Chapter 7 - One Hundred and Twenty-Seven Days.
The number sounded too exact to be emotional.
That was why it hurt.
Olivia stared at Emily.
"You counted?"
Emily shook her head.
"The parenting calendar counts."
David spoke quickly.
"I've called them."
Emily looked at him.
"Sometimes."
"I travel."
"So do I."
David's mouth closed.
Olivia's bouquet lowered another inch.
"You told me you saw them twice a month."
David looked at her.
"I intended to."
Olivia blinked.
"That's not the same sentence."
Thomas glanced toward the lobby.
Guests were now being served coffee while the ceremony remained on hold.
The wedding was no longer moving forward by schedule.
It was moving forward by revelation.
David reached for Olivia's hand.
She moved it away.
"I need you to stop touching me while I'm asking questions."
He looked stunned.
She continued.
"Did Emily ever prevent you from seeing the girls?"
David did not answer.
Emily's eyes narrowed.
"Be careful."
He turned toward her.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means answer honestly."
David exhaled.
"She made scheduling difficult."
Emily reached into her clutch.
David laughed bitterly.
"Of course you brought evidence."
Emily held up her phone.
"I brought my calendar."
She opened a shared parenting app.
The screen showed color-coded weekends, school events, travel notices, and dozens of requests.
Emily did not hand it to Olivia immediately.
"This is private information about the girls."
Olivia nodded.
"I understand."
Emily looked at David.
"You can answer without me showing anything."
David's face hardened.
"I had work conflicts."
Emily lowered the phone.
"That is true."
Olivia waited.
Emily added one sentence.
"He also canceled nine of his last twelve weekends."
David closed his eyes.
Thomas looked toward the ceiling.
Ryan walked several feet away as if distance could make the conversation less uncomfortable.
Olivia's voice became almost a whisper.
"Why?"
David spread his hands.
"Because my company was under pressure."
"You told me everything at work was going great."
"I was protecting you from stress."
Olivia stared at him.
"You keep using protective words for dishonest choices."
David's frustration broke through.
"What do you want me to say?"
Olivia's reply came instantly.
"The truth would be new."
The terrace became silent again.
Emily looked away.
She had not come to watch a relationship fall apart.
Whatever satisfaction people imagined an ex-wife might feel in such a moment was absent.
She felt tired.
More than anything, she wanted Lily and Sophie away from the tension.
Margaret returned alone.
"The girls are eating pancakes with my sister."
Emily nodded gratefully.
David turned to his mother.
"Mom, why are you helping her do this?"
Margaret's face tightened.
"Helping her do what?"
"Make me look terrible."
Margaret stared at him for several seconds.
"David, I have spent two years helping you avoid looking at things you did not want to see."
His face changed.
"Not today."
She continued.
"I repeated your excuses to myself because you are my son."
Her voice trembled.
"I told the girls you were busy."
David looked away.
"I told Emily you would settle down."
Margaret took a breath.
"And I told Olivia that you were a devoted father because you asked me to."
Olivia's eyes snapped toward her.
Margaret closed her eyes briefly.
"I'm sorry."
Olivia went very still.
David looked at his mother with pure disbelief.
"You didn't have to say that."
Margaret's sadness vanished.
"Yes, I did."
She stepped closer to him.
"Because you were going to let her marry the version of you that the rest of us helped maintain."
David's hands clenched at his sides.
"I was going to fix everything after the wedding."
Emily looked at him.
"After the wedding."
Olivia repeated the phrase slowly.
"After I signed the license."
David's voice softened.
"Liv, please."
She took one step backward.
"Did you ask your mother to tell me you were seeing the girls regularly?"
David did not answer.
Margaret did.
"Yes."
Olivia's eyes filled, but her posture stayed upright.
Then a hotel employee approached Thomas with a sealed white envelope.
"Mr. Grant, this was left for you at the front desk last night."
Thomas looked at the handwriting and frowned.
David saw the envelope.
May you like
Every trace of color left his face.
"Don't open that."
