Chapter 2 — Margaret Sees the Man She Thought Had Abandoned Her
Margaret entered the ballroom several minutes later.
She was laughing with two former coworkers.
Then she saw David.
She stopped immediately.
Her smile disappeared.
The two coworkers kept walking before realizing Margaret was no longer beside them.
David didn’t move.
Neither did Margaret.
Twenty-seven years seemed to settle between them.
Finally Margaret whispered:
“Why are you here?”
David looked confused.
“I was invited.”
“By who?”
He glanced toward the registration desk.
“Olivia.”
Margaret’s expression changed.
“My daughter?”
Daniel immediately looked toward the email.
Emily nodded.
“The guest-list modification came through Olivia’s planning account.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Where is she?”
Olivia appeared near the stage a few moments later.
She was thirty-one.
Margaret’s only daughter.
She saw David.
Then Daniel.
Then the expression on her mother’s face.
She knew immediately the surprise had not gone as planned.
“Mom…”
Margaret walked toward her.
“You invited him?”
Olivia nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“Without asking me?”
“I thought—”
“And you removed Daniel from my family table?”
Daniel folded his arms.
Olivia looked toward him.
“I was going to move you to Table 10.”
“You might have mentioned that.”
“I forgot the printed invitations had already gone out.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You didn’t forget to tell your mother.”
Olivia went silent.
That part had been deliberate.
She wanted David’s arrival to be a surprise.
Margaret turned toward David.
“What did Olivia tell you?”
David took a breath.
“That you knew I had been invited.”
Olivia immediately looked ashamed.
Margaret turned back toward her daughter.
“You lied to him too?”
“I thought neither of you would agree if I told you.”
“That should have told you something.”
Olivia’s eyes filled.
“Mom, I found out what happened.”
Margaret froze.
“What are you talking about?”
Olivia looked toward Robert.
Her grandfather slowly lowered his eyes.
Margaret noticed.
“Dad?”
Robert said nothing.
Olivia whispered:
“David didn’t leave you the way you’ve always believed.”