Guests stood.
My father and I stepped into the aisle.
Logan smiled the instant he saw me.
Then, I looked toward the front pew.
Linda wasn’t watching her son.
She was watching me.
More specifically…
She was watching the necklace.
She slowly shook her head.
His expression hardened.
He looked from Linda…
…to the necklace…
…then directly at me.
I suddenly realized Linda hadn’t been afraid of losing the necklace.
She’d been afraid of something else entirely.
And whatever it was…
It hadn’t stopped with the bridal suite.
My heart pounded as my father and I reached the altar.
Logan smiled, taking both of my hands as my father kissed my cheek and quietly took his seat.
“You clean up pretty well yourself.”
He chuckled, but his smile faded when he noticed my expression.
“Everything okay?”
I forced a nod.
“I’ll tell you later.”
I tried to focus on his words.
Marriage.
Commitment.
Love.
Instead, my eyes kept drifting toward the front pew.
Her hands were clasped so tightly in her lap that her knuckles had turned white.
Richard sat beside her with his arms folded.
His eyes never left the necklace.
My stomach twisted.
The officiant smiled at us.
I squeezed Logan’s hand.
He squeezed mine back.
For one brief moment, I thought maybe whatever had frightened Linda was over.
Maybe Richard had changed his mind.
Maybe we’d imagined the worst.
Richard stood.
The room fell silent.
He looked directly at me.
“Before this marriage goes any further,” he said, “everyone deserves to know that necklace doesn’t belong around her neck.”
Confused murmurs spread through the church.
“Dad? What is going on?”
Richard ignored him.
“That necklace is a family heirloom. Linda had no right to give it away.”
Every pair of eyes turned toward me.
Heat rushed into my face.
Without thinking, I reached for the clasp behind my neck.
Linda’s voice echoed through the church.
It wasn’t loud.
But it carried.
She slowly stood.
For the first time all day, she wasn’t trembling.
Then she turned to face the guests.
“I won’t let this continue.”
Richard scoffed.
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