Chapter 1

The family-and-friends group chat erupted immediately.

My aunt Laura was the first to respond.

"Hannah, what happened?"

Then came a message from my cousin.

"The wedding is only two weeks away. Don't joke about this."

After that, one of Dad's former coworkers wrote.

"Robert, did your daughter send that by mistake?"

Mom's phone wouldn't stop ringing either.

She sat at the Matthewses' dining table, her face completely drained of color.

Dad instinctively reached for his phone, but I gently pressed his hand down.

"Dad, you don't need to explain anything.

"What happened tonight is not ours to explain."

Derek finally realized what I had done.

The ease vanished from his face. He shot to his feet and reached for my phone.

"Hannah, have you lost your mind?

"Why would you announce something like that in the family chat?"

I moved the phone out of his reach.

"Didn't you say they were only seats?

"If they are only seats, why does it matter if everyone knows?"

Derek's expression turned ugly.

"You know that isn't what I meant."

I looked up at him.

"Then what did you mean?

"That Paige's parents deserve respect, but mine don't?"

Mrs. Matthews's face hardened first.

"Hannah, you're making this far more serious than it is.

"We were having dinner and playing a harmless game.

"Paige made one casual suggestion.

"And you responded by announcing a broken engagement to every relative we know.

"How is Derek supposed to face anyone after this?"

I looked at her and suddenly found the whole thing absurd.

From the moment we arrived at the Matthewses' home in Larkhaven, Franklin, my parents had been seated closest to the kitchen doorway.

Every comment about Paige being like their real daughter, and every insistence that the Bennetts belonged at the honor table, had landed like a needle beneath their skin.

Mrs. Matthews had noticed none of it.

All she could see was the damage to her son's reputation.

Mom's face was pale, yet her first instinct was still to smooth things over for me.

"Diane," she began carefully, "Hannah is only upset right now."

Before she could finish, Dad spoke.

"She isn't only upset."

Mom stared at him.

So did I.

Dad slowly set down his water glass.

He had been an easygoing man all his life. Even when a cashier overcharged him a few dollars, he would rather let it go than argue.

But in that moment, his voice was rough and steady.

"This dinner has been deeply uncomfortable for both of us.

"Mrs. Matthews, when you seated Paige in the place of honor, I said nothing.

"When you called her the daughter you never had, I said nothing.

"When you decided her parents should take our seats at the honor table, I still said nothing."

He lifted his head and looked directly at Derek.

"My silence did not mean I wasn't humiliated.

"I stayed quiet because I was afraid that after my daughter married into this family, you would accuse her parents of causing trouble.

"But now I realize that if her marriage requires us to bow our heads first, she will spend the rest of her life bowing too."

Dad's eyes reddened as he finished.

Derek's expression shifted.

At last, he seemed to understand that the situation was slipping beyond his control, and his voice softened.