mpening fabric that seemed to absorb all sincerity, leaving only the clinking of champagne flutes and the polished

hand a fixed point of pressure at the small of my back, guiding me through the eddies of conversatio

ver me with the practiced appreciation of a connoisseur examining a piece he alre

purchase for his sentiment. I felt less like a woman than a piece of archi

room. He was dressed in a suit that hung awkwardly on

ome," I said, m

looking up from the b

e." My voice was not steady; a fine tremor ran through it, the last, desperate plea from the woman wh

s cold and appraising. He did

ff. "At least he's fun. You'd probab

nt, dissolving the last fragile bond of maternal hope in my che

eplaced by this cold, callous stranger who saw me as n

l smirk playing on his lips. "

alked out of the room, leaving me in

up. The woman who walked out of that room was no longer a mother pleading fo

, I mingled, I accepted congratulations

e a secret victory she believed only she and Anthony understood. She wore a dress the color of fresh blood, a violent slash of scarlet in a sea of muted tones. It was a garment designed not to

ned his post by the shrimp cocktail and rushed

a familiarity that made my stomach turn. "Doesn't she

blood drained from his face, leaving behind a waxy, pallid mask. He shot Jacob

oice strained. He subtly angled his body, trying to put

hoped you could make it,

me with a look of triumphant malic

name was a delibera

meant to be reassuring, but the pressure of his fingers felt like the la

ou again, Katia." I let my eyes drift down to the necklace. "That's a be

ering. Anthony's grip on my arm became a vise

sy, bewildered-looking couple I'd made sure were seated

uttered a hasty excuse about needing to find the

ure our guests are comfortable," he stammered,

happening. He was calming her, reassuring her, maki

oment. I needed him com

panic and deceit. I saw her shoulders heave with soundless sobs; I saw Anthony grab her arms, his face a mask of furious placation as he pulled her into a rough embrace, silencing her mouth with his own in a ki

erything

breathing a slow, measured tide, my focus narrowed to the cool weight of the champagne flu

was about