“That is just paint. The kids were drawing. It did not wash off yet. You disappeared for a year and failed as a mother! Roxanne stepped in out of kindness. And this is how you repay her? With accusations and ingratitude?”
I laughed. It came out broken.
Paint?
Ryle looked up at Roxanne.
His eyes were pure terror. Not love. Not comfort. Fear. The kind that lives deep and never leaves.
I looked back at David, tears finally spilling.
“Are you blind?” I whispered. “Look at him! Really look. He's terrified of her. He's terrified of you. How can you stand there and say this is a game? How can you be this stupid?!”
David hesitated.
For just a second. His eyes lingered on Ryle. Doubt flickered and Roxanne saw it.
She suddenly sobbed out loud.
“I only wanted to belong,” she cried. “I thought if I treated Ryle well, if I played the role properly, I could be part of this family. But I was dreaming. I will never belong. People will always see me as an nothing. Forget it. Forget the wedding. I am a joke.”
She ripped the veil off her head, shoved it into David’s chest, and ran toward the bedroom, covering her face.
The room exploded.
Everyone shouted at once.
“She fuvking ruined it!”
“What a cursed woman.”