At the engagement party, the hotel went dark.
I stepped on a shattered champagne glass, and the cut on my ankle bled instantly.
Around me people gasped, and without thinking I called out for Denys James.
He heard me. I know he heard me. And he went straight past me, rushing down to Hailey Winfield at the foot of the stage.
When the emergency lights came up, I saw him with her gathered against him, his voice low. "Did it scare you?"
The emcee froze onstage, then offered quietly, "Mr. James, Ms. Fox is hurt too."
Only then did Denys turn.
He saw the blood by my feet, and his brow barely twitched.
"Hailey's claustrophobic. Could you not fight for attention at a moment like this?"
In that instant, the whole hall went silent.
Denys was famously cold in the industry, and Hailey was the one exception.
They'd grown up together. One word from her that she was afraid of the dark, and he'd walk out on a seven-figure contract to get to her.
I'd been engaged to him for three years. I'd helped him care for his paralyzed mother. I'd even given up a chance to train abroad, for the sake of the Jamess.
He always said it. "You're steady. You're not like Hailey, you don't need looking after."
It took until tonight for me to understand.
Steady just meant I could be wronged and no one had to soothe me.
Fiancée just meant I was the one he could comfortably sacrifice.
……
Hailey pushed him away, crying. "Denys, go check on her, please."
But he looked at me instead, impatience thick in his voice. "Drop the face. There are a lot of people here tonight. Show some sense."
I looked down at my blood-stained wedding shoes and reached up to slide off the engagement ring.
"Denys James. This time, I won't be sensible."
The ring hit the floor, and his expression went cold all the way through.
"Sally Fox, are you done making a scene?"
I bent down and picked up my shoe.
Blood ran from my ankle down my calf and onto the white hem of my dress, staining it like a wound torn open.
Hailey stood behind him, shoulders shaking with sobs.
"Sally, I'm sorry, this is all my fault."
Denys steadied her at once. "You don't need to apologize."
When he looked back at me, all that was left in his eyes was a warning.
"With this many elders here, you really have to embarrass everyone?"
I let out a small laugh.
So I get hurt, and I'm the one embarrassing people, the one with no sense of the bigger picture.
My parents sat at the head table, their faces dark as a storm.
My mother started to rise, and my father held her down. I shook my head at them.
Then I told the emcee, "The engagement party is cancelled."
The hall erupted.
Edwina James shot to her feet in alarm.
"Sally, let's talk this through. Don't do anything rash."
I didn't look at her. I carried my shoe and limped toward the door.
Behind me came Denys's voice, low and pressed flat. "Sally Fox, walk out that door today, and don't you regret it."
I paused. I didn't turn around.
"I won't be the one with regrets."
But the one who came after me wasn't him. It was Hailey.
She held up the hem of her gown, breathless from running.
"Sally, you really have it wrong. I was so scared when the lights went out. I didn't grab Denys on purpose."
I looked at her.
"You didn't grab him on purpose. So the lighting program for the party, someone changed that for you too?"
The color drained from Hailey's face.
I'd only been bluffing. But that flash of panic made something in my chest drop.
She lowered her head fast, her voice softer still.
"I just wanted to surprise you. The hotel said they could add a blackout light show. I never thought anything would go wrong."
Before I could say a word, Denys had walked out.
He took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
"It's cold out here. Go inside."
Hailey clutched at his sleeve and looked at me, timid.
"Denys, does she hate me now?"
