Chapter 2: The Envelope
Juliette didn't cry.
She didn't look away.
She set down her bouquet, very slowly, and looked at her father with an expression I had never seen on her face before.
"Dad," she said, her voice steady and quiet.
"Sit down."
Adriel blinked.
"Juliette, this isn't—"
"I said sit down."
The room was completely still.
Even the caterers had stopped moving.
Adriel didn't sit.
He straightened his jacket and said, "You'll understand when you're older.
Your mother and I—"
"Don't." Juliette's voice didn't rise.
It went colder.
"Don't talk about Mom like she's a chapter you're finished with.
Not here.
Not today."
She reached into the small bag on her chair and pulled out an envelope.
My heart stopped when I saw it.
I recognized it immediately — the handwriting on the front was Adriel's.
Juliette held it up so her father could see it clearly.
"I found this three weeks ago," she said.
"I've been waiting to see if you would do the right thing before today."
Adriel's face changed.
"Where did you get that?" he said.
His voice had dropped to almost nothing.
"It doesn't matter where I got it." Juliette looked at me, and her eyes filled.
"Mom…
May you like
there's something you need to know.
Something he's been hiding for a long time."
