The flowers. The orchestra. The imported champagne. The ballroom deposit. Even Lauren’s honeymoon villa in Tuscany.
Every invoice had quietly crossed my desk months earlier.
Eleanor had thanked Ethan repeatedly for his generosity.
He had accepted every compliment.
He had never corrected her.
At first, I thought he was simply avoiding an awkward conversation. Over time, avoidance became habit. Habit became expectation.
Expectation became entitlement.
Entitlement eventually became cruelty.
My phone buzzed.
It was Megan, my executive assistant.
“Mrs. Bennett?”
“Hi, Megan.”
“You sound different.”
“I probably do.”
“Is everything all right?”
I looked back toward the ballroom.
“No.”
She stayed quiet.
One reason Megan had worked beside me for fifteen years was that she understood when silence mattered more than questions. Finally, she asked softly, “What do you need?”
I smiled.
It was exactly the right question.
Not What happened? Not Are you okay?
Simply, What do you need?
