Another message arrived from Elias.
I don’t know what you think happened, but running away makes you look guilty.
My stomach twisted.
Guilty.
Of what?
Leaving before they could finish humiliating me?
Rebecca placed the phone screen-down.
“We need to respond today,” she said. “But not as a wounded bride. As a represented party.”
My father nodded. “Agreed.”
“Represented?” I asked.
Rebecca met my eyes. “You are going to inform Elias that all communication should go through counsel until further notice.”
The words landed heavily.
Counsel.
Further notice.
Marriage became legal language so quickly when love vanished.
I looked at my left hand. The ring was still there, a delicate oval diamond Elias had chosen after months of pretending he was saving for it. I had later discovered it cost far less than he implied, but I never cared. I thought the sacrifice mattered more than the stone.
Now the ring felt theatrical. A prop.
