My dress was blood orange, simple and severe among the champagne gowns and black suits. The only jewelry I wore was a sharp silver pin in my hair.
Conversation thinned when I entered the St. Regis ballroom. People who had shared the articles watched me cross the room.
Some recognized me at once and lowered their phones. Others stared openly at the woman they had spent a month calling unstable. I kept moving, giving no one the confrontation they had hoped to record.
At the far end, Liam lost his place in the speech. His jaw tightened. Chloe stood beside him in white sequins, and her stage smile slipped when she saw me.
Liam recovered quickly, but one hand closed around the edge of the lectern. Chloe leaned toward him and whispered without taking her eyes off me.
I went to the bar and o
