The ballroom contract requires an approved full-service caterer.
If the vendor releases the date tomorrow, we need immediate proof of replacement or we will exercise the cancellation clause.”
Diane inhaled so sharply that the microphone caught it.
“You cannot cancel our ballroom,” she said.
“The ballroom is contracted to the couple,” the manager replied, “but the event must meet staffing and service requirements.
We cannot host 180 guests without a licensed catering team.”
Holly could almost see Diane’s expression changing from anger to fear.
For months, Diane had spoken about the wedding as if it were a royal event.
She had sent photographs of the ballroom chandelier to friends.
She had described the menu before it was finalized.
She had ordered custom welcome boxes with embossed initials and told everyone the reception would be the social event of the year.
Now the entire production depended on a woman she had spent years treating like an open wallet with inconvenient opinions.
“No one is canceling anything tonight,” Holly said.
“You have until noon.”
She ended the call before Diane could answer.
Dean stared at the dark phone screen.
“You enjoyed that,” he said quietly.
Holly looked up at him.
“No.”
“It sounded like you did.”
“I enjoyed carrying our daughter out before they could humiliate her any further.
Everything after that has made me sick.”
Dean paced to the window and back.
“Logan is my brother.”
“Alex is your daughter.”
He stopped.
The sentence was simple enough that there was nowhere for him to hide inside it.
Holly closed the laptop.
“When your mother said Alex’s glasses would ruin the photographs, you were not there.
I understand that.
But now you know.
What you do next is your choice.”
“What do you expect me to do?”
“Believe your child before you protect your mother’s comfort.”
Dean opened his mouth, but a small sound came from the hallway.
Alex stood there in purple pajamas, clutching her glasses case against her chest.
Without her glasses, she squinted toward them.
“Is Grandma mad at me?”
Dean’s face changed.
He crossed the room and crouched in front of her.
“No, sweetheart.
None of this is your fault.”
“Kelsey said the other girl knows how to walk better.”
Holly felt the words like a blade.
Alex had heard more in the fitting room than any of them realized.
Dean reached for her, but she moved first toward Holly.
“Can I sleep with you tonight?”
“Of course.”
Holly carried her back to bed and lay beside her until her breathing slowed.
The purple frames rested on the nightstand, the silver star catching the glow of the hallway light.
When Holly returned to the kitchen, Dean was sitting at the table with the wedding contract open.
“You really paid all of it,” he said.
“Yes.”
“I thought you covered part.”
“Your brother told me he was short.
