Chapter 11 - The Walk
I showed Evelyn the messages.
She passed the phone to Marcus.
His expression barely changed.
“I’ll stay where you can see me,” he said.
At the cathedral, Father Thomas met me in a small office behind the sanctuary.
He listened without interrupting.
Then he asked, “Are you certain you do not wish to marry this man?”
“Yes.”
“Then you will not.”
No lecture.
No pressure to forgive quickly.
No suggestion that an expensive wedding was a reason to ignore what had happened.
He folded his hands.
“We’ll make it clear that no ceremony has begun. You may say what you need to say. Then we’ll help everyone leave peacefully.”
I nodded.
My throat tightened.
“Thank you.”
He glanced at Grandma’s necklace.
“Did someone important give you that?”
“My grandmother.”
“Then perhaps you won’t feel quite so alone.”
In the hallway, Beth adjusted the train of my dress.
The music began.
Through the open doors, I saw everyone waiting.
People who had watched me grow up.
Employees who had worked beside Grandma.
Friends who had flown across the country.
And Stella in the front row, wearing emerald silk and the diamond earrings she had borrowed from me.
Julian stood near the altar.
He looked annoyed.
Then he saw me.
The annoyance vanished so quickly I almost admired the effort.
His smile appeared.
Warm.
Tender.
Practiced.
I stepped into the aisle alone.
Originally, Mom had insisted on walking me.
“We’ve overcome so much,” she had said.
That morning, Beth told her I had decided to honor Grandma by walking with her necklace against my heart.
Mom hadn’t liked it.
She was about to dislike more.
Halfway down the aisle, I saw Robert.
He was holding his wife’s hand.
She looked at me with tears running down her face.
Not embarrassment.
Grief.
I gave her the smallest nod.
Julian held out his hand when I reached him.
His fingers closed around mine.
Too tightly.
“What did you tell my father?” he whispered through his smile.
I looked at our joined hands.
“Let go.”
“Mariana, don’t start.”
“Let go.”
He released me.
Father Thomas asked the musicians to stop.
The final note hung in the air.
Before he could speak, Julian leaned close again.
“We can still fix this.”
I studied his face.
For one foolish heartbeat, I wanted him to mean us.
May you like
Then he whispered the rest.
“Just sign the papers afterward, and we’ll forget this whole morning.”
