Chapter 2 - EIGHT THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED PEARLS
Evelyn lifted Avery's hand as if it were made of glass.
“Tell me the truth.”
Avery shook her head.
“Evelyn, this is your wedding.”
“Did you repair my dress?”
Silence.
The kitchen noise seemed to fade.
Avery looked toward Gabriel.
Then whispered:
“Yes.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she began crying.
“You told me a specialist was doing it.”
“I didn't want you to worry.”
“You did it yourself?”
Avery nodded.
“Every pearl?”
“Most of them.”
Evelyn looked down at the gown.
The restored bodice shimmered beneath the service corridor's fluorescent lights.
She touched the antique lace near her shoulder.
“My grandmother wore this.”
“I know.”
“And you saved it.”
Avery's voice broke.
“I tried.”
Evelyn threw her arms around her.
Avery winced.
Gabriel noticed.
He stepped forward.
“Evelyn, her hands.”
His sister immediately loosened her embrace.
“Oh, Avery. I'm sorry.”
Avery smiled weakly.
“It's all right.”
But Gabriel was staring at the bandages.
Thirty-seven nights.
Thousands of pearls.
Split skin.
And not one person in his family had noticed.
Not even him.
Gabriel took Avery to a quiet sitting room adjoining the bridal suite.
A hotel first-aid attendant examined her hands and advised proper medical assessment because several wounds had reopened.
Avery tried to insist she was fine.
Gabriel didn't argue.
He simply asked whether she'd allow him to arrange transportation to urgent care after the ceremony.
She nodded.
Evelyn sat beside her, still holding the edge of her gown.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Avery smiled.
“Because you were already frightened someone would ruin your wedding.”
Evelyn looked down.
“And you didn't want me to know how bad it was.”
Avery said nothing.
Gabriel stood by the window.
His reflection looked unfamiliar.
He'd negotiated multimillion-dollar shipping contracts before breakfast.
He knew which port officials could be trusted.
He knew the price of silence in three countries.
Yet he hadn't known his wife spent every night bleeding over a wedding dress.
He turned.
“Why didn't you ask me for help?”
Avery looked at him.
“You weren't home.”
The words were quiet.
They struck anyway.
Evelyn returned to the ballroom and took the microphone.
Gabriel followed several steps behind.
Avery remained in the sitting room.
She didn't want an audience.
But Evelyn had made a decision.
“Before we cut the cake,” she announced, “I need to thank someone.”
The room quieted.
“My wedding gown was destroyed thirty-seven days ago.”
A murmur spread through the guests.
Lenora went rigid.
Evelyn continued.
“Someone entered a locked room and deliberately ruined it. I thought the lace my grandmother left me was gone forever.”
Her voice trembled.
“But somebody repaired it.”
She looked toward the service doors.
“Not a famous designer. Not the European fashion house. My sister-in-law.”
Silence.
Then Evelyn said:
“Avery Hale Rook.”
A few guests turned.
Avery stood just beyond the doorway, stunned.
Evelyn raised her voice.
“She rebuilt this dress by hand. Every damaged seam. Every piece of lace. Thousands of pearls.”
Applause began.
Then grew.
Evelyn smiled through tears.
“And tonight, someone decided she should eat with the staff.”
The applause stopped.
Every face turned toward Lenora.
Evelyn looked directly at her mother.
“Whoever did that should be ashamed.”
Gabriel walked into the center of the ballroom.
He held the folded place card in his hand.
Then he spoke.
“My wife was invited to this wedding as family.”
He looked at Lenora.
“She will be treated as family.”
Avery stood frozen.
For the first time in six months, Gabriel had publicly chosen her.
But as the guests began whispering, Lenora's expression changed.
Not to embarrassment.
May you like
To hatred.
And Avery suddenly understood that the humiliation had been only the beginning.
