Chương 7
He was attending the wedding he had already accepted.
The powerful people on our guest list were not trophies.
The sanctuary was not a weapon.
That should have made everything easier.
Instead it left me with nothing to hide behind.
If I wanted distance from Patricia, it had to be because of what she had done, not because I had won.
That evening, Savannah posted a statement.
It was forty-three words long.
She acknowledged that the venue had originally been reserved for a family member, said the transfer had been handled badly, and announced that she and Trevor were reconsidering their plans.
She did not name me.
She did not blame the assistant.
She turned off comments.
Patricia called me eleven minutes later.
This time, I answered.
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing she didn’t ask.”
“You convinced her to postpone.”
“No.”
“She says the wedding may not happen Saturday.”
“That’s between her and Trevor.”
Patricia’s breath caught.
“You have no idea what postponement will cost.”
“Probably a lot.”
“You sound pleased.”
“I’m not.”
“Then help me fix this.”
The words came so quickly they almost overlapped.
I sat at the edge of our bed while Sterling folded shirts across the room.
“What does fix mean?”
“Talk to Savannah.”
“I already did.”
“Tell her not to panic.”
“She isn’t panicking.”
“Of course she is.”
“She’s thinking.”
“That is not always better.”
I looked at Sterling.
He stopped folding.
Patricia continued.
“Do you understand what happens if she cancels?”
“Sponsors may leave.”
“Contracts could be breached.”
“Then she needs counsel.”
“We have counsel.”
“You have counsel.”
Patricia went silent.
I heard my own words after they left me.
Not cruel.
Not triumphant.
Just a boundary neither of us had practiced before.
“Elena,” she said quietly, “I was trying to give Savannah something that could help her career.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t think you needed it as much.”
“I know that too.”
Her voice thinned.
“I thought you’d understand.”
I looked down at the carpet.
That was the wound beneath everything.
She had not taken from me because she believed I was weak.
She had taken from me because she believed I was dependable.
The reliable daughter.
The reasonable daughter.
The one who could absorb damage without requiring repair.
“I did understand,” I said.
“That was the problem.”
For once, Patricia had no answer.
Across the room, Sterling lowered the shirt in his hands.
I ended the call without anger.
Saturday was now two days away.
Neither family had a wedding that looked anything like the one they had planned.
Only one of us was beginning to understand that might not be the worst thing that could happen.
Friday morning began with fog over the harbor and a voicemail from Savannah that said, “We’re still getting married.”
I listened to it twice while brushing my teeth.
Sterling was shaving beside me.
“Good still or bad still?”
“I don’t know yet.”
He wiped foam from his jaw.
“That seems to be the theme.”
Savannah called again before I reached the office.
“We changed everything,” she said.
“What does everything mean?”
“No sponsors.”
I stopped walking in the parking lot.
“No branded installations.”
“Okay.”
“No livestream.”
“That’s a bigger change.”
“No media wall, no product placement, no launch announcement, no champagne partner, and Trevor told his manager to stop negotiating the exclusivity package.”
I leaned against my car.
“What happened?”
“He left.”
“Who?”
“Trevor.”
My stomach dropped.
“Savannah.”
“No, not like that.”
She sounded exhausted rather than panicked.
“He left the penthouse last night and went to his brother’s.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom told him postponing would make him look weak.”
I closed my eyes.
“And?”
“He said he didn’t care how he looked.”
That did sound like Trevor.
“At least, I think that’s what he said.”
“You were there.”
“Mom was yelling.”
“That complicates hearing.”
“It really does.”
A gull landed on the hood of the car beside mine and stared at me with ugly yellow confidence.
Savannah continued.
“He came back this morning.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he would marry me Saturday if the wedding was ours.”
I let that sit for a moment.
“And what did you say?”
“I said I didn’t know what ours looked like.”
“That seems fair.”
“He said neither did he.”
The gull pecked at something invisible near the windshield.
Savannah breathed out.
“So we canceled half the plan.”
“What happens with the estate?”
“We’re keeping it.”
“Can you?”
“We think so.”
That answer made me nervous.
“Your site permit is tied to the event plan.”
“I know.”
“Any material changes need to go through the venue coordinator.”
“I know.”
“You sound annoyed.”
“I am.”
“Good.”
She laughed weakly.
“I sent the revised plan at five this morning.”
“That explains the voicemail.”
“I haven’t slept.”
“You need to.”
“I need to get married.”
“You can do both.”
“Not efficiently.”
I smiled despite myself.
There was another pause.
“Elena?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you come if you weren’t getting married?”
The question was so badly timed that for a second I thought I had misheard it.
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“I am getting married tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“That feels relevant.”
“I said if.”
I looked across the parking lot at employees arriving with coffee cups and backpacks.
“Why are you asking?”
“Because I don’t know if you’d come anymore.”
I did not answer quickly enough.
Savannah made a small sound.
“Okay.”
“No.”
“No what?”
“No, don’t turn silence into an answer.”
“You’re good at doing that with Mom.”
“That’s different.”
“Sure.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“If I weren’t getting married tomorrow, I don’t know.”
“Right.”
“I’m not saying never.”
“You’re not saying yes.”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“I earned that.”
The phrase sounded uncomfortable in her mouth.
I wondered whether someone had told her to say it.
Then I hated myself for wondering.
“I hope tomorrow feels like yours,” I said.
“Thanks.”
She hung up first.
May you like
At noon, the sanctuary weather report worsened.
Leah called while Sterling and I were eating sandwiches on the loading dock behind the terminal.
