"Mavis, I'm so sorry. I really had no idea the release would be written like that."
I looked at her.
"You had no idea?"
Her eyes reddened.
"I only went up on stage because Mrs. Delgado arranged it. I never thought it would make you uncomfortable."
Sylvia happened to overhear, and her brow furrowed at once.
"Sabina didn't do it on purpose. It's the company's first day public, and you insist on making a scene?"
I looked at Morton. He said nothing.
Every time he stayed silent, it was his way of telling me to swallow it.
Once the banquet began, I was seated at the second table.
At the head table sat Morton, Sylvia, his father, Sabina, and a few investors.
Someone raised a glass, smiling.
"Mr. Delgado and Miss Pruitt really have supported each other every step of the way."
Sylvia's smile came easily.
"Sabina truly weathered a lot of hardship alongside Morton."
Morton heard it.
He picked up his glass and said only, "That's all in the past."
He offered no correction.
I lowered my head and looked at my phone.
Under the news, the comments kept piling up.
【Miss Pruitt has such elegance. She and Mr. Delgado make such a lovely couple.】
【No wonder the Delgado brand's aesthetic is so consistent. Turns out the boss's wife is the designer herself.】
【The power-couple energy is off the charts.】
I opened Morton's social media feed.
Blank.
Not because he hadn't posted. Because I couldn't see it.
Jean Fox sent me the screenshot.
Morton had posted a photo from the bell-ringing.
The caption read: 【Grateful to everyone who walked this road with me.】
In the picture, Sabina stood at his side. I zoomed in and stared at it for a long time.
That night on the way home, the car was very quiet.
Morton spoke first.
"The release will definitely be corrected tomorrow."
I looked out the window.
"And the post?"
He paused.
"What post?"
"You posted something today, didn't you?"
His hand tightened on the steering wheel.
"Just a work update."
"Then why can't I see it?"
He was silent, so I said it for him.
"Because I'm in the group that isn't allowed to see."
The car braked hard at a red light. Morton turned to look at me.
"Who told you that?"
I smiled.
"So it's true."
He tugged irritably at his tie.
"It's not aimed at you. Some business updates aren't convenient for family to see."
"Sabina isn't family?"
He fell silent. I nodded.
"Understood."
The next day, I took our wedding photo down from the bedroom wall. A layer of dust had settled behind the frame.
Morton saw the bare wall.
"Where's the photo?"
"Put away."
"Why?"
"No one sees it. It's a waste to keep it hanging."
He frowned.
"Mavis, there's no need for this."
I set down my cup.
"Morton, you won't make me public, and you keep even liking me hidden away. If it's like this, you shouldn't have married me in the first place."
Just then the doorbell rang.
Sylvia stood outside, Sabina behind her.
"We're at the old estate tonight. The investors' wives are coming, so, Mavis, go over early and help out."
She changed her shoes and came in, and saw the empty wall.
"Why did you take down the wedding photo?"
I said, "Too much dust."
Sylvia gave me a look.
"Some places, when other people set you up in them, you ought to be content. Don't always be reaching for the brighter spot."
I understood.
She wasn't talking about the photo. She was talking about me.
At six that evening, I arrived at the old estate. Sylvia was directing the housekeeper on arranging the flowers.
Sabina sat on the sofa, a tablet in her hands, helping Morton go over the investor list.
When Sylvia saw me, she handed over a stack of place cards.
"Mavis, set these out. Don't get the head table wrong. Sabina sits next to Morton."
