Chương 6
I continued.
“I should have stopped it and confronted both of you.”
Garnet said nothing.
“I was wrong about that.”
His expression loosened slightly.
Then I added, “That does not make what she did acceptable.”
“There.”
“What?”
“You always add the second part.”
“Because the second part is true.”
He shook his head.
“Everything with you has terms.”
“That’s rich coming from someone whose wife tracks his location.”
His face hardened.
Hazel closed her eyes briefly.
“Martin.”
The damage was already done.
Garnet reached for his jacket from the back of the chair.
“I’m leaving.”
“I shouldn’t have said it that way.”
“But you meant it.”
“Yes.”
He laughed without humor.
“At least you’re consistent.”
He headed toward the front door.
Hazel followed him.
I stayed where I was.
My pride told me to let him go.
Something else got me moving.
By the time I reached the foyer, Garnet had the door open.
His car sat at the curb.
A silver SUV was parked behind it.
Amber stepped out of the driver’s side.
Nobody moved.
She was wearing oversized sunglasses, black leggings, and one of Garnet’s old college sweatshirts.
Her hair was pulled into a knot.
Without the wedding makeup and carefully arranged veil, she looked younger and far more tired.
She slammed the SUV door.
“You turned off your phone.”
Garnet checked his pocket.
“No, I didn’t.”
“You stopped answering.”
“I was talking to my parents.”
“I can see that.”
She looked past him at Hazel.
Then at me.
Her mouth tightened.
“Are we doing this on the lawn?”
Garnet walked down the steps.
“Why are you here?”
“Because you disappeared.”
“I texted you.”
“You said you needed air.”
“I did.”
“You came here.”
“Yes.”
Amber pulled off her sunglasses.
Her eyes were swollen.
Whether from crying, lack of sleep, or both, I couldn't tell.
“You left me alone at the hotel after what they did.”
Hazel stepped onto the porch.
“Amber.”
Amber looked at her.
For a moment, nobody seemed to know which grievance deserved to speak first.
Hazel said, “What you did with my chair was cruel.”
Amber’s face became flat.
“I figured this was coming.”
“It needs to.”
“You got your revenge.”
“That wasn’t me.”
Amber glanced at me.
“No, I know exactly who that was.”
“I’m not talking about the dress.”
Hazel’s voice remained steady.
“I’m talking about why you wanted to humiliate me in the first place.”
Amber folded her arms.
“You embarrassed me for months.”
“How?”
“You took over.”
“I offered help.”
“You corrected everything.”
Hazel blinked.
“I corrected the florist’s invoice because they charged you twice.”
“That is exactly what I mean.”
I almost interrupted.
Hazel raised one finger toward me without looking away from Amber.
I closed my mouth.
Amber continued.
“You always had a better way.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“Intent doesn’t magically make everything okay.”
The line was sharp enough that Hazel absorbed it in silence.
Garnet stood between the porch and the driveway, looking at neither woman.
Amber pointed toward Hazel.
“You changed the seating chart after I finalized it.”
“You put my sister beside your uncle after I told you they had dated.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I told you twice.”
“See?”
Amber threw up her hands.
“This is what she does.”
Hazel’s face reddened.
“You’re comparing a seating mistake to putting glue on my chair.”
“No.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m saying you make me feel stupid.”
Hazel stopped.
Amber looked as surprised as anyone that the sentence had come out.
A landscaping truck rattled past our house.
Someone two doors down started a leaf blower.
The ordinary noise made the four of us look ridiculous standing there in formal emotional ruins before noon.
Hazel stepped off the porch.
“I didn’t know that.”
Amber wiped beneath one eye.
“Of course you didn’t.”
“That wasn’t sarcasm.”
Amber looked away.
Hazel said, “I can be overbearing.”
I almost turned to check whether somebody else had spoken.
Hazel glanced at me.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your face did.”
Amber gave a small involuntary laugh.
Then she covered it with a cough.
The tension loosened for perhaps three seconds.
Hazel continued.
“I like being useful.”
Amber looked at her.
“Sometimes useful feels like control when nobody asked.”
Hazel nodded.
“That’s fair.”
Garnet finally moved.
“Okay.”
He sounded relieved.
“Good.”
Amber turned toward him.
“No.”
The relief vanished.
“What?”
“This isn’t good.”
“I just mean you’re talking.”
“You came here and told them everything.”
“I told them about the chair.”
“You told them private things.”
Garnet’s shoulders stiffened.
“I told them you come to my office.”
Her expression changed instantly.
“So that’s what this is.”
“Amber.”
“What else did you tell them?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you tell them about California?”
I watched Garnet.
He looked at me before he could stop himself.
Amber saw it.
Her mouth opened slightly.
“Oh my God.”
Hazel said, “What happened in California?”
“Nothing,” Garnet said.
Amber laughed.
It was a brittle sound.
“Right.”
“Amber, stop.”
“No, your father wants evidence, doesn’t he?”
I felt something cold move through me.
I had never told her about the photographs.
I had never told her about Malcolm preserving the footage.
“How do you know what I want?”
She looked directly at me.
“Because you sent somebody to the hotel this morning.”
“I did no such thing.”
Her confidence faltered.
Garnet frowned.
“What is she talking about?”
Amber looked between us.
“A man came to the front desk asking whether the hotel had security video from last night.”
I said, “It wasn’t me.”
She stared at me.
I repeated it.
“I did not send anyone.”
Garnet took out his phone.
“Who was he?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he look like?”
“Middle-aged.”
“That narrows it down.”
“He had a suit.”
“Even better.”
Amber’s irritation cracked through her fear.
“He asked for the manager and mentioned the wedding.”
I exchanged a glance with Hazel.
May you like
Daniel would never make that move without telling me.
Malcolm had no reason to contact the hotel.
