I noticed it immediately. The pendant was gone from Vanessa's neck.
Without a word, I rose and followed my mother-in-law toward the kitchen to help with the preparations, as was expected of me. As was always expected of me.
Xavier moved quickly. By the time I returned to the dining room, he had taken the seat beside mine. He smiled at me, that gentle, disarming smile he wielded like a concealed weapon, and reached over to brush my hair to one side. His fingers were warm against my neck as he clasped the diamond pendant into place, the cold stone settling against my collarbone. A performance. A show of devotion staged for every pair of eyes in the room.
"This must be your first time wearing diamonds." His voice was soft, intimate, pitched for the audience but dressed up as a private confession. "Don't worry. Next time I'll get you the sapphires you love."
Then, without a flicker of shame in those dark eyes, he lied to my face with the smoothness of a man born to it.
"I lost it at the compound. After we spoke that night, I realized it was gone and went back to search for it. Tore the place apart looking."