Chapter 3

“Celeste thought you needed to see who I chose.”

After Daniel spoke, Celeste placed a hand on his chest and smoothed a wrinkle that wasn’t there.

She was waiting for me to lose control.

If I cried, screamed, or tore off her veil, they could turn a year of betrayal into a love story I had forced them to pursue.

I wouldn’t give them that.

I faced the coordinator as she returned to the terrace. “Who signed the contract for the afternoon ceremony?”

“You did, Ms. Ellison.”

“And the ballroom?”

“That’s under your name as well. Some of the fees are no longer refundable, though.”

Daniel stepped in front of me. “Mara, let’s go home. You’re not in a state to make decisions.”

He planned to marry Celeste in the morning, then leave me in a wedding dress to watch his farewell video.

Now he was concerned about my judgment.

“Cancel the afternoon ceremony,” I told the coordinator. “The vows, music, and ceremony decorations. Keep the ballroom and dinner.”

She hesitated. “Are you sure? Making changes this late will cost you about eight thousand dollars.”

Daniel grabbed my wrist. “Enough. You don’t need to waste that much money to punish me.”

I pulled free. “It’s my money.”

“Our families have already made travel arrangements,” he said. “You’ll humiliate everyone.”

“They can still have dinner at five.”

“And then what? You’ll stand in front of them and attack me?”

I looked at the white flower on his lapel.

Hours earlier, I had been checking the final alterations to his wedding suit.

Now he was wearing it to rehearse with Celeste.

“I haven’t decided how much I’ll tell them,” I said. “But I won’t lie for you.”

Celeste came closer. “Daniel’s family will be there too. You can’t turn his wedding into a private party just because your name is on the contract.”

She already had the legal ceremony, the North Terrace, and my mother’s clock. She still thought the evening ballroom should belong to her.

“That isn’t your wedding,” I said. “The morning one is.”

I signed the change form.

When the coordinator took it, Daniel finally understood that I wouldn’t be sitting in the ballroom at 5:07, waiting for his video.

Back at my apartment, I placed Daniel’s suitcase outside the bedroom.

He followed me down the hall, urging me to sleep on it before doing anything permanent.

I didn’t pack for him.

“Be out by eight. Take what you need tonight. We’ll arrange another time for the rest.”

“I live here too.”

“I bought this apartment before we met. You still own your old place.”

“It’s been empty for two years.”

“Then it’s ready for you.”

He stared at me as if he had never considered that I could decide who stayed in my home.

“You’re really asking me to leave?” For the first time that day, his careful tone broke. “Mara, I still love you. That’s why I couldn’t end this face-to-face.”

“Love didn’t stop you from scheduling my humiliation.”

He flinched, but I walked into my office and sent a message to my guests. Arguing would only give him more time to revise his version of events.

Saturday’s five o’clock wedding has been canceled. Dinner will take place as scheduled. Please disregard any changes not confirmed by the hotel. I’ll explain in person.

My phone lit up almost at once.

My aunt asked if I was safe. Nora said she was coming over. Someone else wanted to know whether Daniel had been hurt.

I didn’t answer yet. Once I explained, six years of my life would become public conversation. If I remained silent, Daniel and Celeste would decide what everyone heard first.

At 7:40, Daniel rolled one suitcase toward the door. Before leaving, he promised to contact me after I had calmed down.

Minutes later, the hotel manager called.

“Ms. Ellison, Daniel and Celeste have asked us to restore the afternoon wedding. They claim you were distressed today and not mentally fit to authorize the cancellation.”

My hand stilled over my laptop.

“The contract has only your signature,” she continued. “The final decision is yours. Should we cancel the entire afternoon booking—or keep the ballroom and let them believe the five o’clock event is theirs?”