Chapter 2: She Came Anyway
Alonzo did not open the envelope yet.
He just held it — and looked at Portia the way a man looks at someone he no longer recognizes.
Cedric walked around the wedding table slowly.
His hands were shaking.
"I wrote to your mother three years ago," he said.
"She never replied.
I assumed she never received it."
Portia's jaw tightened.
"That letter means nothing."
"You haven't even seen what's inside," Alonzo said quietly.
The room stayed completely still.
Flora had stopped moving.
She was watching Portia's face — not the envelope.
Maisie pressed herself against Alonzo's side, her cheek still red.
Cedric reached out toward the envelope.
Alonzo let him take it.
The old man's fingers moved carefully along the sealed edge.
Then a phone rang.
It was Portia's.
She glanced at the screen — and something shifted in her expression.
Not panic.
Something colder than panic.
She stood up from the chair.
"Don't you dare answer that," Alonzo said.
She answered it anyway.
Whatever she heard made her close her eyes for three full seconds.
When she opened them, she looked directly at Cedric.
"She's here," Portia said.
"She came anyway."
Cedric's face went white.
"Who came?" Alonzo asked.
May you like
No one answered.
The ballroom doors opened.
