I found Vanessa in the bridal suite an hour after the dancing started, alone for the first time all day. She was sitting in front of the vanity mirror, touching up her lipstick with mechanical precision.
"Hey," I said softly, closing the door behind me. "Taking a breather?"
"My feet are killing me." She kicked off her designer heels with a sigh. "These things are torture devices disguised as shoes."
I sat down on the settee where we'd talked that morning, back when I thought the biggest problem in my day would be watching her marry someone else.
Now I knew that someone else was Noah's father, and the weight of that secret was crushing me.
"Vanessa," I said carefully, "can we talk?"
"Of course. What's on your mind?"
*Where do I even start?*
I looked at her reflection in the mirror—b
