and dazed. It occurred to me that no one really knew what was going to happen next. Would the nuclear crisis escalate and take out the human race before Betty did? Or was this just a hiccup before the collision?

What would those random people give to be in my place right now? To sit next to a handsome, devoted partner with a guaranteed ticket to surviving the oncoming apocalypse. They’d hate me for being so sad.

Traffic was light and we made it to the county courthouse in record time. I’ve always liked the architecture of this building because it was molded after the first Spanish Missions which had dotted the coast.

The limo pulled up to the curb and stopped.

Connor exited first and helped me out, smiling down at me. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” I wished my dad were there.

That thought made me think of how angry he had been about me signing paperwork without his presence.

…the paperwork.

I paused mid-step and looked back at the lawyer and the notary. “Do you have Asher’s contracts?”

“What contracts?” Asher asked.

“You have to sign a whole bunch of forms to get into the SAFEsite,” I told him. “Oh, and there’s a blood test.”

Connor looked puzzled, too. “That’s right. We’ve moved up our timeline so rapidly that I forgot. Asher, you’ll have to do that after we’re done here.”

“Sure,” Asher said, easy-going. “But why do I have to take a blood test?”

“He won’t be signing anything,” Richard said.

It felt as if the world had stopped around me. “Why? What do you mean?”

Richard glanced at his two men and gestured for them to continue onto the courthouse. Then he turned to us. “Because once this disaster is over we will need to repopulate the earth. Our resources were already projected to be stretched thin, but now with the timeline moved up, we’ll be cut even shorter. The fact is, he won’t be worth the additional burden he’ll place on the SAFEsite.”

“Dad,” Connor said, “what are you saying?”

Richard glanced between us. He didn’t, I notice, look directly at Asher. “We need as much genetic diversity as possible to keep future generations strong. Twins will not be allowed.”

“What?” I staggered in place. Connor reached to keep me upright, but I knocked his hand away. “You promised. You said—”

“Our circumstances have changed. I’m sorry.” Richard sounded anything but sorry. “I know this is difficult.”

Outraged, I looked at Asher. He stood back, shock paling his features. But he also wore a slight smile, almost as if he had been expecting this. His eyes met mine. “It’s okay, Astrid.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“It’s not,” Connor agreed flatly, looking to Richard. “Asher is my friend, and Astrid just lost her father. I can’t ask her to leave behind her brother, too.”

I was not expecting Richard’s anger. “Don’t be a child, Connor.”

“Dad—”

His lip curled in disgust at his son. “What, did you think this was going to be sunshine and rainbows? We are facing the end of humanity. This is the time for tough choices.”

“I’ll eat less,” I said. “Go on shortened rations. Asher can have my share.”

He shook his head. “You will need all the food you can get to help birth the next generation. Besides, this is about genetics.”

“But we’re not identical twins,” I pleaded. “We’re fraternal. We don’t have the same genetic make-up.”

“Young lady, the people making these decisions are looking towards the future, but they aren’t scientists.”

“No,” Connor snapped. “This isn’t right.” He turned to me, my hand clasped between us. “Astrid, I promise we will figure something out.”

“No,” I said.

“I know what you’re going through. I’m sorry, I promise—I swear to you I will fix this. We will get him in, even if we have to falsify him under the contractor lottery—”

“No,” I said again. “I can’t do this, Connor.”

“Astrid.” Asher stepped between us and grabbed my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “I want you to go with him. I want you to be safe. Please, just do this for me.”

“No,” I repeated. After feeling my heart wilt every time I said yes, saying no was like a breath of fresh air. “No, NO! I won’t go through with this.”

“We’ll get Asher into the SAFEsite. You have to trust me,” Connor said.

“This isn’t about that. I—I can’t marry you, Connor! I can’t.” And with that, I pulled off my engagement and placed it in the palm of his hand. “I’m so sorry, but you deserve a girl who loves you. I don’t.”

Richard swore and turned away, completely frustrated. “So, you’re saying you’d rather die than marry my son.”

I felt my jaw clench. “Surviving isn’t the same as living.” I looked back at Connor. “I’m sorry. I can’t love you.”

“Astrid…” Connor looked like had just between sucker punched. I felt sorry for him. I really did. But I also had never felt so free.

I stepped back. Connor began to step forward, paused, and then turned to his father. “Then I’m not going, either.”

“What?” Richard’s voice was like a whip crack. Even I flinched.

Connor held up a hand. “Give me a few days, Dad. Let me sort this out.”

“The hell you will! If this bitch isn’t coming, then you need to cut your losses.”

“She’s confused,” Connor said.

“No, I’m not.” I had never felt so sure of anything in my life. I think if Dad was there, he would have been proud.

“Come on.” Asher grabbed my shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”

Connor made as if to follow us, but Richard grabbed his arm. “Don’t you dare. I know you wanted her, and I agreed because lord knows I do nothing but spoil you, but open up your eyes. She just made a fool out of you.”

“Dad—”

Richard slapped his son, hard, across the face.

“Hey!” Asher leaped forward to his aid, but Richard shoved him back so viciously that Asher fell to the ground.

Then Richard advanced on me. The fury in his eyes scared me to the core. I thought for certain he was going to strike me, too. Instead, he spat out, “I hope your boyfriend is worth it.”

I sucked in a breath and he smiled. “What, you thought I wouldn’t have you followed in case you spilled to your friends? That I wouldn’t find out?”

He didn’t give me time to reply. Just turned back to Connor who was staring, red-faced with tears in his eyes, at the ground. “We’re leaving.”

I wanted to explain things to him, but what could I say? It was the truth. I didn’t love him.

I loved someone else.

Connor and his father walked back to the limousine. I helped Asher to his feet, and we watched them drive away.

“Well,” Asher said. “Shit.”