Chapter 7 - THE BRIDE READS THE POSTClaire read the blind item in a small private room behind the ballroom.
James stood beside her.
Ava stood near the door.
Evelyn had asked everyone else to leave.
Claire looked at James first.
“Did you tell anyone?”
“No.”
“Ava?”
“No.”
Claire read it again.
LOW-PROFILE HEIRESS. EX-BOYFRIEND. MANHATTAN WEDDING.
The implication was obvious.
Claire turned toward Ava.
“Who knows?”
“A few people from years ago.”
“Your parents.”
“James.”
“You.”
“Anyone here?”
“Maybe people who knew us then.”
James frowned.
“Preston Vale is here.”
Claire’s face hardened.
“Why?”
“Invited through Delaney family.”
Claire cursed quietly.
Ava looked confused.
“Who is Preston?”
James explained.
“Gossip consultant pretending he’s PR.”
Claire stared at phone.
“What does ‘bride may not know full history’ mean?”
Ava’s chest tightened.
“Nothing.”
Claire looked directly at her.
“Don’t protect me from something on my wedding day.”
“I’m not.”
James stepped in.
“Claire, you know everything relevant.”
“Relevant?”
He immediately regretted word.
Ava closed eyes.
Claire’s tone sharpened.
“What am I missing?”
James looked at Ava.
Ava spoke first.
“When you asked me years ago if I still loved James, I hesitated.”
“I remember.”
“I told you why tonight.”
Claire froze.
“You told me tonight?”
“Yes.”
“In the bridal room.”
James frowned.
“Who was there?”
Ava replayed.
Claire.
Ava.
Door partially open.
Sophie had been nearby.
Her stomach turned.
“No.”
Claire noticed.
“What?”
“Sophie.”
Ava walked out.
She found Sophie near bar.
“Sophie.”
Sophie turned too quickly.
Ava knew.
“Did you tell anyone about James?”
Sophie’s expression flickered.
“Ava—”
“Did you?”
“I mentioned it.”
“To whom?”
“Preston.”
Ava stared.
“Why?”
“It just came up.”
“How does my old relationship with the groom ‘just come up’?”
Sophie lowered voice.
“I was upset.”
Ava looked almost disbelieving.
“Because I wouldn’t introduce you to Lucas Sterling?”
Sophie’s silence answered.
Ava stepped backward.
“That’s why?”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“You gave a gossip professional private information from the bride’s dressing room.”
“I told him not to use it.”
Ava laughed once.
There was no humor.
“You told a match not to become fire.”
Sophie’s eyes filled.
“I’m sorry.”
Ava’s face changed.
Not anger now.
Something worse.
Final clarity.
“You keep apologizing after you get caught.”
Sophie flinched.
“I made one mistake.”
“No.”
Ava shook her head.
“The gate was not a mistake.”
“The comments for years were not one mistake.”
“This is not one mistake.”
Sophie became defensive.
“Stop acting morally perfect because your family has money.”
Ava stared.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The thing underneath all of it.”
Sophie’s breathing changed.
“You like me only when you think I’m beneath you.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Tonight, the second you found out I had something you wanted, you asked me for access.”
“That’s networking.”
“No.”
“It’s extraction.”
Sophie’s eyes filled with angry tears.
“You think you’re better than me.”
“No.”
Ava’s voice remained quiet.
“I think I finally understand you.”
She walked away.
Sophie stood trembling.
Around them, music continued.
People laughed.
Champagne poured.
May you like
The wedding still looked perfect.
But for Sophie, something had broken that would not be repaired with another apology.
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