Chapter 3: The Collapse of Perfection
“You promised,” Ellie whispered behind me.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Then I turned back to Vanessa.
“You told me you understood,” I said. “You said Ellie would always come first.”
Vanessa scoffed. “That was before I realized how impossible that is! I’m supposed to be your wife, not compete with a child!”
“She’s not competition,” I said.
“She is if you treat her like everything!” Vanessa shot back.
The crowd was no longer whispering. They were watching—judging.
My mother stepped forward, her voice cold. “Vanessa, you locked a child in a room.”
Vanessa turned to her, defensive. “It was for a few minutes—”
“She was terrified,” I said.
Vanessa’s jaw tightened. “You’re overreacting.”
I shook my head slowly.
“No,” I said. “I’m finally reacting the way I should have from the beginning.”
A long silence stretched between us.
Then I reached up… and removed my boutonnière.
May you like
And dropped it onto the ground.
“I can’t marry you.”
