“Yes.”
He nodded to the DJ.
“Play it.”
The video appeared on the screen.
A cream-colored sofa. A glass coffee table. The edge of a blue rug I had bought Vanessa for her birthday years earlier.
The camera angle was low, as if the device had been set on a shelf.
Then Daniel spoke.
“Vanessa, I can’t keep coming over here. If Graham finds out we’ve been together since before I left Claire, this wedding is finished.”
A woman moved into the frame.
My sister.
She wore a white sweater and had her hair clipped up at the back, the way she did when she thought nobody important was watching.
“Then don’t let him find out,” she replied.
Daniel came into view.
I recognized the dark hair, the restless way he held his hands, and the silver watch Lily had once tried to wear around her wrist when she was little.
My daughter made a small sound beside me.
On the screen, Daniel paced.
“You said we’d stop after the engagement.”
“And we will.”
“You said that before.”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“Graham gives me stability. You’re the one who kept making bad decisions. Don’t ruin this because you feel guilty now.”
Daniel stopped.
“What about Lily? I saw her outside when your mother brought her over last week.”
“She’s eight. She doesn’t understand anything.”
“She saw my car.”
“Claire won’t believe her over me.”
A murmur rolled across the ballroom.
I could hear a chair scraping. Someone gasped.
Vanessa lunged toward the DJ booth.
“Stop it! That is private!”
