Chapter 5 - The Wedding David Could Not Control.
If David had been given one wish at that moment, he would not have wished Emily away.
He would have wished every guest deaf.
The whispers began almost instantly.
They moved through the terrace, down the stairs, and toward the lobby in soft waves.
Emily Carter was not merely the ex-wife David had minimized in private conversations.
She was one of the people behind the company that partly owned the hotel hosting his wedding.
The same hotel whose staff had been told that David's event was a showcase of his growing influence.
Olivia watched the general manager wait for Emily's response.
"The board can have my approval after the ceremony schedule is resolved."
The manager nodded.
"Of course."
He left without another word.
David stepped closer to Emily.
"Did you plan this?"
Emily's expression did not change.
"Plan what?"
"The car."
He gestured toward the hotel.
"The entrance."
His voice dropped.
"That manager showing up at exactly this moment."
Emily looked almost disappointed.
"David, I arrived in a car because I had two children with me."
She glanced toward the hotel doors.
"And I cannot control when your venue manager does his job."
David gave a short laugh.
"You expect me to believe this is a coincidence?"
"No."
Emily's answer surprised him.
"I expect you to believe that not everything happening around you is about you."
Olivia turned away to hide an involuntary reaction.
Margaret did not bother hiding hers.
David's face reddened.
Thomas Grant stepped between them slightly.
"I would like to understand the financing issue before my daughter walks down any aisle."
David looked at him.
"Thomas, there is no issue."
Ryan made a sound under his breath.
David turned.
"Do you have something to add?"
Ryan looked exhausted.
"We have three months of runway without new capital."
Olivia's head snapped toward him.
Thomas remained motionless.
David lowered his voice.
"You're discussing confidential company information at my wedding."
Ryan's reply was equally quiet.
"You asked me to pitch Thomas during the reception."
That sentence caused Olivia to close her eyes.
"You what?"
David's expression shifted again.
Ryan immediately regretted saying it, but the truth was already standing between them.
Olivia walked two steps away.
The train of her white gown slid across the stone terrace.
"You invited my father's business friends because you wanted investors?"
David followed her.
"That's not why I invited them."
"Then why did you send Ryan the guest list with notes next to their names?"
David froze.
Ryan looked down.
Thomas stared at his future son-in-law.
"You had notes?"
David turned on Ryan.
"You showed her that?"
Ryan shook his head.
"No."
Olivia reached inside the small bridal bag one of her bridesmaids had carried.
She pulled out a folded printed page.
"I found it in your office yesterday."
David recognized it immediately.
The page listed twelve wedding guests and their companies.
Beside each name was a number estimating possible investment capacity.
Olivia's voice trembled, but her words were precise.
"I told myself there had to be an explanation."
She looked at him.
"I was going to ask you after the honeymoon."
David reached for the page.
Olivia pulled it back.
"Don't."
The command stopped him.
Emily quietly guided Lily and Sophie toward Margaret.
"Can you take them inside for breakfast?"
Margaret understood.
"Of course."
Lily looked worried.
"Are we in trouble?"
Emily crouched.
"No, sweetheart."
She smoothed the girl's hair.
"None of this is your fault, and none of it is your job to fix."
The girls left with Margaret.
David watched them go but did not call after them.
Olivia noticed that too.
She folded the investor list with deliberate care.
"You told me this wedding was about us."
David stepped closer.
"It is."
Olivia looked toward the guests, the investors, the hotel executives, and finally Emily.
"Then why does it feel like every person here was invited to complete a story you wanted to sell?"
David had no answer.
Thomas looked at the clock above the hotel doors.
The ceremony was supposed to begin in eighteen minutes.
Then Ryan's phone buzzed.
He read the message and went pale.
David saw it.
"What now?"
May you like
Ryan looked at Emily, then at David.
"Carter Rowe just canceled our investment meeting for Monday."
