“I have to admit,” she said with a mocking smile, “the venue is… charming. Really cute. Very appropriate for a restaurant worker’s salary. It’s obviously not the kind of country club wedding Ethan and I are planning, but it’s sweet that you tried.”
A few of my mother’s wealthy friends chuckled quietly into their champagne glasses.
Madison leaned across the table, her eyes glittering with cruelty.
“You traded a millionaire for a pathetic waiter, Emma,” she whispered loudly enough for nearby guests to hear. “You’re pathetic. You always were. But don’t worry, sweetheart. Ethan and I will leave a generous tip before we go.”
The area around the table fell silent.
I looked at Benjamin, expecting humiliation or anger.
Instead, he looked completely relaxed.
He leaned close, brushing his lips near my ear.
“Should we tell them who I am?” he whispered.
I turned toward Ethan.
Only moments earlier he’d been smirking smugly. But the second his eyes settled fully on Benjamin’s face, everything changed.
The Ferrari keys stopped spinning.
The color drained from his face so quickly it was almost shocking. Sweat instantly formed across his forehead. His expression shifted from arrogance to pure panic.
He recognized his employer.
I smiled slowly and rested my hand over Benjamin’s.
“No,” I murmured. “I’ll do it.”
I stood up and tapped my spoon gently against my champagne glass.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
The jazz music stopped immediately. Conversations faded as two hundred guests turned toward me.