The color drained from Evan's face, little by little. He clearly hadn't expected this.
He'd thrown every last bit of blame on Patricia, even forced her to kneel before me, and still I didn't so much as bat an eye.
"Emma, she planned the whole hair-cutting thing. I swear I had no idea."
He took a hurried step toward me. "I know you've been wronged. But our engagement was set by both our elders. These past six months, I've been teaching you all the rules of the circle, trying to help you grow into a qualified Mrs. Peterson."
"A qualified Mrs. Peterson?" I snapped the shipping file shut, stood up, and rounded the desk. "So your so-called 'rules' mean I have to stand by and let some fake steal all the spotlight, and just swallow my anger and say nothing?
"She broke my mother's keepsake,
