Chapter 6 - The Second Receipt
Vanessa stared at the floor. Marcus could see the effort it took for her to speak in front of the guests, and he felt no satisfaction in it.
"The twelve thousand wasn't the whole balance," she said.
"How much?"
"The venue deposit went on a credit card. The flowers and chair upgrades did, too."
"Whose card?"
Silence.
"Vanessa."
"Mine."
Marcus tried to believe her until she added, "Mostly."
Evelyn closed her eyes. She had heard enough in the private phone call to fear where this was going.
"Did you use my card?" Marcus asked.
"It's our household account."
"That's not the question."
"I used the number you gave me for emergencies. I was going to replace everything before the statement arrived."
His breathing changed. The emergency card was tied to the savings he had set aside for his mother's roof. He'd given Vanessa access because trust was supposed to mean something in a shared life.
"How much did you charge?"
"Eight thousand."
The room seemed to tilt. Marcus looked at the chandeliers, the flowers, the gold chairs. Everything that had looked beautiful an hour earlier now appeared labeled with a cost no one had agreed to pay.
"We discussed a smaller wedding," he said. "You told me we could afford this one."
"I wanted one perfect day."
"You were willing to give my mother another wet winter for one perfect day?"
"Don't say it like that."
"How else should I say it?"
Evelyn reached for his hand. "Enough. You two need to decide what happens next. Don't make the guests into judges."
Marcus took a long breath. His mother was right. Humiliation would not become justice simply because the right person suffered it.
"Everybody," he said, turning to the room, "please give us some space."
May you like
The guests rose slowly. Vanessa looked relieved—until Marcus turned back and asked the one question she had feared all morning.
"Did you ever intend to tell me?"
